International Brotherhood of Teamsters facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Abbreviation	IBT
Formation	1903 (1903)
Merger of	Team Drivers International Union Teamsters National Union
Type	Trade union
Headquarters	Washington, DC, US
Location	Canada United States
Membership (2015)	1.3 million
President	Sean O'Brien
Secretary-treasurer	Fred Zuckerman
Affiliations	IndustriALL Global Union International Transport Workers' Federation North America's Building Trades Unions
Formerly called	International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a big union in the United States and Canada. It started in 1903 when two smaller unions, the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, joined together. Today, the Teamsters union has many different kinds of members. These include both blue-collar (like truck drivers) and white-collar (like office workers) members. They work in both government jobs and private companies. In 2015, the union had about 1.3 million members. Its older name was the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America.

History of the Teamsters Union

How the Teamsters Started

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) helped create local unions for teamsters (people who drove horse-drawn wagons) starting in 1887. In 1898, the AFL formed the Team Drivers' International Union (TDIU). Then, in 1901, some teamsters in Chicago left the TDIU. They started their own group called the Teamsters National Union. This new union only allowed employees, helpers, and small business owners to join. They pushed for better pay and shorter work hours.

In 1903, the AFL asked the TDIU and the Teamsters National Union to combine. They did, and that's how the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) was formed. Cornelius Shea became the union's first president. His election was a bit rough, but he won.

Cornelius Shea, the first General President of the Teamsters, around 1905

Back then, the union was set up so that local groups had a lot of power. They mostly looked after their own areas. Teamsters were very important because if they went on strike, goods couldn't move around a city. This gave their leaders a lot of influence.

The union faced several big strikes in its early years. In 1903, Chicago railway teamsters went on strike. In 1904, a strike to support meat cutters in Chicago led to some trouble. Even with these challenges, the union grew. By 1904, it had nearly 50,000 members in many cities. This made the Teamsters one of the biggest unions in the United States.

In 1905, 10,000 teamsters went on strike to support tailors. Eventually, more than 25,000 teamsters joined the picket lines. After some issues, the strike ended. Shea was re-elected president a few times, but he faced challenges. In 1907, Daniel J. Tobin was elected to take his place.

Growing Strong During the Great Depression

Daniel J. Tobin was president of the Teamsters for a very long time, from 1907 to 1952. Under his leadership, the Teamsters union grew a lot and became more organized. He encouraged local unions to join "joint councils." These councils helped leaders grow and negotiate big agreements that covered many employers. Tobin also started the union's magazine, the International Teamster.

The union also grew by adding many new members in the 1930s. In 1932, the Teamsters had about 82,000 members. But by 1935, membership jumped to 135,000. By 1941, it had reached 530,000 members. This made the Teamsters the fastest-growing union in the U.S.

A big event happened in 1934 in Minneapolis. A group of union members there, led by Farrell Dobbs, helped organize coal truck drivers. They went on strike in 1934, which led to some riots. Even though the local union won a good contract, Tobin, who didn't like communists, tried to remove them from the Teamsters. But members were upset, so he had to let them back in. This group then helped organize 250,000 truckers in the Midwest.

On the West Coast, Dave Beck helped organize many new members. He formed the Western Conference of Teamsters. This group worked hard to bring in new members and became very strong.

World War II and After

By the start of World War II, the Teamsters was one of the most powerful unions in the country. Its leaders had a lot of influence. Membership grew from 1935 to 1941 to 530,000. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even asked Tobin to be his contact person for unions. In 1944, Roosevelt gave his famous "Fala speech" at a Teamster convention.

During World War II, the Teamsters agreed not to strike to help the war effort. Tobin even told members to cross picket lines of other unions. After the war, the Teamsters did not join the big wave of strikes that happened.

Union leaders strongly opposed the Taft–Hartley Act, a law they felt hurt unions.

After the war, the union's membership grew even more, reaching over one million by 1949. Regional leaders like Dave Beck became very powerful. In 1952, Tobin stepped down, and Beck was elected General President.

