HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse membership of
blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
and
professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...
workers in both the
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
and
private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...
s. The union has approximately 1.3 million members as of 2015. Formerly known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, the IBT is a member of the Strategic Organizing Center and Canadian Labour Congress.


History


Early history

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) had helped form local unions of
teamster A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada. Origi ...
s since 1887. In November 1898, the AFL organized the Team Drivers' International Union (TDIU).Sloane, ''Hoffa,'' 1991.Taft, ''The A.F. of L. in the Time of Gompers,'' 1957. In 1901, a group of teamsters in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, broke from the TDIU and formed the Teamsters National Union. Unlike the TDIU, which permitted large employers to be members, the new Teamsters National Union permitted only employees, teamster helpers, and owner-operators owning only a single team to join, and advocated higher wages and shorter hours more aggressively than the TDIU. Claiming more than 28,000 members in 47 locals, its president, Albert Young, applied for membership in the AFL. The AFL asked the TDIU to merge with Young's union to form a new, AFL-affiliated union and the two groups did so in 1903, forming the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), and electing Cornelius Shea as the new union's first president. The election process proved tumultuous. Shea effectively controlled the convention because the Chicago locals—representing nearly half the IBT's membership Montgomery, ''The Fall of the House of Labor: The Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism, 1865-1925,'' 1987. —supported his candidacy ''en bloc''. Shea was opposed by John Sheridan, president of the Ice Drivers' Union of Chicago. Sheridan and George Innes, president of the TDIU, accused Shea of embezzlement in an attempt to prevent his election. Shea won the election on August 8, 1903, by a vote of 605 to 480. The new grouping elected Edward L. Turley of Chicago as secretary-treasurer and Albert Young as general organizer. The union, like most unions within the American Federation of Labor (AFL) at the time, had a largely decentralized structure, with a number of local unions that governed themselves autonomously and tended to look only after their own interests in the geographical jurisdiction in which they operated. Galenson, ''The CIO Challenge to the AFL: A History of the American Labor Movement,'' 1960. Bernstein, ''The Lean Years: A History of the American Worker, 1920-1933,'' 1972. The teamsters were vitally important to the labor movement, for a
strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
or
sympathy strike Solidarity action (also known as secondary action, a secondary boycott, a solidarity strike, or a sympathy strike) is industrial action by a trade union in support of a strike initiated by workers in a separate corporation, but often the same en ...
by the teamsters could paralyze the movement of goods throughout a city and bring a strike into nearly every neighborhood. It also meant that teamsters leaders were able to demand bribes in order to avoid strikes, and control of a teamsters local could bring
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
significant revenues. During Shea's presidency, the entire teamsters union was notoriously corrupt. Fitch, ''Solidarity for Sale,'' 2006. Witwer, "Unionized Teamsters and the Struggle over the Streets of the Early-Twentieth-Century City," ''Social Science History,'' Spring 2000. Tilman, "John R. Commons, the New Deal and the American Tradition of Empirical Collectivism," ''Journal of Economic Issues,'' September 2008. Several major strikes occupied the union in its first three years. In November 1903, teamsters employed by the
Chicago City Railway The Chicago City Railway Company (CCRy) was an urban transit company that operated horse, cable, and electric streetcars on Chicago's South Side between 1859 and 1914, when it became merged into and part of the Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) metr ...
went out on strike. Shea attempted to stop sympathy strikes by other teamster locals, but three locals walked out and eventually disaffiliated over the sympathy-strike issue. A sympathy strike in support of 18,000 striking meat cutters in Chicago in July 1904 led to riots before the extensive use of
strikebreaker A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the st ...
s led Shea to force his members back to work (leading to the collapse of the meat cutters' strike). "Shea, Head of the Teamsters, Has Risen From A Tip-Cart Man," ''Boston Daily Globe,'' December 2, 1906; "Strike Spreads Among Drivers," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' August 9, 1904. In the midst of the strife in 1904, the teamsters convention in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
re-elected Shea by acclamation on August 8, 1904. Under his leadership, the union had expanded to nearly 50,000 members in 821 locals in 300 cities, making the Teamsters one of the largest unions in the United States. In 1905 10,000 teamsters struck in support of locked-out tailors at Montgomery Ward, and eventually more than 25,000 teamsters manned the picket lines.Cohen, ''The Racketeer's Progress: Chicago and the Struggle for the Modern American Economy,'' 1900-1940, 2004. "Gigantic Strike Is In Full Swing," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' April 28, 1905; "Big Strike Has Small Beginning," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' May 20, 1905; "To Test Union Sympathy," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' April 6, 1905. "History of Great Teamsters' Strike Filled with Sensational Incidents," ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' July 21, 1905. But when local newspapers discovered that Shea was living in a local brothel, kept a 19-year-old waitress as a mistress, and had spent the strike hosting parties, public support for the strike collapsed and the strike ended on August 1, 1905. Witwer, ''Corruption and Reform in the Teamsters Union,'' 2003. Despite the revelations, Shea won re-election on August 12, 1905, by a vote of 129 to 121. Shea was re-elected again in 1905 and 1906, although significant challenges to his presidency occurred each time. Shea's first trial on charges stemming from the 1905 Montgomery Ward strike ended in a
mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
. However, during the 1906 re-election Shea had promised that he would resign the presidency once his trial had ended."Shea's Scepter About to Fall?", ''Chicago Daily Tribune,'' March 22, 1907. But he did not, and most union members withdrew their support for him. Daniel J. Tobin of Boston was elected Shea's successor by a vote of 104 to 94 in August 1907.


