Corruption and Reform in the Teamsters Union

Corruption and Reform in the Teamsters Union

Author: David Scott Witwer

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780252028250

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Almost since its creation at the close of the nineteenth century, the Teamsters Union has had recurring problems with corruption. This book is the first in-depth historical study of the forces that have contributed to the Teamsters' troubled past, as well as the various mechanisms the union has employed -- from top-down directives to grass-roots measures -- to combat the spread of corruption. Arguing that the Teamsters Union was by its very nature especially vulnerable to certain forms of corruption, David Witwer charts the process by which organized crime came to play a significant role in sectors of the union, from low-level involvements of the 1930s to suspicions of mob ties among the union's upper echelons beginning in the 1950s. Witwer includes a detailed account of the links forged between the mafia and union head Jimmy Hoffa as well as the highly revealing McLellan Committee investigation that first brought these links to light.David Witwer is a former employee of the New York County District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office. Drawing on hundreds of hours of tapes of activities and conversations in the offices of corrupt union officials, he brings his experience and insight to bear on the union's history, considering the subject from a range of perspectives that include the rank and file, the Teamster leadership, and the criminal element. He also examines the persistent efforts of labor opponents to capitalize on the union's unsavory reputation, fanning the flames of "crises of corruption" in order to influence popular and legislative opinion.


Teamster Rebellion

Teamster Rebellion

Author: Farrell Dobbs

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

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"This is the story of the strikes and union organizing drive the men and women of Teamsters Local 574 carried out in Minnesota in 1934, paving the way for the continent-wide rise of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) as a fighting social movement. Through hard-fought strike actions, which were in fact organized battles, they made Minneapolis a union town, defeating not only the trucking bosses but strikebreaking efforts of the big-business Citizens Alliance and city, state, and federal governments. They showed in life what workers and their allies on the farms and in the cities can achieve when they're able to count on the leadership they deserve."--BOOK JACKET.


Power and Greed

Power and Greed

Author: Allen Friedman

Publisher: Franklin Watts

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780531151051

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Presser reveals the sensational details behind the Teamsters' 30-year dominance of American labor. It is a shocking story of violence, corruption, and greed--a story that could have taken place only with the cooperation of legitimate authorities at the highest levels of government.


Revolutionary Teamsters

Revolutionary Teamsters

Author: Bryan D. Palmer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2013-08-22

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 9004254862

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Minneapolis in the early 1930s was anything but a union stronghold. An employers' association known as the Citizens' Alliance kept labour organisations in check, at the same time as it cultivated opposition to radicalism in all forms. This all changed in 1934. The year saw three strikes, violent picket-line confrontations, and tens of thousands of workers protesting in the streets. Bryan D. Palmer tells the riveting story of how a handful of revolutionary Trotskyists, working in the largely non-union trucking sector, led the drive to organise the unorganised, to build one large industrial union. What emerges is a compelling narrative of class struggle, a reminder of what can be accomplished, even in the worst of circumstances, with a principled and far-seeing leadership.


I Am a Teamster

I Am a Teamster

Author: Terry Spencer Hesser

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781893121355

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"Imagine an environment dominated by men unconsciously comfortable with sexism, racism, and brute force. Further imagine a young working-class woman courageously embracing the principle of justice for all workers and compelled to navigate a terrain dominated by complex, flawed, sometimes deeply compromised and always powerful men. Such elements are typically the ingredients of wonderful fiction, but in Terry Spencer Hesser's colorful and personal portrait of labor leader Regina V. Polk, we have a truly inspirational story for anyone who believes in fighting against the power of patriarchy and abusive employers. 'I am a Teamster' is how Regina Polk defined herself and in the accounts of her tragically brief life, as told by Ms. Hesser, the reader finds an exemplary model of what the very best of union leaders can offer workers and society." --Robert Bruno, Director of Labor Education Program, University of Illinois A Whole-Hearted Life On Valentine's Day, 1950, a beautiful and determined child was born with a birthmark between her eyebrows in the shape of half a heart. She spent the rest of her life living fully, caring deeply for those around her, and advocating for the things she believed in, particularly the dignity of all work and all workers. She recognized early the growing service and clerical sectors of the economy and the need to unionize this overlooked group of low-paid employees. An utterly compassionate and confident woman, she sparkled with excitement and mystery. Her intelligence and passion were formidable. She lived easily in a world of comfort and high culture as well as that of the streets, the workplace, and the tough, male-dominated union halls. Regina V. Polk was a Teamster. A warrior. A champion. A humanitarian. And the most remarkable American labor leader you haven't heard of until now.


