The Teamsters Union

During the '20s, Teamster membership hovered around 75,000; compared to other labor unions, the Teamster Union exerted little influence. However, after 1934, with the passage of the federal Norris-La Guardia Act in 1932, the New Deal's National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933 and the 1935 Wagner Labor Act, a pro-labor environment allowed increasing numbers of workers to join unions (Brill, 1978, p. 348).

Nonetheless, it was the militant strategies employed by Farrell Dobbs, a Teamster leader in Minneapolis, which paved the future for the emergence of a powerful Teamster Union. In May 1934, Dobbs and other local leaders called a strike of all Teamsters in Minneapolis to seek higher wages. The four-month-long violent strike resulted in Dobbs' victory. Not only did the union succeed in their demands, it also achieved recognition as a fo

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oney and resources to recruit small groups, even as small as ten people. By participating in many elections, the Teamsters continued to gain members. The Teamsters aggressively competed for new members, as well as raided members from affiliated-unions (Brill, 1978, pp. 268-70). Most importantly, leaders at the local level played a large role in influencing the lives of the members and attracting members. During the '50s, Local 688, under the leadership of Harry Gibbons, embodied the ultimate ideal of a workers' union. In 1951, the workers received free and unlimited hospitalization and medical care for themselves and their families. They also received free legal advice and pension benefits. During that year, to combat rising food prices, Gibbon's local opened a non-profit grocery to cater to the needs of its members. A few years later, Gibbons succeeded in creating an employer-financed recreation center for the employees as a part of the employee health program (Brill, 1978, pp. 342-5). By 1976, the Teamster's Union was the largest union in America. It consisted of 7,000 officers and business agents who represented 2.3 million workers in 2,000 unions negotiating 20,000 contracts a year. During this period, Teamsters were found
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