Organizing and growth during the Great Depression

Tobin was president of the Teamsters from 1907 to 1952. Although he faced opposition in his re-election races in 1908, 1909 and 1910, he never faced opposition again until his retirement in 1952.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: The Policies and Practices of the American Federation of Labor, 1900-1909,'' 1964. The Teamsters began to expand dramatically and mature organizationally under Tobin. He pushed for the development of "joint councils" to which all local unions were forced to affiliate. Varying in geographical and industrial jurisdiction, the joint councils became important incubators for up-and-coming leadership and negotiating master agreements which covered all employers in a given industry. Tobin also actively discouraged strikes in order to bring discipline to the union and encourage employers to sign contracts, and founded and edited the union magazine, the ''International Teamster.''Fink, ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor,'' 1984.Phelan, ''William Green: Biography of a Labor Leader,'' 1989. Under Tobin, the Teamsters also first developed the "regional conference" system (developed by
Dave Beck David Daniel Beck (June 16, 1894December 26, 1993) was an American labor leader, and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1952 to 1957. He helped found the "Conference" system of organization in the Teamsters union, and s ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
), which provided stability, organizing strength, and leadership to the international union. Tobin undertook long
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...
al battles with many unions during this period. Fierce disputes occurred between the Teamsters and the Gasoline State Operators' National Council (an AFL
federal union A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
of gas station attendants), the
International Longshoremen's Association The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA h ...
, the Retail Clerks International Union, and the
Brotherhood of Railway Clerks The Transportation Communications Union (TCU) is the successor to the union formerly known as the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks and includes within it many other organizations, including the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America and the Brother ...
.Bernstein, ''The Turbulent Years: A History of the American Worker, 1933-1941,'' 1970. The most significant disagreement, however, was with the United Brewery Workers over the right to represent beer wagon drivers. While the Teamsters lost this battle in 1913, when the AFL awarded jurisdiction to the Brewers, they won when the issue came before the AFL Executive Board again in 1933, when the Brewers were still recovering from their near-elimination during
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
.Taft, ''The A.F. of L. From the Death of Gompers to the Merger,'' 1959. The raids and new member organizing in the 1930s led to significant membership increases. Teamster membership stood at just 82,000 in 1932. Tobin took advantage of the wave of pro-union sentiment engendered by the passage of the
National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also ...
, and by 1935 union membership had increased nearly 65 percent to 135,000. By 1941, Tobin had a dues-paying membership of 530,000—making the Teamsters the fastest-growing labor union in the United States. One of the most significant events in union history occurred in 1934. A group of radicals in Local 574 in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
—led by
Farrell Dobbs Farrell Dobbs (July 25, 1907 – October 31, 1983) was an American Trotskyist, trade unionist, politician, and historian. Early years Dobbs was born in Queen City, Missouri, where his father was a worker in a coal company garage. The family ...
, Carl Skoglund, and the Dunne brothers (Ray, Miles and Grant), all members of the Trotskyist Communist League of America—began successfully organizing coal truck drivers in the winter of 1933.Korth, ''Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934,'' 1995. Tobin, an ardent anti-communist, opposed their efforts and refused to support their 1933 strike. Local 574 struck again in 1934, leading to several riots over a nine-day period in May. When the employers' association reneged on the agreement, Local 574 resumed the strike, although it ended again after nine days when martial law was declared by
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Floyd B. Olson Floyd Bjørnstjerne "Skipper" Olson (November 13, 1891 – August 22, 1936) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 22nd Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1931, to August 22, 1936, dying in office of stomach cancer. Olson wa ...
. Although Local 574 won a contract recognizing the union and which broke the back of the anti-union Citizens Alliance in Minneapolis, Tobin expelled Local 574 from the Teamsters. Member outrage was extensive, and in August 1936 he was forced to recharter the local as 544.Schlesinger, ''The Age of Roosevelt: The Coming of the New Deal, 1933-1935,'' 1959. Within a year the newly formed Local 544 had organized 250,000 truckers in the Midwest and formed the Central Conference of Teamsters. Extensive organizing also occurred in the West. Harry Bridges, radical leader of the
International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 Wes ...
(ILWU), was leading "the march inland"—an attempt to organize warehouse workers away from shipping ports. Alarmed by Bridges' radical politics and worried that the ILWU would encroach on Teamster jurisdictions, Dave Beck formed a large regional organization (the Western Conference of Teamsters) to engage in fierce organizing battles and membership raids against the ILWU which led to the establishment of many new locals and the organization of tens of thousands of new members. But corruption became even more widespread in the Teamsters during the Tobin administration. By 1941, the union was considered the most corrupt in the United States, and the most abusive towards its own members. Tobin vigorously defended the union against such accusations, but also instituted many constitutional and organizational changes and practices which made it easier for union officials to engage in criminal offenses.


World War II and the post-war period

By the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the Teamsters was one of the most powerful unions in the country, and Teamster leaders were influential in the corridors of power. Union membership had risen more than 390 percent between 1935 and 1941 to 530,000. In June 1940, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
appointed IBT President Daniel J. Tobin to be the official White House liaison to organized labor, and later that year chair of the Labor Division of the Democratic National Committee. In 1942, President Roosevelt appointed Tobin special representative to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and charged him with investigating the state of the labor movement there. Tobin was considered three times for Secretary of Labor, and twice refused the post—in 1943 and 1947. On September 23, 1944, Roosevelt gave his famous " Fala speech" while campaigning in the 1944 presidential election. Because of Roosevelt's strong relationship with Tobin and the union's large membership, the President delivered his speech before the Teamster convention. Nonetheless, Teamsters members were restive. Dissident members of the union accused the leadership of suppressing democracy in the union, a charge President Tobin angrily denied. Over the next year, Tobin cracked down on dissidents and trusted several large locals led by his political opponents. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, The Teamsters strongly endorsed the American labor movement's no-strike pledge. The Teamsters agreed to cease raiding other unions and not strike for the duration of the national emergency. President Tobin even ordered Teamsters members to cross picket lines put up by other unions. Nevertheless, the national leadership sanctioned strikes by Midwestern truckers in August 1942, Southern truckers in October 1943, and brewery workers and milk delivery drivers in January 1945. The Teamsters did not, however, participate in the great post-war wave of labor strikes. In the two years following the cessation of hostilities, the Teamsters struck only three times: 10,000 truckers in New Jersey struck for two weeks; workers at UPS struck nationwide for three weeks; and workers at
Railway Express Agency Railway Express Agency (REA), founded as the American Railway Express Agency and later renamed the American Railway Express Inc., was a national package delivery service that operated in the United States from 1918 to 1975. REA arranged trans ...
struck for almost a month. Teamsters leaders strongly opposed enactment of the
Taft–Hartley Act The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft–Hartley Act, is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that restricts the activities and power of trade union, labor unions. It was enacted by the 80th United S ...
and repeatedly called for its repeal. President Tobin, however, was one of the first labor leaders to sign the non-communist affidavit required by the law. The great wave of organizing which the union engaged in during the Great Depression and the war significantly boosted the political power of a number of regional Teamsters leaders, and the leadership of the union engaged in a number of power struggles in the post-war period. By 1949, the union's membership had topped one million.
Dave Beck David Daniel Beck (June 16, 1894December 26, 1993) was an American labor leader, and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1952 to 1957. He helped found the "Conference" system of organization in the Teamsters union, and s ...
(elected an international vice-president in 1940) was increasingly influential in the international union, and Tobin attempted to check his growing power but failed. In 1946, Beck successfully overcame Tobin's opposition and won approval of an amendment to the union's constitution creating the post of executive vice-president. Beck then won the 1947 election to fill the position. Beck also successfully opposed in 1947 a Tobin-backed dues increase to fund new organizing. The following year, Beck was able to demand the ouster of the editor of ''International Teamster'' magazine and install his own man in the job. In 1948, Beck allied with his long-time rival Jimmy Hoffa and effectively seized control of the union. He announced a
raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
on the International Association of Machinists local at
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
. Although President Dan Tobin publicly repudiated Beck's actions, Beck had more than enough support from Hoffa and other members of the executive board to force Tobin to back down. Five months later, Beck won approval of a plan to dissolve the union's four divisions and replace them with 16 divisions organized around each of the major job categories in the union's membership. In 1951, Tom Hickey, reformist leader of the Teamsters in New York City, won election to the Teamsters executive board. Tobin needed Beck's support to prevent Hickey's election, and Beck refused to give it. On September 4, 1952, Tobin announced he would step down as president of the Teamsters at the end of his term. At the union's 1952 convention, Beck was elected General President and pushed through a number of changes intended to make it harder for a challenger to build the necessary majority to unseat a president or reject his policies.


