Against the Tide: 1980's through 1996
  With the landslide election of Ronald Reagan, the labor movement's fortunes changed. Despite his promises, Reagan began a wholesale assault on labor unions beginning with the busting of the "PATCO" air traffic controllers union in 1981.

   The Reagan era bureaucrats also implemented trucking deregulation with an incredible zeal, causing steady decline in the Teamster membership rolls for the first time since the Depression. With each year, big business lobbyists eroded labor law and took the teeth out of its enforcement. The Teamsters joined the rest of the labor movement on a slide that led many to predict labor's demise.

   I response to the legislative assault on unions, the Teamsters renewed the focus on D.R.I.V.E. which was built into the nation's largest and most powerful political action committee.

   In 1989, in response to a government-filed lawsuit, the General Executive Board signed the Consent Decree under which the union would conduct its first ever direct election of union officers.

   In 1991, Ron Carey, a New York local president, won the first ever Teamster national election. Over the next five years, the Teamsters continued to lose membership and the treasury plummeted to near bankruptcy.


New Beginnings
   In 1997 the Teamsters' strike at UPS sparked a resurgence in the labor movement. Then in 1998 a new era in Teamster history opened. Under the banner of restoring Teamster pride and unity, James P. Hoffa won a landslide victory. At the joint council and local level, the Hoffa message turned into quick action. It was time to pull together, restore the pride and organize.

   Within a year, the Teamsters could be proud of many accomplishments. Bankruptcy was no longer a danger, the national carhaul agreement won the support of the 80 percent of the members, and RISE, an in-house anti-corruption effort, was established.

   This last accomplishment may well be the era's most important. After a decade of supervision by the Justice Department, the International is ready to police its own affairs. The new program features a code of ethics, written and enforced by Teamsters.

   In the 20th Century, the union achieved undeniable success in elevating generations of workers and their families to higher standards of living. The Teamsters are poised even more in the 21st.

   "History will judge us by our ability to uphold the Teamster tradition of making people's lives better". said James P. Hoffa, Teamsters General President. "I am confident that through our growing unity we can build a foundation that will make lives of future generations better through our actions today."