The Teamsters Union

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, after more than 100 years of union activity in the United States, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (also known as the Teamsters or Teamsters Union) leadership has harmed both labor relations and the union itself. The author points out that, from 1979 to 1984, a Teamster's official was indicted by federal authorities every eight days, 225 indictments for misdeeds ranging from racketeering to arson to aggravated assault to extortion, bribery, and pension fund embezzlement. The paper relates that, while the Teamsters are taken to task for flouting the law in ways that almost always cause harm to members, such as the continuing pension debacle, and while the leadership serves itself extremely well with salaries and perks, it continues to serve its members badly.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Worst of a Bad Lot
The Branch Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree
What Would Have Changed?
Even Better Full-Time Jobs for Leaders
What's Good for the Goose?
A Brief Glimpse of Camelot
Finest Hour

From the Paper:

"In fact, the federal government finally placed the Central States Pension Fund (also known as the mafia bank) in trusteeship because of the Teamsters' leadership spending million in funds supposedly for retirement benefits on Mafia-related loans to Las Vegas casinos. While it is, Waldman admits, likely the Teamsters membership had higher wages, and thus made higher pension contributions, than they would have without the union, the sting of losing a great deal of their expected retirement income was another example of the poor "labor relations" conduct of the leadership."

More papers on The Teamsters Union:

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