James Hoffa, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The coalition of labor and environmentalists is still tenuous (more a salad than a smoothie, despite what some presenters have said), but this statement was a welcome olive branch for some members of the Sierra Club, particularly because Hoffa followed it with the observation that “it’s about finding out who your friends are.”

Environmentalists stood with the international labor movement when it really mattered — in particular, the Battle of Seattle — and Hoffa and his brothers and sisters don’t pay lip service for loyalty.