Teamsters

by Steven Brill

A GRIPPING CHRONICLE OF THE ARMY THAT KEEPS AMERICA MOVING - OR CAN STOP IT OVERNIGHT! They control the lion's share of American wealth. They are on of the largest private sources of real estate investment capital in the world. Their very name stirs whispers of corruption, racketeering, pension fraud, political manipulation - and fanatic loyalty from most of the 2.3 members in - and out- of the driver's seat. Steven Brill probes deep into the heart and gut of the nation . . . into the Hoffa murder . . . the Nixon-Fitzsimmons-Watergate connection . . . the pension fund that became the underworld's bank with interest-free, nonrepayable "loans" . . . . the violent, ironic history . . . and the lives of its leaders and rank-and-file. THE TEAMSTERS

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime

436 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 19, 1978

Reviews

[David Mcclure · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some forgotten reason, I asked for 'The Teamsters' as a teenage Christmas present in 1977-78.
I think I read a review in Newsweek or something. Brill's work blew me away, the detail, the respect for the workers, his understanding of the cynicism and fearful criminality of the union leaders.

My fascination was probably intensified by my NJ roots, growing up with "Grow and grow with Tony Pro" propaganda stapled to telephone poles, but the deep dive I took into Teamster culture still affects me 40 years later.

It doesn't hurt that Brill was so spot on--he predicted the triumph (temporary, it turns out) of Jackie Presser and the murder of Allen Dorfman 5 years ahead of time. I really wish Brill had updated this over the years.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after I started working for Brill. Whenever he made me want to quit or kill him (which was often), I could remember at least that I deeply admired his reporting and writing in this book. A brave expose of vast corruption. He kept his eye on what mattered: how it hurt the rank and file.

[David Allen Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book was written in 1978, it is still a very worthwhile read about an important chapter in American history. The book traces the history of America's once largest, most powerful and wealthiest labor union, the Teamsters, from inception through the late 1970s, focusing on the period in the mid 1960s and 1970s after its once powerful and famous president, Jimmy Hoffa, was convicted and imprisoned and lost power in the union and organized crime moved in to asset power.

The Teamsters dated back to the early 1900s, but began to become politically powerful in the 1950s under President Dave Beck. Then populist Jimma Hoffa raged to control and power. Hoffa grew the union by leaps and bounds, and made deals with the devil of organized crime though at the time despite those interactions it seemed organized crime did not control the union. Famously, Hoffa battled with John and Robert Kennedy, who used congressional hearings into the conduct of the union to propel themselves to fame, with John Kennedy ending up as President and Robert as United States Attorney General and later Senator after the presidential assassination. Robert Kennedy wrote a famous book called The Enemy Within about his battles against organized crime. Eventually the government got the upper hand and Hoffa was convicted and imprisoned. While in jail he secured the election of Frank Fitzsimmons as Teamsters president, who he thought he could control from jail, and that is when the problems started. Fitzsimmons was dutiful to Hoffa, at least at the beginning, but soon was manipulated by organized crime.

Organized crime eyed the incredibly large Teamsters pension funds especially a large one called the Central States fund, and moved in. A lesser known but very powerful mafia don from northeastern Pennsylvania named Russell Bufalino played a major role. Interestingly, Mr. Bufalino long lived in Kingston, Pennsylvania, my hometown, in fact just a few blocks away from my own home. The book details how the Teamsters pension funds were manipulated by the mafia to make huge investments in real estate and loans at low interest rates at a time of sky high national interest rates, including loans to develop casinos in Las Vegas.

In 1972 President Richard Nixon sought union support for his reelection bid, and as part of it, agreed to commute Jimmy Hoffa's prison sentence but wisely included a provision that Hoffa could not regain the Teamsters presidency until Nixon would be out of office. Hoffa went crazy when he found out about this and upon his release began to challenge the legality of the provision and reseek the Teamsters presidency. When it looked like he was making progress, he then abrubtly disappeared in 1975 and to this day his remains have never been found. While there are many theories of what became of Hoffa, this book presents convincing evidence that Russel Buffalino had him killed and his body disposed of, to futher harm his family as without a body it would take 7 years for Hoffa to be declared dead and his family be able to collect on insurance. Most people here in northeast Pennsylvania believe it was Buffalino also. Eventually the government would get Mr. Buffalino convicted and imprisoned also and he would spend his final years in prison and then a nursing home.

The book also details several other major players in the Teamsters union during this time period, and provides profuse detail that backs up the claims made in the book. In the years since 1978 very little has emerged to change any of the conclusions or evidence presented in this book. The one area this book has not aged well in is the discussion of the lucrative salaries the Teamsters leaders gave themselves during this time; I am sure to spark outrage at the time (1978) a quoted salary of $100k might have seemed outrageous but to todays reader it might seem totally reasonable.

If you want to learn of the interplay of organzied crime and the Teamsters union in the 1970s this book remains the masterful depiction and is still a good and worthwhile read.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this after watching "The Irishman", and reading the book, and reading Jack Goldsmith's "In Hoffa's Shadow..." and watching HBO's "Teamster Boss, The Jackie Presser Story". I think I'm about done thinking about the Teamsters. But this is a good book, although it was written before the deaths of Allen Dorfman abd Jackie Presser.

[Night of the Big Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent information for those interested in deep politics. The Teamsters by Steven Brill is a great addition to Dan Moldea’s The Hoffa Wars.

[Losososdiane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. I read about two-thirds of it. I found it scary and depressing. The honest leaders of Teamsters locals could never rise up to the lead the whole union. Hoffa, etc., including those who probably killed him hijacked the union movement and helped turn Americans against unions. Who can represent the common citizen? Government, that thing that Lincoln described as being of, by and for the people, is under such heavy attack today that I fear our lives will be completely dominated by corporations. Depressing.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on the (mostly) unseemely members of the Teamsters, mostly after Hoffa's death. It was fun reading about places around NJ where I grew up that were run by the mob. Overall, this is a sad story because of the poor workers taken advantage of by Hoffa and organized crime. Brill only alludes to the future problems for workers of having their pension fund used as a mob bank.

[Frank Palardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were several books about the Teamsters. They all tend to get sidetracked. This one might be the most straightforward.

[Chai]

What a tangled web we weave... Don't get mixed up with the mob... rank and file democracy, now!