Influence of organized crime

Beck was elected to the Executive Council of the AFL on August 13, 1953, but his election generated a tremendous political battle between AFL President George Meany, who supported his election, and federation vice presidents who felt Beck was corrupt and should not be elected to the post. Beck was the first Teamster president to negotiate a nationwide master contract and a national grievance arbitration plan, established organizing drives in the Deep South and the
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
, and built the current Teamsters headquarters (the "Marble Palace") in Washington, D.C. on Louisiana Avenue NW (across a small plaza from the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
). But his intervention in a construction and a milk strike (both centered on New York City), and refusal to intervene in a Northeastern trucking strike created major political problems for him. Perceiving Beck to be weak, Jimmy Hoffa began challenging Beck on various union decisions and policies in 1956 with an eye to unseating him as General President in the regularly scheduled union elections in 1957.Katz, "Teamsters' Union in Control Fight," ''The New York Times'', January 10, 1956. Infiltration by organized crime dominated the agenda of the Teamsters throughout the 1950s. The Teamsters had suffered from extensive corruption since its formation in 1903. Although the more extreme, public forms of corruption had been eliminated after General President Cornelius Shea was removed from office, the extent of corruption and control by organized crime increased during General President Tobin's time in office (1907 to 1952). In 1929, the Teamsters and unions in Chicago even approached gangster Roger Touhy and asked for his protection from Al Capone and his
Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...
, which were seeking to control the area's unions. Evidence of widespread corruption within the Teamsters began emerging shortly after Tobin retired. In Kansas City, corrupt Teamsters locals spent years seeking bribes, embezzling money, and engaging in extensive
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
and labor rackets as well as beatings, vandalism and even bombings in an attempt to control the construction and trucking industries. The problem was so serious that the U.S. House of Representatives held hearings on the issue. Hoffa's attempt to challenge Beck caused a major national scandal which led to two Congressional investigations, several indictments for fraud and other crimes against Beck and Hoffa, strict new federal legislation and regulations regarding labor unions, and even helped launch the political career of
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
. Believing he needed additional votes to unseat Beck, in October 1956 mobster Johnny Dio met with Hoffa in New York City and the two men conspired to create as many as 15 paper locals to boost Hoffa's delegate totals. When the paper locals applied for charters from the international union, Hoffa's political foes were outraged. A major battle broke out within the Teamsters over whether to charter the locals, and the media attention led to inquiries by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations. Beck and other Teamster leaders challenged the authority of the U.S. Senate to investigate the union, which caused the Senate to establish the Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management—a new committee with broad subpoena and investigative powers. Senator John L. McClellan, chair of the select committee, hired
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
as the subcommittee's chief counsel and investigator."Chapter 18. Records of Senate Select Committees, 1789-1988," in ''Guide to the Records of the United States Senate at the National Archives, 1789-1989: Bicentennial Edition,'' 1989. The Select Committee (also known as the McClellan Committee, after its chairman), exposed widespread corruption in the Teamsters union. Dave Beck fled the country for a month to avoid its subpoenas before returning. Four of the paper locals were dissolved to avoid committee scrutiny, several Teamster staffers were charged with contempt of Congress, and union records were lost or destroyed (allegedly on purpose), and wiretaps were played in public before a national television audience in which Dio and Hoffa discussed the creation of even more paper locals. Evidence was unearthed of a mob-sponsored plot in which Oregon Teamsters unions would seize control of the state legislature, state police, and state attorney general's office through bribery, extortion and blackmail. Initially, members of the union did not believe the charges, and support for Beck was strong, but after three months of continuous allegations of wrongdoing many rank-and-file Teamsters withdrew their support and openly called for Beck to resign. Beck initially refused to address the allegations, but broke his silence and denounced the committee's inquiry on March 6. But even as the committee conducted its investigation, the Teamsters chartered even more paper locals. In mid-March 1957, Jimmy Hoffa was arrested for allegedly trying to bribe a Senate aide. Hoffa denied the charges, but the arrest triggered additional investigations and more arrests and indictments over the following weeks. A week later, Beck admitted to receiving an interest-free $300,000 loan from the Teamsters which he had never repaid, and Senate investigators claimed that loans to Beck and other union officials (and their businesses) had cost the union more than $700,000. Beck appeared before the select committee for the first time on March 25, 1957, and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 117 times. The McClellan Committee turned its focus to Hoffa and other Teamsters officials, and presented testimony and evidence alleging widespread corruption in Hoffa-controlled Teamster units. Several historic legal developments came out of the select committee's investigation. The scandals uncovered by the McClellan committee, which affected not only the Teamsters but several other unions, led directly to the passage of the
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (also "LMRDA" or the Landrum–Griffin Act), is a US labor law that regulates labor unions' internal affairs and their officials' relationships with employers. Background After enactment ...
(also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act) in 1959. The right of union officials to exercise their Fifth Amendment rights was upheld and a significant refinement of constitutional law made when the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the right of union officials to not divulge the location of union records in ''Curcio v. United States'', 354 U.S. 118 (1957). Rank-and-file anger over the McClellan Committee's revelations eventually led Beck to retire from the Teamsters and allowed Jimmy Hoffa to take over. Immediately after his testimony in late March 1957, Beck won approval from the union's executive board to establish a $1 million fund to defend himself and the union from the committee's allegations. But member outrage at the expenditure was significant, and permission to establish the fund rescinded. Member anger continued to grow throughout the spring, and Beck's majority support on the executive board vanished. Beck was called before the McClellan Committee again in early May 1957, and additional interest-free loans and other potentially illegal and unethical financial transactions exposed. Based on these revelations, Beck was indicted for tax evasion on May 2, 1957. Beck's legal troubles led him to retire and Hoffa to win election to the union presidency. Support for Beck among the membership evaporated. Beck announced on May 25 he would not run for re-election in October. The announcement created chaos among the union leadership, and despite additional indictments Hoffa announced he would seek the presidency on July 19. Rank-and-file support for Hoffa was strong, although there were some attempts to organize an opposition candidate. Hoffa's opponents asked a federal judge to postpone the election, but the request was granted only temporarily and Hoffa was duly elected General President of the union on October 4, 1957. Beck offered to retire early to allow Hoffa to take control of the union in December. A federal district court barred Hoffa from taking power unless he was acquitted in his wiretapping trial. The ruling was upheld by a court of appeals, but the trial ended in a hung jury on December 19, 1957, and Hoffa assumed the presidency on February 1, 1958. The worsening corruption scandal led the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
to eject the Teamsters. AFL–CIO President George Meany, worried that corruption scandals plaguing a number of unions at the time might lead to harsh regulation of unions or even the withdrawal of federal labor law protection, began an anti-corruption drive in April 1956. New rules were enacted by the labor federation's executive council that provided for the removal of vice presidents engaged in corruption as well as the ejection of unions considered corrupt. The McClellan Committee's investigation only worsened the dispute between the AFL–CIO and the Teamsters. In January 1957, the AFL–CIO proposed a new rule which would bar officers of the federation from continuing to hold office if they exercised their Fifth Amendment rights in a corruption investigation. Beck opposed the new rule, but the Ethical Practices Committee of AFL–CIO instituted the rule on January 31, 1957. The Teamsters were given 90 days to reform, but Beck retaliated by promising more raids on AFL–CIO member unions if the union was ousted. Beck's opposition prompted a successful move by Meany to remove Beck from AFL–CIO executive council on grounds of corruption. After extensive hearings and appeals which lasted from July to September 1957, the AFL–CIO voted on September 25, 1957, to eject the Teamsters if the union did not institute reforms within 30 days. Beck refused to institute any reforms, and the election of Jimmy Hoffa (whom the AFL–CIO considered as corrupt as Beck) led the labor federation to suspend the Teamsters union on October 24, 1957. Meany offered to keep the Teamsters within the AFL–CIO if Hoffa resigned as president, but Hoffa refused and the formal expulsion occurred on December 6, 1957. The Teamsters were not the only corrupt union in the AFL–CIO by any means. Another was the
International Longshoremen's Association The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA h ...
(ILA), which represented
stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...
s in most East Coast ports. The Teamsters had long desired to bring all shipping and transportation workers into the union, so that no product could be moved anywhere in the U.S. without it being touched by Teamsters hands. As the ILA came under increasing attack for permitting corruption in its locals, President Beck sought to bring the ILA into the Teamsters. The AFL ousted the ILA in September 1953, and formed the International Brotherhood of Longshoremen-AFL (IBL-AFL) to represent longshoremen on the Great Lakes and East Coast. The Teamsters planned to raid the expelled union, and may even have hoped to seize control of the IBL-AFL. Beck undertook a campaign to bring the ILA back into the AFL in early 1955, but the election of mob associate Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio as an ILA vice president forced Beck to end the effort. But even as Beck backed away from any ILA deal, Jimmy Hoffa secretly negotiated a major package of financial and staff aid to the ILA and then went public with the deal—forcing Beck to accept it as a fait accompli or risk embarrassing Hoffa. The AFL–CIO threatened to expel the Teamsters if it aided the ILA. Beck fought Hoffa over the ILA aid package and won, withdrawing the offer to the ILA in the spring of 1956. The ILA was not the only union the Teamsters sought to merge with. The union attempted to merge with the Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers in 1955, but the effort failed. The union also sought a merger with the Brewery Workers, but the smaller union rejected the offer. When the overture failed, the Teamsters raided the Brewery Workers, leading to fierce protests by the CIO. Raiding by the Teamsters was such a serious issue that it prompted the AFL and CIO, which had attempted to sign a no-raid agreement for years, to finally negotiate and implement such a pact in December 1953. President Beck initially refused to sign the agreement, and threatened to take the Teamsters out of the AFL if forced to adhere to it. Three months after the pact was signed, the Teamsters agreed to submit to the terms of the no-raid agreement. Shortly thereafter, the AFL adopted Article 20 of its constitution, which prevented its member unions from raiding one another. The union's affection for raiding led it to initially oppose the AFL–CIO merger in January 1955, but it quickly reversed itself.


