In August 1903 a meeting was held at Niagara Falls, New York
to bring
various Teamster Unions together, and Daniel Tobin attended representing
Teamsters in Boston Local 25. It was at that meeting that the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters was founded and Cornelius 'Con'
Shea
was elected its first general president.
The 1907 Teamster convention was held in Boston. The delegates
succeeded
in ousting Shea and elected Daniel J. Tobin (president of Boston Joint
Council 10) as general president by only a twelve vote margin.
1952 convention Tobin declines to run. Dave Beck
elected general
president. Tobin elected to newly created position of president
emeritus
and receives salary of $50,000 to do nothing. General president's
salary
raised from $30,000 to $50,000.
1957 Beck sentenced to five years in federal prison.
1957 convention Hoffa elected general president.
1964 Hoffa sentenced to eight years in prison. Appeals
last three years
and go all the way to U.S. Supreme Court.
1967 March; Hoffa enters Lewisburg penitentiary.
1967 (?) Frank Fitzsimmons general president
1981 May 6 Fitzsimmons dies of lung cancer before
he can be sent to
prison. About one week later, General Executive Board elects
Roy Williams
interim general president.
Less than two weeks after Roy Williams elected interim general president,
he is indicted for conspiracy to bribe Nevada Senator Howard Cannon
in
order to stop passage of the trucking deregulation bill.
1982 December Roy Williams convicted of attempted bribery of a U.S. Senator.
1983 Mid-April Roy Williams resigns as general
president in exchange for
remaining free on bail while awaiting appeals.
1983 21 April Jackie Presser was chosen by
the General Executive Board
to serve as general president.
1985 13 October Roy Williams agreed to cooperate
with the federal
investigation of the relations between organized crime and the union
in
exchange for a 45-day delay of his date to report to prison.
Two weeks
later Williams gives spectacular testimony confirming that the mafia
controlled the Teamster leadership.
1986 Mid-May Jackie Presser indicted on charges
ranging from
racketeering to embezzling $700,000 in a ghost employee scam.
Released on
$50,000 bond and continues as general president.
1986 November Anthony 'Fat Tony' Salerno, convicted
boss of the Genovese
crime family, and his associates Milton Rockman, John 'Peanuts' Tronolone
and Vincent Cararo were charged with arranging the election of Jackie
Presser to the office of general president of the Teamsters Union,
and with
influencing Presser's decisions about union business and about management
of pension and welfare funds.
1986 November The Department of Justice indicated
that it would file a
civil suit against the Teamsters under the Racheteer-Influenced and
Corrupt
Organizations Act to remove the General Executive Board of the IBT.
1988 May 4 Jackie Presser takes leave of absence
and Weldon Mathis, in
accordance with the union's constitution, becomes acting general president.
Because of poor health, Presser never came to trial on the charges of
labor
racketeering, and he died in July 1988 of a heart attack during surgery.
1988 July 5 General Executive Board chooses William
J. McCarthy over
Weldon Mathis to serve as general president. (vote: 9-8)
1989 March 13 U.S. Department of Justice and
the Teamsters Union reach
agreement to settle RICO suit. The Wall Street Journal
of March 14, 1989
reported the agreement, "influenced by the concerns and platform...of
the
Teamsters for a Democratic Union" provided for the direct election
of all
convention delegates and the union's International officers in 1991.
1991 Ron Carey elected by Teamsters rank and file as general president.
1996 Ron Carey re-elected general president.
1997 Election overturned.
1997 November Ron Carey barred from running
for re-election for
allegations of campaign funding swap deal.
1998 ????????
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