The Time of Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa became a very important leader for the Teamsters. In 1964, he managed to unite all freight drivers under one big contract called the National Master Freight Agreement. This agreement helped the union win much better pay and benefits for its members. Many people remember this time as a "golden age" for Teamster drivers. Hoffa also made the union's power more centralized at the national level.

Hoffa was a strong leader. He was later sent to prison in 1967. While he was in prison, he put Frank Fitzsimmons in charge. But Fitzsimmons started to like being in power. President Richard Nixon later pardoned Hoffa, but with a condition that he couldn't be a union leader again until 1980. Hoffa tried to fight this rule and planned to run for president of the union again. However, he disappeared in 1975 under mysterious circumstances. People believe he is dead, but his body has never been found.

Changes and Challenges

After Jimmy Hoffa, Frank Fitzsimmons became the General President. Under him, power in the Teamsters went back to local and regional leaders. This made it harder for the union to make quick decisions. Fitzsimmons also moved the union's political views more to the left. He supported things like health care for everyone and ending the Vietnam War.

A big disagreement happened with the United Farm Workers (UFW) union from 1970 to 1977. Both unions wanted to represent farm workers. The Teamsters ended up signing contracts with many California growers. The fighting between the unions was sometimes difficult. In 1977, the two unions finally reached an agreement about which workers each would represent.

In 1979, a new law changed how the freight industry worked. This law, called deregulation, meant that companies could set their own prices and rules more easily. This made it harder for unionized companies to compete with non-union ones. Many unionized trucking companies went out of business, and many Teamster members lost their jobs. The remaining union companies asked for lower wages and changes to work rules.

Jackie Presser became General President in 1983. He wanted to agree to lower wages for freight workers. But a group called Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) fought against this. They launched a big campaign and managed to stop the wage cuts.

By the end of the 1990s, the big national freight agreement covered far fewer drivers than it used to.

Making the Union Fairer

Problems in the freight industry and unhappiness among members at United Parcel Service led to new groups forming in the 1980s. These groups, like the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), wanted to make the union more democratic.

TDU pushed for changes, and eventually, the union agreed to let members directly elect their international officers. Before this, officers were chosen by delegates at a convention. This change was a big win for TDU.

The government also set up an Independent Review Board (IRB). This board was created to investigate and act on any claims of corruption or outside influence in the union. It helped make sure the union was run fairly.

Recent Times

A Teamsters gathering at the YearlyKos 2007 convention

In 1991, Ron Carey won a surprising victory in the first direct election for General President. He defeated two other candidates. Carey's team, supported by TDU, also won most of the seats on the union's main board.

Carey became quite influential within the AFL–CIO, a larger group of unions. He also changed the Teamsters' political support to the Democratic Party, which was different from past leaders who had supported the Republican Party. His administration worked hard to make the union stronger. They negotiated important agreements and supported local strikes.

However, Carey didn't have as much power over the local and regional parts of the union. Many of these were run by older leaders. These disagreements led to a fight over a proposed increase in union dues. Carey's team responded by getting rid of the big regional groups, saying they were too expensive.

The opposition united around James P. Hoffa, the son of the former president, to run against Carey in 1996. Hoffa ran a strong campaign, using his father's famous name. Carey seemed to have won the election.

Soon after, in 1997, the union had a big and successful strike against UPS. The parcel delivery part of the union had become its largest section.

Carey was later removed from his leadership role by the IRB. This happened because of issues with how his campaign was funded. He was later found not guilty of lying to investigators.

In the 1998 election, James P. Hoffa was easily elected president. He became president on March 19, 1999. He led the union in a more middle-of-the-road direction. He changed the union's strong support for Democrats and tried to work with powerful Republicans.

In recent years, the Teamsters union has joined with other unions from different industries. These include a printing industry union and two railway unions.