Rise, fall, and disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa

Hoffa achieved his goal of unifying all freight drivers under a single collective bargaining agreement, the
National Master Freight Agreement The National Master Freight Agreement is an occasionally updated master contract concerning employment of teamsters that has been signed by numerous labor unions and employers in the United States. Its original version was negotiated in the early 1 ...
, in 1964. Hoffa used the grievance procedures of the agreement, which authorized selective strikes against particular employers, to police the agreement or, if Hoffa thought that it served the union's interest, to drive marginal employers out of the industry. The union won substantial gains for its members, fostering a nostalgic image of the Hoffa era as the golden age for Teamster drivers. Hoffa also succeeded where Tobin had failed, concentrating power at the international level, dominating the conferences which Beck and Dobbs had helped build. In addition, Hoffa was instrumental in using the assets of the Teamsters' pension plans, particularly the Central States plan, to support Mafia projects, such as the development of Las Vegas in the 1950s and 1960s. Pension funds were loaned to finance Las Vegas casinos such as the
Stardust Resort & Casino The Stardust Resort and Casino was a casino resort located on along the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The Stardust was conceived by Tony Cornero, and construction began in 1954. Cornero died in 1955, and the project was taken over by his ...
, the Fremont Hotel & Casino, the Desert Inn, the Dunes hotel and casino (which was controlled by Hoffa's attorney,
Morris Shenker Morris A. Shenker (January 10, 1907 – August 9, 1989) was an American lawyer best known for his connections to labor leader Jimmy Hoffa and Teamster funding of Las Vegas in the 1960s. Shenker was a Russian Jewish immigrant who arrived in St. Lo ...
), the Four Queens, the Aladdin Hotel & Casino, Circus Circus, and Caesars Palace. The pension fund also made a number of loans to associates and relatives of high-ranking Teamster officials. A close associate of Hoffa during this period was Allen Dorfman. Dorfman owned an insurance agency that provided insurance claims processing to the Teamsters' union, and which was the subject of an investigation by the
McClellan Committee The United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management (also known as the McClellan Committee) was a select committee created by the United States Senate on January 30, 1957,Hilty, James. ''Robert Kennedy: Broth ...
. Dorfman also had increasing influence over loans made by the Teamsters' pension fund, and after Hoffa went to prison in 1967, Dorfman had primary control over the fund. Dorfman was murdered in January 1983, shortly after his conviction, along with Teamsters' president Roy Lee Williams, in a bribery case. Hoffa was, moreover, defiantly unwilling to reform the union or limit his own power in response to the attacks from
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
, formerly chief counsel to the McClellan Committee, then Attorney General. Kennedy's
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
tried to convict Hoffa for a variety of offenses over the 1960s, finally succeeding on a witness tampering charge in 1964, with key testimony provided by Teamsters business agent
Edward Grady Partin Edward Grady Partin Sr. (February 27, 1924 – March 11, 1990), was an American business agent for the Teamsters Union, and is best known for his 1964 testimony against Jimmy Hoffa, which helped Robert F. Kennedy convict Hoffa of jury tamper ...
of Baton Rouge,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. After exhausting his appeals, Hoffa entered prison in 1967. Hoffa installed Frank Fitzsimmons, an associate from his days in Local 299 in Detroit, to hold his place for him while he served time. Fitzsimmons, however, began to enjoy the exercise of power in Hoffa's absence; in addition, the organized crime figures around him found that he was more pliant than Hoffa had been. While President Nixon's pardon barred Hoffa from resuming any role in the Teamsters until 1980, Hoffa challenged the legality of that condition and planned to run again for presidency of the union, but disappeared in 1975 under mysterious circumstances. He is presumed dead, although his body has never been found.


