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Teamsters Reform: a New Unionism? L~Abor by Jeremy Brecher Today

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Teamsters Reform: a New Unionism? L~Abor by Jeremy Brecher Today TEAMSTERS REFORM: A NEW UNIONISM? L~ABOR BY JEREMY BRECHER TODAY N NOVEMBER 1991, Mafia is still in charge, let me be clear. unions have been decimated, losing the 1.6 million mem­ The party's over." members, clout, and long-established bers of the Interna­ While the Teamster's situation is conditions. In the past 20 years, union tional Brotherhood unique, it may be symptomatic of a membership has fallen from nearly 30 of Teamsters each re­ new wave of union reform efforts. The percent to barely 16 percent of the ceived a secret. tam- UAW's New Directions group is plan­ United States workforce . ._____ __. per-proof mail ballot ning to run well-known dissident Jerry Turning the Teamsters into a clean, A month later, guarded by 28 black­ Tucker for union president at the head well-run organization is itself an shirted security guards, machines of a ticket pledged to establish one­ awesome challenge. But it will not be counted the returned ballots in the first member one-vote direct election of of­ enough to reverse the union's plunging one-member one-vote election in the ficers in the UAW-a challenge which membership (down 750,000) or the union's 88-year history. may receive strong impetus from the declining wages and deteriorating To the astonishment of most ob­ debacle at General Motors. According working conditions of its members. For servers, the reform slate of Ron Carey, to Susan Jennik, executive director of today's unions are as poorly adapted to a former UPS driver and local union the Association for Union Democracy, a radically-changed economy and president from Queens, New York, took "The Teamsters is an indication of a society as were the craft unions of pud­ all of the top 16 positions in the inter­ trend. There are more contested elec­ dlers and tinsmiths in the mass produc­ national union. Carey's first announ­ tions at the national level than I have tion industries of 50 years ago. Today's cement as president-elect was that he ever seen." union reformers will only succeed if would cut the president's salary from These reform effons occur as the they can help spark the creation of a $225,000 to $175,000 and then "get the labor movement is taking a devastating new unionism at least as different from bums out." "To those who think the beating. Even the best-run, least-corrupt today's as the CIO was from the ' WOOOHA VEN, MIOUOAN-flM WE.ST, IMPACT VISUALS 60 Z MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 1992 AFL-and if they can help tum today's growing social discontent into a move­ ment as dynamic as the rise of the CIO. Taking The Union Back HE TEAMSTERS BEGAN as a craft union of drivers, but today repre­ Tsents factory workers, health<are workers, police officers, firefighters and other municipal workers, flight atten­ dants. pilots. and delivery, warehouse, shipping, and cleaning workers. At least since the 1950s, the union has been a unique symbol of corruption, marked by domination by organized crime, vast salaries and perks for union officials, nepotism, sweetheart contracts with employers, and the use of every tactic from manipulation to murder to prevent rank-and-file challenges to leaders' power. Three of the union's last five presidents went to jail on charges rang­ ficers. and 138 leaders charged with Carey's petition drives netted more ing from tampering with union pension corruption were removed from office. funds to bribery of public officials. In than 100,000 Teamster signatures, Soon after the consent decree, Ron qualifying him under the consent 1990, 154 Teamster officials made over Carey announced that he would run for decree for space in the Teamster $100,000 a year-not counting "expen­ president of the union. Carey is like a magazine. His oft-repeated message ses" or illegal payments. Hollywood version of a rank-and-file was "This is the year that we can take In 1975, a small insurgent grouping union reform hero. His father drove a our union back." within the union, the Teamsters for a truck for UPS for 40 years and believed Carey 's support was best in his own Democratic Union (TDU), organized strongly in the labor movement. After a UPS jurisdiction and among carhaulers, for the daunting task of trying to stint in the marines, Carey followed his the South, and other areas where the reform the Teamsters. An awesomely father into UPS. Carey became a shop TDU is strong. He drew crowds of dedicated band, the TDU worked tire­ steward, took labor relations courses, 1,000 in Memphis and 500 in Nashville lessly turning out leaflets and news­ and in 