Word: teamster
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Heads Cracked. Chavez and his supporters charged that the Teamsters had succeeded by threatening workers -indeed, some heads were cracked in bloody confrontations-and by persuading growers to switch from the more militant U.F.W. without consulting workers. They also charged that Teamsters negotiated "sweetheart contracts" with growers. The Teamsters said they had thousands of petitions from workers who wanted Teamster representation...
Diverted Funds. In a racket-infested, violent industry, maverick Overdrive (circ. 56,000) speaks with high-tonnage authority. The chief author of the exposes is Jim Drinkhall, 35, the magazine's top investigative reporter, who specializes in the Teamsters' infamous and huge Central States $1.5 to $2 billion pension fund. Drinkhall roused a federal investigation in 1973 with articles showing that a $1.4 million Teamsters pension-fund loan, ostensibly given to a plastics company in New Mexico, was really used primarily to finance the Chicago syndicate's purchase of wiretapping equipment. He also revealed that the Tonight...
...Teamster ties with the Mafia go way back. Nicholas P. Morrissey, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Joint Council 10 in Boston, observes, "Most people who come out of prison go into this kind of work [trucking, warehousing and longshoring]." Hoffa had friends in the Mob and indeed used them in his climb from the boss of Detroit's Local 299 to his election as the union's president in 1957. But Hoffa always retained a degree of independence of the gangsters...
...hand-picked successor but then became a rival, is said to show no such resistance. Indeed, he has left the 15 regional vice presidents pretty much alone, making them again the semiautonomous barons that they were before Hoffa began centralizing most of the power around himself. To veteran Teamster observers, that means an open season for the underworld and increasing Mafia penetration...
Shady Outlook. On the whole, though, the road ahead stretches straight and smooth for the union. Says Investigative Editor Jim Drinkhall, who has written many reports of Teamster shady dealings for Overdrive, an independent monthly trade publication: "Essentially, their idea is 'Who cares what they do as long as I get mine?' " Many employers do not care either; they regard the Teamsters as a good union to deal with because it keeps the members in line and has held wildcat strikes to a minimum...