Decentralization, deregulation and drift

Under General President Frank Fitzsimmons, authority within the Teamsters was decentralized back into the hands of regional, joint council, and local leaders. While this helped solidify Fitzsimmons' own political position in the union, it also made it more difficult for the union to act decisively on policy issues. Fitzsimmons also moved the union's political stands slowly to the left, supporting universal health care, an immediate end to the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, urban renewal, and community organizing. In 1968, Fitzsimmons and United Auto Workers President
Walter Reuther Walter Philip Reuther (; September 1, 1907 – May 9, 1970) was an American leader of organized labor and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor unions in American history. He ...
formed the Alliance for Labor Action, a new
national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...
which competed with the AFL–CIO. The Alliance dissolved in 1972 after Reuther's death. While the Teamsters won rich national master contracts in trucking and package delivery in the 1970s, it did little to adapt to the changes occurring in the transportation industry. A major jurisdictional battle with the United Farm Workers (UFW) broke out in 1970, and did not end until 1977. The Teamsters and UFW had both claimed jurisdiction over farm workers for many years, and in 1967 had signed an agreement settling their differences. But decentralization of power within the union led several Teamster leaders in California to repudiate this agreement without Fitzsimmons' permission and organize large numbers of field workers. His hand forced, Fitzsimmons ordered Teamsters contract negotiators to re-open the handful of contracts it had signed with California growers. The UFW sued, the AFL–CIO condemned the action, and many employers negotiated contracts with the Teamsters rather than with the UFW. The Teamsters subsequently signed contracts (which many denounced as
sweetheart deal A sweetheart deal or sweetheart contract is a contractual agreement, usually worked out in secret, that greatly benefits some of the parties while inappropriately disadvantaging other parties or the public at large. The term was coined in the 1940 ...
s) with more than 375 California growers. Although an agreement giving UFW jurisdiction over field workers and the Teamsters jurisdiction over packing and warehouse workers was reached on September 27, 1973, Fitzsimmons reneged on the agreement within a month and moved ahead with forming a farm workers regional union in California.Shabecoff, Philip. "Chavez Reaches Tentative Accord." ''The New York Times''. September 28, 1973. The organizing battles even became violent at times. By 1975, the UFW had won 24 elections and the Teamsters 14; UFW membership had plummeted to just 6,000 from nearly 70,000 while the Teamsters farmworker division counted 55,000 workers. The UFW signed an agreement with Fitzsimmons in March 1977 in which the UFW agreed to seek to organize only those workers covered by the
California Agricultural Labor Relations Act The California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (CALRA) is a landmark statute in United States labor law that was enacted by the state of California in 1975,"Governor Signs Historic Farm Labor Legislation." ''Los Angeles Times.'' June 5, 1975. es ...
, while the Teamsters retained jurisdiction over some agricultural workers, who had been covered by Teamsters Local Union contracts prior to the formation of the UFW. In October 1973, Fitzsimmons ended the long-running jurisdictional dispute with the United Brewery Workers, and the Brewery Workers merged with the Teamsters. In 1979 Congress passed legislation that deregulated the freight industry, removing the Interstate Commerce Commission's power to impose detailed regulatory tariffs on interstate carriers. The union tried to fight deregulation by attempting to bribe Senator Howard Cannon of
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
. That attempt not only failed, but resulted in the conviction in 1982 of Roy Williams, the General President who had succeeded Fitzsimmons in 1981. Williams subsequently resigned in 1983 as a condition of remaining free on bail while his appeal proceeded. Deregulation had catastrophic effects on the Teamsters, opening up the industry to competition from non-union companies who sought to cut costs by avoiding unionization and curbing wages. Nearly 200 unionized carriers went out of business in the first few years of deregulation, leaving thirty percent of Teamsters in the freight division unemployed. The remaining unionized carriers demanded concessions in wages, work rules, and hours. Williams' successor,
Jackie Presser Jackie Presser (August 6, 1926 – July 9, 1988) was an American labor leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1983 until his death in 1988. He was closely connected to organized crime, and allegedly became presiden ...
, was prepared to grant most of these concessions in the form of a special freight "relief rider" that would cut wages by up to 35 percent and establish two-tier wages.
Teamsters for a Democratic Union Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada ...
, which had grown out of efforts to reject the 1976 freight agreement, launched a successful national campaign to defeat the relief rider, which was defeated by a vote of 94,086 to 13,082. The pressure on the freight industry and the national freight agreement continued, however. By the end of the 1990s the National Master Freight Agreement, which had covered 500,000 drivers in the late 1970s, dropped to fewer than 200,000, with numerous local riders weakening it further in some areas.


Internal and external challenges

The decline in working conditions in the freight industry, combined with long-simmering unhappiness among members employed by the United Parcel Service, led to the development of two nationwide dissident groups within the union in the 1980s:
Teamsters for a Democratic Union Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada ...
(TDU), an assemblage of a number of local efforts, and the Professional Drivers Council, better known as PROD, which began as a public interest group affiliated with Ralph Nader that was concerned with worker safety. The two groups merged in 1979. TDU was able to win some local offices within the union, although the International Union often attempted to make those victories meaningless by marginalizing the officer or the union. TDU acquired greater prominence, however, with the election reforms forced on the union by the consent decree it had entered into in 1989 on the eve of trial on a suit brought by the federal government under the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...
(RICO). The decree required the direct election of International officers by the membership, as TDU had been demanding for years leading up to the decree, to replace the indirect election by delegates at the union's convention. While the delegates at the union's 1991 convention balked at amending the Constitution, they ultimately capitulated under pressure from the government. That consent decree might not have been possible, however, if it had not been for the testimony of Roy Williams, who described, in an affidavit he gave the government in return for a delay of his imprisonment, his own dealings with organized crime as the Secretary-Treasurer of a local union in Kansas City and as an officer of the International Union. The decree also gave the government the power to install an Independent Review Board with the power to expel any member of the union for "conduct unbecoming to the union", which the IRB proceeded to exercise far more aggressively than the Teamsters officials who had agreed to the decree had expected. While the government was pursuing a civil case against the union as an entity, it was also indicting Presser, who had succeeded Williams as General President, for embezzling from two different local unions in Cleveland prior to his election as president. Presser resigned in 1988, but died before his trial was scheduled to begin. He was succeeded by William J. McCarthy, who came from the same local that Dan Tobin had led eighty years earlier. The Independent Review Board (IRB) is a three-member panel established to investigate and take appropriate action with respect to "any allegations of corruption," "any allegations of domination or control or influence" of any part of the Union by organized crime, and any failure to cooperate fully with the IRB.


