The Teamsters

by Steven Brill

Teamsters, The by Brill, Steven

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime

414 pages, Hardcover

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.

[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!