The Teamsters and AFL-CIO

Organizing contests, factional resistance, and violent confrontations turn union solidarity into a central and contested source of power.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Violent Labor Landscape

Organizing under Threat Management resistance The book describes employers using strikebreakers and violence against union organizers. In response, unions sometimes relied on their own muscle and intimidation. Hoffa’s method James R. Hoffa built authority in this environment by demanding discipline and solidarity. His tactics promised workers bargaining power but also normalized coercion within union politics.

AFL-CIO Expulsion

A Union Isolated Ethics dispute The AFL-CIO accused the Teamsters leadership of corruption and expelled the union. The decision placed Hoffa’s organization outside the federation and increased its vulnerability to rival organizing. Resistance Hoffa portrayed the expulsion as an establishment attack on workers. His response was to tighten internal control and rely more heavily on allies who could resist outside pressure.

The Chicago Local 777 Fight

Secession and Retaliation Rebels organize Dominic Abata led a faction seeking to remove Local 777 from the Teamsters. The Seafarers International Union supported the breakaway effort. An election struggle Joey Glimco and Hoffa’s allies used intimidation and disruption to prevent the union from losing the local. The rebels won the election, but the struggle demonstrated the violence that accompanied competition for membership.

The Philadelphia Voice

A Local Divided Factional challenge The Voice organized opposition within Philadelphia’s large Teamsters Local 107. The conflict reflected members’ grievances as well as competition among leaders for control. Hoffa intervenes James R. Hoffa campaigned in Philadelphia, arguing that unity was necessary for better wages and national bargaining. His faction won elections, but the division remained a source of violence and distrust.

A Union Hall Shootout

Violence Escalates A struggle for control The Philadelphia factions continued to fight over leadership and union jobs. Sheeran says he was called to help protect the local after a large rally. Consequences A shootout left people wounded and brought arrests, including Sheeran’s. The episode exposed the gap between Hoffa’s rhetoric of solidarity and the coercive reality of factional politics.

1930s–1950s

1957

1961

1961–1964

1967