Recent history

In 1991, Ron Carey won a surprising victory in the first direct election for General President in the union's history, defeating two "old guard" candidates, R.V. Durham and Walter Shea. Carey's slate, supported by TDU, also won nearly all of the seats on the International Executive Board. Carey acquired a fair amount of influence within the AFL–CIO, which had readmitted the Teamsters in 1985. Carey was close with the new leadership elected in 1995, particularly Richard Trumka of the United Mine Workers of America, who became Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL–CIO under John Sweeney. Carey had also swung the Teamsters support behind the Democratic Party, a change from past administrations that had supported the Republican Party. The new administration set out to break from the past in other ways, making energetic efforts to head off a vote to oust the union as representative of
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
' flight attendants, negotiating a breakthrough agreement covering carhaulers, and supporting local strikes, such as the one against Diamond Walnut, to restore the union's strength. The Carey administration did not, on the other hand, have much power in the lower reaches of the Teamster hierarchy: all of the large regional conferences were run by "old guard" officers, as were most of the locals. Disagreements between those two camps led the old guard to campaign against the Carey administration's proposed dues increase. The Carey administration retaliated by dissolving the regional conferences, calling them expensive redundancies and fiefdoms for old guard union officers, and rearranging the boundaries of some joint councils that had fought against the dues increase. The opposition responded by uniting around a single candidate, James P. Hoffa, son of James R. Hoffa, to run against Carey in 1996. Hoffa ran a strong campaign, trading on the mystique still attached to his late father's name and promising to restore those days of glory. Carey appeared, however, to have won a close election. Shortly afterward in 1997, the union initiated a large and successful strike against UPS. The parcel services department by that time had become the largest division in the union. Carey was removed from the union's leadership by the IRB shortly thereafter, when evidence that individuals in his office had arranged for transfer of several thousand dollars to an outside contractor, which then arranged for another entity to make an equivalent contribution to the Carey campaign. Carey was indicted for lying to investigators about his campaign funding but was acquitted of all charges in a 2001 trial. In the 1998
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
to succeed Carey, James P. Hoffa was elected handily. He became president of the Teamsters on March 19, 1999, and took the union in a more moderate direction, tempering the union's support for Democrats and attempting to come to terms with powerful Republicans in Congress. The union has merged in recent years with a number of unions from other industries, including the
Graphic Communications International Union The Graphic Communications International Union (GCIU) was a labor union representing printing workers in the United States and Canada. The union was founded on May 25, 1983, when the Graphic Arts International Union merged with the International Pr ...
, a printing industry union, and the
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) – later to become the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) – is a national union representing the workers who build and ...
and
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on 8 May 1863 as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. It was the first permanent trade organization for railroad workers in the US. A year late ...
, both from the railway industry. On July 25, 2005, the Teamsters disaffiliated from the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
and became a founding member of the new
national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...
, the
Change to Win Federation The Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), formerly known as the Change to Win Federation (CtW) is a coalition of North American labor unions originally formed in 2005 as an alternative to the AFL–CIO. The coalition is associated with strong advoca ...
. In 2009, UPS, many employees of which are members of the Teamsters,
lobbied In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
to have language added to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 (H.R. 915) to change how UPS and FedEx compete with one another. In response, FedEx launched a large, online advertising campaign aimed at UPS and the Teamsters, called 'Stop the Brown Bailout'.


Internal Teamsters politics

Prior to the 1970s, no long-lived caucuses existed within the Teamsters union. Challengers for office ran on their personal appeal and individual power base, rather than on caucus or "party" platforms and such challenges were infrequent. The Teamster leadership was well-established and somewhat self-perpetuating, and challengers only rarely achieved victories at the local and (even less frequently) regional levels. This changed in the 1970s. A national wildcat strike challenged President Frank Fitzsimmons' control over the union, but failed. After the strike, a reform movement known as "Teamsters United Rank and File" (TURF) formed to continue to challenge against the union's national leadership. But TURF collapsed after a few years due to internal dissent. In 1975, two new caucuses formed: Teamsters for a Decent Contract (TDC) and UPSurge. Both groups pushed the national leadership for a vastly improved contracts at UPS and the freight lines. In 1976 a new formal caucus,
Teamsters for a Democratic Union Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada ...
(TDU), formed when TDC and UPSurge merged. The new caucus' goal was to make internal Teamster governance more transparent and democratic, which included giving rank-and-file more of a say in the terms and approval of contracts.Ryan, p. 418. In the 1980s, TDU occasionally won elections for positions on local councils, but it was not until 1983—when the TDU forced President Jackie Presser to withdraw and make changes to a concession-laden National Master Freight Agreement—that TDU had a national impact. TDU publicized the very centralized and not very transparent national union decision-making process, criticized what it said was lack of member input into these decisions, and published contract, salary, membership, and other data critical of the national union leadership. These criticisms led to another success for TDU, with many TDU proposals finding their way into the 1988 court decree in which the federal government took over of the Teamsters. Although the TDU has never won the presidency of the national union as of mid-2013, it strongly supported Ron Carey for the presidency in 1991. Carey, in turn, adopted many of TDU's reform proposals as part of his platform. Carey ran with nearly a full slate (which included a candidate for secretary-treasurer and 13 vice presidencies). R.V. Durham, leader of the Teamsters in North Carolina, was considered the "establishment" candidate and front-runner in the campaign (he had the backing of a majority of the union's executive board). A second candidate in the race, Walter Shea, was a veteran union staffer from Washington, D.C. Carey won with 48.5 percent of the vote to Durham's 33.2 percent and Shea's 18.3 percent. (Turnout was low, only about 32 percent of the union's total membership.) Carey's election, sociologist Charlotte Ryan says, was another success for TDU (even though Carey was not a TDU candidate). Carey won re-election in 1996 in a corrupt election, defeating James P. Hoffa (son of the former union president). Prior to entering the race, Hoffa formed a caucus of his own, the "Hoffa Unity Slate", to counter the grassroots organizing of TDU and Carey. Carey was later ousted as union president by U.S. government officials. A re-run election in 1998 saw Hoffa and the Unity Slate easily defeat TDU candidate Tom Leedham 54.5 percent to 39.3 percent (with 28 percent turnout). Hoffa was re-elected over Leedham (again running on the TDU platform) in 2001, 64.8 percent to 35.2 percent.Jacobs, p. 111. Leedham challenged Hoffa and the Hoffa Unity Slate a third time in 2006, losing 65 percent to 35 percent (with 25 percent turnout). Hoffa faced TDU candidate Sandy Pope, a local union president, in 2011. Also running, with a full slate of officer and vice presidential candidates, was former Hoffa supporter and former national vice president Fred Gegare. Hoffa again easily won re-election, earning 60 percent of the vote to Gregare's 23 percent and Pope's 17 percent. The Hoffa Unity Slate also won all five regional vice presidencies, although the slate's support declined across the board. Hoffa won reelection once more in 2016, this time against Teamsters United candidate Fred Zuckerman, but by a much narrower margin of 52 to 48 percent. The 2016 election was also the first time Hoffa-allied candidates lost regional vice presidencies to the Teamsters United reform slate. In the 2021 election, Hoffa did not run for re-election. The Teamsters United slate, aligned with Teamsters for a Democratic Union, ran against the Teamsters Power Slate, endorsed by Hoffa. The Teamsters United slate, led by Sean O'Brien, won the election. O'Brien and his slate were sworn into office on March 22, 2022, at Teamsters headquarters in Washington, D.C. On the day his administration was installed, O'Brien fired more than 80 employees at the headquarters. He did not offer any severance or extension of benefits to the terminated staff. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters currently faces charges with the National Labor Relations Board in connection to the terminations. As of November 10, 2022, the union was required to pay eligible terminated employees more than $175,000 as part of a settlement with the District of Columbia Attorney General's Office for violating D.C. Code 32-1303.


