Corruption and Reform in the Teamsters Union

The Working Class in American History

by David Witwer

Almost since its creation, recurring problems with corruption bedeviled the Teamsters Union. David Witwer provides the first in-depth historical study of the forces that contributed to the Teamsters' troubled past and the mechanisms the union employed--from top-down directives to grassroots measures--to combat corruption.  Witwer draws on the perspectives of rank-and-file members, union leaders, and the criminal element to explain the processes that allowed organized crime to seize power inside the union. His account includes the infamous links between the Mafia and union head Jimmy Hoffa, but he also tells the little-known story of the McClellan Committee investigation that first brought those links to light. Witwer also examines how anti-labor forces used the Teamsters' unsavory reputation to influence popular and legislative opinion in a broad attack on workers' rights.

Genres: Labor, History

298 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2003

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent work on a topic usually treated with a far more sensational and usually staunchly anti labor lens. Witwer takes a thorough approach to examining the real corruption that has existed in the Teamsters over their life but also the way this corruption was framed by business funded politicians to attack the very idea of labor unionism. He never shies away from or excuses the real crimes that were committed by people like Jimmy Hoffa, but he effectively dismantles the lie that it's unionism itself that trends towards corruption. This work also exposes how charges of union "corruption" were often leveled at the Teamsters simply for having the power to win their members a better contract. Also takes a great look at the tactics that reformers within the union have tried over the years, which have worked, and which haven't. A great book, exactly what I was looking for.