Teamsters president to go on trial for bribery

A trial that could be critical to the fortunes and image of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) - and possibly of organized labor in general - was scheduled to open in Chicago Oct. 4, Monitor contributor Ed Townsend reports. IBT president Roy L. Williams was charged with conspiracy in an attempt to bribe Democratic Sen. Howard W. Cannon of Nevada.

The trial, several times delayed, also involves 4 other defendents linked to the IBT. Mr. Williams was elected overwhelmingly to the presidency of the country's largest union in June 1981, although he was known to be facing the bribery conspiracy charge along with indictments alleging wire fraud and ties to racketeering.