Political donations

The Teamsters Union is one of the largest labor unions in the world, as well as the 11th largest campaign contributor in the United States. While they supported Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush for president in the 1980s, they have begun leaning largely toward the Democrats in recent years; they have donated 92% of their $24,418,589 in contributions since 1990 to the Democratic Party. Though the union opposed former President George W. Bush's agenda to open US highways to Mexican truckers, it did previously support Bush's platform for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Teamsters Union endorsed
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
for the 2008 Democratic Nomination on February 20, 2008. The Teamsters Union also makes an annual contribution to Friends of Sinn Féin—the US fundraising arm of Irish republican party
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
."Banker with Lehman links among SF donors"
Irish Times


Organization


General president

* 1903: Cornelius Shea * 1907: Daniel J. Tobin * 1952:
Dave Beck David Daniel Beck (June 16, 1894December 26, 1993) was an American labor leader, and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1952 to 1957. He helped found the "Conference" system of organization in the Teamsters union, and s ...
* 1957: James R. Hoffa * 1971: Frank Fitzsimmons * 1981: George Mock (interim) * 1981: Roy Williams * 1983:
Jackie Presser Jackie Presser (August 6, 1926 – July 9, 1988) was an American labor leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1983 until his death in 1988. He was closely connected to organized crime, and allegedly became presiden ...
* 1988: Weldon Mathis (interim) * 1989: William J. McCarthy * 1991: Ron Carey * 1997: Tom Sever (interim) * 1998: James P. Hoffa * 2022: Sean O'Brien


Membership

* 1933: 75,000 (Depression-era low) * 1935: 146,000 * 1949: 1 million * 1957: 1.5 million * 1976: 2 million * 1987: 1 million * 2003: 1.7 million * 2008: 1.4 million * 2014: 1.2 million * 2019: 1.4 million


Divisions and conferences

* Brewery and Soft Drink Conference **formerly the
International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, Soft Drink and Distillery Workers The International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, Soft Drink and Distillery Workers was a labor union in the United States. The union merged with the Teamsters in 1973. Early history The union was founded in 1886 as the National Union o ...
* Graphic Communications Conference * Newspaper, Magazine and Electronic Media Workers Division **including some Mailers locals from the International Typographical Union *Rail Conference **
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on 8 May 1863 as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. It was the first permanent trade organization for railroad workers in the US. A year late ...
**
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) – later to become the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) – is a national union representing the workers who build and ...


Archival collections


International Brotherhood of Teamsters Labor History Research Center.
At The George Washington University.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America records.
1950–1970. 2.83 cubic feet (4 boxes). At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
Samuel B. Bassett Papers.
1926–1965. 3' linear. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Records.
1899–2004. 360 linear feet (353 storage boxes, 2 manuscript boxes, 5 oversize). At the Walter P. Reuther Library.
Jimmy Hoffa FBI Files.
1964–2002. 7 linear feet (7 storage boxes). At the Walter P. Reuther Library.