1967 won an election for presi­ in October, while his principal op­ papers, running local election cam­ dent of his 6,800-member local. ponent, R. V. Durham, drew 34 in Den­ paigns. and challenging official policies Carey led several strikes which ver and l 00 in Des Moines. and bargaining agreements. Today the helped double wages and won workers The Durham slate had the bucks, TDU has 10,000 members and drew the right to retire after 25 years. He was raising $475,000 from April through 550 delegates to its 1990 convention. known for visiting the "barns" daily. September 1. Twenty-three current or While enrolling fewer than I percent of He banned nepotism in the local and former members of the Durham slate Teamsters, the TDU has considerably took a voluntary salary cut when union contributed an average of nearly sympathy; in a poll of rank-and-file funds were low. His local kept at arms­ $12,000 each. They had good reason to Teamsters released in May, 1991, TDU length from the International, but was be so generous: according to a report received a "favorable" rating from one­ known for the support it gave other by a TDU affiliate, 15 of Durham's third of those polled and an "un­ Teamster locals on strike. It would be slate members earned over $100,000 in favorable" from eight percent-a far difficult to find a trade union official 1990. Carey's slate raised $173,000, better rating than any of the union's with a stronger reputation for integrity more than half of it in small contribu­ presidential candidates at that time. and commitment to his own rank and tions from members of his home local. In 1988, the Justice Dcparunent filed file. Not one member of the Carey slate a RICO anti-racketeering suit against Carey spent almost two years cam­ received a $100,000 salary. the Teamsters, and a Federal court ap­ paigning, travelling the country in a The 1991 Teamsters convention pointed an administrative panel to over­ beat-up station wagon and staying in provided the first big testing-ground for see the union. In 1989 the Teamsters members' homes and budget motels. He union politics under the consent decree. leadership-fearing criminal prosecu­ was not a member of the TDU, but he Reformers ran candidates in a quarter tions-agreed to a consent decree worked closely with them. The TDU of the union's 638 locals and elected at which mandated radical changes in the kept a low profile in the campaign but least one delegate in about half of union's constitution, policies, and per­ provided Carey's major organizational them. Where reformers had elected sonnel. Members were guaranteed a support. Carey included two TDU only 24 delegates in 1986, they elected one-person one-vote election for con­ vention delegates and the 18 top of- leaders on his ticket. 300 in 1991. 61 Z MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 1992 1991 leAMSlEIS CONVEJlmON. OIU.ANDO-JIM WEST, IMPACT VISUALS Much of the reformers' platform was to power in any kind of mass up­ large-scale purge of the ineffective and approved, including the right to vote surge-only one member in eight voted corrupt? Should they sponsor opposi­ for all international officers, majority for Carey. It was Federal intervention tion slates in the major locals? Or rule on contracts and contract supple­ and the crumbling of the old Teamster should they allow those proclaiming ments, and a four-fold increase in strike leadership under legal assault-a ver­ loyalty to remain in office? benefits. Nonetheless, the Convention sion of reform from above-that made An important lesson here comes remained dominated by the union of­ their victory possible. from the history of Miners for ficialdom: it refused to pass meaningful The first problem the new reform Democracy, an insurgent movement in limits on staff salaries and gave Carey leaders face as they start their five-year the United Mine Workers which, with only 15 percent of the votes compared terms is to take over the reins of power the aid of a Federally-supervised elec­ to 83 percent for the two establishment in the face of hostile officials at local, tion, threw out a corrupt and murderous candidates. regional, sectoral, and national levels­ union machine in 1972 and elected Ar­ The results in the rank-and-file elec­ a "nomenklatura" who opposed Carey's nold Miller, a highly-respected rank­ tion were very different Carey won 48 election and whose livelihood and way and-file leader (himself a victim of percent of the vote-ample to beat the of life are threatened by his success. black lung disease) as union president two old-guard candidates. His slate These officials are lilcely to follow a After the election, many MFD leaders took all 16 General Executive Board dual strategy.
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