"I Heard You Paint Houses"

Author: Charles Brandt

Publisher: Steerforth

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1586421557

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"I Heard You Paint Houses" will soon be a major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese. The working title for the movie is "The Irishman". The first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran were, "I heard you paint houses." To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than twenty-five hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa. Sheeran learned to kill in the U.S. Army, where he saw an astonishing 411 days of active combat duty in Italy during World War II. After returning home he became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino. Eventually he would rise to a position of such prominence that in a RICO suit then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani would name him as one of only two non-Italians on a list of 26 top mob figures. When Bufalino ordered Sheeran to kill Hoffa, he did the deed, knowing that if he had refused he would have been killed himself. Sheeran's important and fascinating story includes new information on other famous murders including those of Joey Gallo and JFK, and provides rare insight to a chapter in American history. Charles Brandt has written a page-turner that has become a true crime classic.


Teamster Rebellion

Teamster Rebellion

Author: Farrell Dobbs

Publisher:

Published: 1972

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 9780913460023

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"This is the story of the strikes and union organizing drive the men and women of Teamsters Local 574 carried out in Minnesota in 1934, paving the way for the continent-wide rise of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) as a fighting social movement. Through hard-fought strike actions, which were in fact organized battles, they made Minneapolis a union town, defeating not only the trucking bosses but strikebreaking efforts of the big-business Citizens Alliance and city, state, and federal governments. They showed in life what workers and their allies on the farms and in the cities can achieve when they're able to count on the leadership they deserve."--BOOK JACKET.


Vendetta

Vendetta

Author: James Neff

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2015-07-07

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 0316251119

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One of America's greatest investigative reporters brings to life the gripping, no-holds-barred clash of two American titans: Robert Kennedy and his nemesis Jimmy Hoffa. From 1957 to 1964, Robert Kennedy and Jimmy Hoffa channeled nearly all of their considerable powers into destroying each other. Kennedy's battle with Hoffa burst into the public consciousness with the 1957 Senate Rackets Committee hearings and intensified when his brother named him attorney general in 1961. RFK put together a "Get Hoffa" squad within the Justice Department, devoted to destroying one man. But Hoffa, with nearly unlimited Teamster funds, was not about to roll over. Drawing upon a treasure trove of previously secret and undisclosed documents, James Neff has crafted a brilliant, heart-pounding epic of crime and punishment, a saga of venom and relentlessness and two men willing to do anything to demolish each other.


Fighting for Total Person Unionism

Fighting for Total Person Unionism

Author: Robert Bussel

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2015-09-30

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0252097602

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During the 1950s and 1960s, labor leaders Harold Gibbons and Ernest Calloway championed a new kind of labor movement that regarded workers as "total persons" interested in both workplace affairs and the exercise of effective citizenship in their communities. Working through Teamsters Local 688 and viewing the city of St. Louis as their laboratory, this remarkable interracial duo forged a dynamic political alliance that placed their "citizen members" on the front lines of epic battles for urban revitalization, improved public services, and the advancement of racial and economic justice. Parallel to their political partnership, Gibbons functioned as a top Teamsters Union leader and Calloway as an influential figure in St. Louis's civil rights movement. Their pioneering efforts not only altered St. Louis's social and political landscape but also raised fundamental questions about the fate of the post-industrial city, the meaning of citizenship, and the role of unions in shaping American democracy.