Teamsterland

The world's most iconic union?

When Len McCluskey, the General Secretary of Britain's largest union, Unite the Union, spoke to the delegates of the 2016 Teamster convention, he declared, "The Teamsters is the most iconic trade union on our planet and you should be proud." The delegates loved it and gave him a rapturous welcome.

But, was iconic the best way to describe the international reputation of the Teamsters? Or would notorious be a better word. And, what exactly would the delegates to the Las Vegas convention be supposed to be "proud of"? McCluskey was obviously , first and foremost, playing to the crowd, like most invited guests at union conventions. Polishing the egos of the delegates and the top leaders, and giving them a sense of importance that few of them deserved.

He did capture, however, what persists to this very day-the yawning gap between public perception of the Teamsters, and the much more dreary reality of the union. The problem of being an iconic union is that it isn't critically examined, only myths and clichés are repeated over and over, again. The Teamsters are still regularly referred to, for example, in the mainstream and leftwing media in the United States as "mighty" and "powerful" with few exceptions.

This was especially true in the run up to the 2023 UPS contract expiration, when expectations were stoked by the union and the broad left, that we were on the eve of a "transformational strike." Yet, this mighty union chose not to strike and the rather mediocre gains were a major let down for many. Further alienating and repulsing many was the post-UPS contract campaign, was the courting of the far right by Teamster General President Sean O'Brien, and the enthusiastic welcome he received at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

This book is a collection of articles that I wrote and were published in various outlets examining the Teamsters and its largest employer, United Parcel Service (UPS), from 2019 through early 2025. In general, I take a more critical stance concerning developments in the union than were taken by the broad left and union reformers in the U.S., including most labor journalists. I hope readers find this collection useful, and future rank and file reformers in the Teamsters-and in other unions-who felt that something was going wrong over the last few years, will find that they are not alone.