See also

* 2009–10 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act dispute *
Teamsters Canada Teamsters Canada is a Canadian trade union affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Although the Teamsters have been present in Canada since 1903, Teamsters Canada was only established in 1976. The organization represents 125,00 ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* "AFL Teamsters Begin Drastic Revamping." ''The New York Times''. January 18, 1949. * Allen, Joe, "The Package King: A Rank and File History of United Parcel Service," Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2020, . * Amber, Michelle and Bologna, Michael. "Departure of SEIU, Teamsters Creates Split Within AFL–CIO on Convention's Opening Day." ''Labor Relations Week.'' July 28, 2005. * Barrett, James R. ''Work and Community in the Jungle: Chicago's Packing-House Workers, 1894-1922.'' Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1990. * "Battle for Control of Union Is Revealed." ''The New York Times''. October 7, 1952. * "Beck Said to Top Tobin in Teamsters." ''The New York Times''. September 19, 1948. * Bernstein, Irving. ''The Lean Years: A History of the American Worker, 1920-1933.'' Paperback ed. Baltimore:
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Pathfinder Press Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ...
, 1977. * Dobbs, Farrell. ''Teamster Politics.'' New York: Pathfinder Press, 1975. * Dobbs, Farrell. ''Teamster Power.'' New York: Pathfinder Press, 1973. * Dobbs, Farrell. ''Teamster Rebellion.'' Paperback ed. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1998. * "Drivers Bolt Meeting." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' August 9, 1903. * Dubofsky, Warren and Van Tine, Warren. ''John L. Lewis: A Biography.'' Reprint ed. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1992. * "English Labor in War Described By Tobin." ''The New York Times''. September 27, 1942. * "Fight to Defeat Teamster Chief." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' July 7, 1906. * Fink, Gary M., ed. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor.'' Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1984. * Fitch, Robert. ''Solidarity for Sale.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Books Group, 2006. * Foner, Philip S. ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States. Vol. 3: The Policies and Practices of the American Federation of Labor, 1900-1909.'' Paperback ed. New York: International Publishers, 1964. * Friedman, Allen and Schwarz, Ted. ''Power and Greed: Inside the Teamsters Empire of Corruption.'' New York: Scholastic Library Publishing, 1989. * Friedman, Samuel. ''Teamster Rank and File: Power, Bureaucracy, and Rebellion at Work and in a Union.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. * Galenson, Walter. ''The CIO Challenge to the AFL: A History of the American Labor Movement.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1960. * Garnel, Donald. ''The Rise of Teamster Power in the West.'' Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1972. * "Gigantic Strike Is In Full Swing." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' April 28, 1905. * Halpern, Rick. ''Down on the Killing Floor: Black and White Workers in Chicago's Packinghouses, 1904-54.'' Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1997. * "Hickey In New Union Post." ''Associated Press.'' August 28, 1951. * "History of Great Teamsters' Strike Filled with Sensational Incidents." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' July 21, 1905. * Hulen, Bertram D. "Successors Named." ''The New York Times''. May 24, 1945. * Jacobs, James B. ''Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement.'' New York: NYU Press, 2006. * Jacobs, James B. and Cooperman, Kerry T. ''Breaking the Devil's Pact: The Battle to Free the Teamsters From the Mob.'' New York: NYU Press, 2011. * James, Ralph C. and James, Estelle Dinerstein. ''Hoffa and the Teamsters: A Study of Union Power.'' New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1965. * "Jury In Deadlock In the Shea Case." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' January 20, 1907. * "Just a Few Polite Questions." ''Time.'' March 28, 1949. * Katz, Ralph. "Teamsters' Union in Control Fight." ''The New York Times''. January 10, 1956. * Korth, Philip. ''Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934.'' East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University Press, 1995. * Kumar, Deepa; McChesney, Robert W.; and Nerone, John C., eds. ''Outside the Box: Corporate Media, Globalization, and the UPS Strike.'' Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2007. * La Botz, Dan. ''Rank and File Rebellion: Teamsters for a Democratic Union.'' San Francisco: Analytical Psychology Club of San Francisco, 1990. * "Labor's Leader Made to Dance." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' December 18, 1903. * Lissner, Will. "Tobin Bids Union End Parcel Strike." ''The New York Times''. September 19, 1946. * * "Meat Supply in Drivers' Power." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' September 2, 1904. * "Meet in Secret to End Strike." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' August 14, 1904. * "Mob of 4,000 Men Charges Police." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' August 19, 1904. * Montgomery, David. ''The Fall of the House of Labor: The Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism, 1865-1925.'' New York: University of Cambridge Press, 1987. * Neff, James. ''Mobbed up: Jackie Presser's High-Wire Life in the Teamsters, the Mafia, and the FBI.'' New York: Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 1989. * Nelson, Bruce. ''Workers on the Waterfront: Seamen, Longshoremen and Unionism in the 1930s.'' Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1988. * Phelan, Craig. ''William Green: Biography of a Labor Leader.'' Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1989. * "President Meets Joint Labor Group." ''The New York Times''. February 7, 1942. * "President Summons 'Labor War Board'." ''The New York Times''. February 5, 1942. *
Raab, Selwyn Selwyn Raab (born June 26, 1934 in New York City) is an American journalist, author and former investigative reporter for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively about the American Mafia and criminal justice issues. Early life and educ ...
. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires.'' New York: Macmillan, 2006. * Raskin, A.H. "Express Strikers Picket Airfield." ''The New York Times''. October 10, 1947. * Raskin, A.H. "Situation Is Eased." ''The New York Times''. September 13, 1946. * Raskin, A.H. "Union Leader-And Big Business Man." ''The New York Times''. November 15, 1953. * Raskin, A.H. "Union Vote Today." ''The New York Times''. September 12, 1946. * "Riots In Streets After Nightfall Involve Drivers." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' August 10, 1904. * Rodden, Robert G. ''The Fighting Machinists: A Century of Struggle.'' Washington, D.C.: Kelly Press, Inc. 1984. * Ryan, Charlotte. "It Takes A Movement to Raise an Issue: Media Lessons From the 1997 U.P.S. Strike." In ''Culture, Power, and History: Studies in Critical Sociology.'' Stephen J. Pfohl, Aimee Van Wagenen, Patricia Arend, Abigail Brooks, and Denise Leckenby, eds. Boston: Brill, 2005. * "Seceding Drivers Face Union Strife." ''The New York Times''. June 11, 1941. * "Shea Beaten By 10 Votes." ''Boston Daily Globe.'' August 10, 1907. * "Shea Chosen." ''Boston Daily Globe.'' August 9, 1903. * "Shea, Head of the Teamsters, Has Risen From A Tip-Cart Man." ''Boston Daily Globe.'' December 2, 1906. * "Shea's Scepter About to Fall?" ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' March 22, 1907. * Sloane, Arthur A. ''Hoffa.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1991. * Stark, Louis. "Dictatorship Issue Stirs Teamsters." ''The New York Times''. September 14, 1940. * Stark, Louis. "Successor Sought for Miss Perkins." ''The New York Times''. December 11, 1944. * Stark, Louis. "White House Link to Conciliate A.F.L." ''The New York Times''. June 11, 1940. * "Strike Spreads." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' July 27, 1904. * "Strike Spreads Among Drivers." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' August 9, 1904. * Taft, Philip. ''The A.F. of L. in the Time of Gompers.'' Hardback reprint. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957. * Taft, Philip. ''The A.F. of L. From the Death of Gompers to the Merger.'' Hardback reprint ed. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959. * "Teamster Chiefs Defeat Opposition." ''The New York Times''. October 16, 1952. * "Teamsters Are For War." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' November 23, 1903. * "Teamsters Elect Beck As President." ''Associated Press.'' October 18, 1952. * "Teamsters Order 2d Ouster in Jersey." ''Associated Press.'' March 12, 1941. * "Teamsters Re-Elect Shea." ''The New York Times''. August 13, 1905. * "Teamsters Re-Elect Shea." ''The New York Times''. August 10, 1906. * "Teamsters Split Over Contracts." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' November 25, 1903. * "3 Breweries Face Seizure In Strike." ''The New York Times''. January 14, 1945. * Tilman, Rick. "John R. Commons, the New Deal and the American Tradition of Empirical Collectivism." ''Journal of Economic Issues.'' September 2008. * Tillman, Ray M. "Reform Movement in the Teamsters and United Auto Workers." In ''The Transformation of U.S. Unions: Voices, Visions, and Strategies from the Grassroots.'' Ray M. Tillman and Michael S. Cummings, eds. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999. * "To Test Union Sympathy." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' April 6, 1905. * "Tobin Bids Public Insist Work Go On." ''The New York Times''. June 7, 1943. * "Tobin Demands Unions Punish Strikers." ''The New York Times''. March 6, 1943. * "Tobin Endorsed for Labor Post." ''The New York Times''. January 18, 1945. * "Tobin Opposes Law On Labor Disputes." ''The New York Times''. January 19, 1947. * "Tobin Signs Affidavit." ''The New York Times''. September 16, 1947. * "Tobin Tells Union to Ignore Pickets." ''Associated Press.'' May 31, 1945. * "Tobin, to Aid Flynn, Quits White House." ''The New York Times''. August 27, 1940. * "Truck Tie-Up Halts Freight in South." ''Associated Press.'' October 11, 1943. * "Tobin Warns Union On Wage Demands." ''The New York Times''. June 4, 1948. * "Union Editor Is Ousted." ''Associated Press.'' September 3, 1948. * "Union Head Scores Express Walkout." ''The New York Times''. October 13, 1947. * "WLB Demands End of Trucking Strike." ''The New York Times''. August 25, 1942. * Witwer, David. ''Corruption and Reform in the Teamsters Union.'' Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 2003. * Witwer, David. "Unionized Teamsters and the Struggle over the Streets of the Early-Twentieth-Century City." ''Social Science History.'' 24:1 (Spring 2000). * "Women Betray Labor Leaders." ''Chicago Daily Tribune.'' June 12, 1905.


External links

*
TeamsterNet - 10 Years of Teamsters Forums

Roaddrivers.org



Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen

Official site of the Independent Review Board


* ttp://depts.washington.edu/labhist/laborpress/Washington_Teamster.shtml The Washington Teamster (1940-1943), from
the Labor Press Project The Labor Press Project: Pacific Northwest Labor and Radical Newspapers is a multimedia website housing thousands of digitized articles and editions from the late 19th century to the present. Newspapers and newsletters from unions, early sociali ...

1934 Minneapolis Strike
Reprinted from ''Revolutionary History,'' Vol.2 No.1, Spring 1989. Marxist Internet Archive. Retrieved April 3, 2004.



* ttp://www.tdu.org/view/history TDU history {{Authority control Canadian Labour Congress Change to Win Federation Organizations based in Washington, D.C. Trade unions established in 1903 Road transport trade unions Trade unions in the United States Road haulage 1903 establishments in the United States