On July 25, 2005, the Teamsters left the AFL–CIO. They became a founding member of a new group of unions called the Change to Win Federation.

In 2009, UPS, where many Teamsters work, tried to change a law about how UPS and FedEx compete. FedEx then started a big online ad campaign against UPS and the Teamsters.

In the 2021 election, James P. Hoffa did not run again. A group called Teamsters United, led by Sean O'Brien, won the election. O'Brien and his team took office on March 22, 2022. On that day, O'Brien made some changes at the union's headquarters, including changing many staff members.

How the Teamsters Union Works Inside

Before the 1970s, there weren't many lasting groups within the Teamsters Union that challenged the leaders. People who wanted to be leaders usually ran based on their own popularity. It was rare for someone to win against the established leaders.

This started to change in the 1970s. A national strike challenged President Frank Fitzsimmons' control, but it didn't succeed. After the strike, a reform group called "Teamsters United Rank and File" (TURF) formed. But this group didn't last long. In 1975, two new groups formed: Teamsters for a Decent Contract (TDC) and UPSurge. Both groups wanted better contracts for workers at UPS and freight companies.

In 1976, a new official group, Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), was formed when TDC and UPSurge joined. TDU's main goal was to make the Teamsters Union more open and democratic. They wanted regular members to have more say in their contracts.

In the 1980s, TDU started winning some local elections. A big moment for TDU happened in 1983. They managed to make President Jackie Presser change a national freight agreement that would have cut wages. TDU told everyone about how the national union made decisions, saying it wasn't very open. They also shared information about contracts and salaries that was critical of the leaders.

These criticisms led to another success for TDU. Many of their ideas were included in a 1988 court agreement. This agreement meant the government would oversee the Teamsters to ensure fairness. This agreement also required that union members directly elect their international officers.

TDU strongly supported Ron Carey for president in 1991. Carey adopted many of TDU's ideas for making the union better. Carey won the election with 48.5 percent of the vote. His election was seen as a success for TDU, even though he wasn't officially a TDU candidate.

Carey won re-election in 1996, beating James P. Hoffa. Before the race, Hoffa formed his own group called the "Hoffa Unity Slate" to go against TDU and Carey. Carey was later removed as president by government officials. In a new election in 1998, Hoffa and his Unity Slate easily won.

Hoffa was re-elected in 2001, 2006, and 2011. In 2016, he won again, but by a much smaller amount, against Fred Zuckerman. The 2016 election was also the first time that candidates supported by Hoffa lost regional vice president positions to the Teamsters United group.

In the 2021 election, Hoffa did not run again. The Teamsters United group, led by Sean O'Brien, won the election. O'Brien and his team started their work on March 22, 2022.

Political Support

Teamsters headquarters located beside Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

The Teamsters Union is one of the largest unions in the world. It also gives a lot of money to political campaigns in the United States. In the 1980s, they supported Republican presidents like Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. But in recent years, they have mostly supported the Democratic Party. Since 1990, they have given 92% of their money to Democrats.

The Teamsters Union supported Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

The union also gives money each year to "Friends of Sinn Féin." This is a group that raises money in the U.S. for the Irish republican party Sinn Féin.

Union Leadership and Members

General Presidents

General Secretary-Treasurers

1904: Edward L. Turley

1905: Thomas Hughes

1941: John M. Gillespie

1947: John F. English

1969: Thomas Flynn

1972: Murray W. Miller

1975: Raymond Schoessling

1985: Weldon Mathis

1991: Tom Sever

1999: Tom Keegel

2012: Ken Hall

2022: Fred Zuckerman

Membership Numbers

Union Groups and Sections

Images for kids

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  Informal portrait of (left to right) Cornelius P. Shea, John Miller, Fred Mader, and Tim Murphy sitting in a row in a courtroom in Chicago, Illinois, during a labor trial.

See also

In Spanish: Hermandad internacional de camioneros para niños

• 2009–10 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act dispute
• 1938 New York City truckers strike
• Teamsters Canada