Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Wednesday, November 5, 1975 News Phone: 764-0552 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 LISTEN! WHY ALL THIS FUSS ABOUT THE EQUAL RIQ'HTS AMENDMENT? 11 WHAT'S WRONG WITH OUR TRADITIONAL RELATIONSHIP? , -.,, . I. a. .. t :. c , a ~N The T By MICHAEL BECKMAN Editor's Note: The following is the first of a four part series re- counting the sordid history of the Teamsters Union and speculating on the directions its future will take. THE METEORIC RISE in power of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffers, Warehousemen and Helpers of America has been equaled only by their incredi- ble misuse of that power. In the past twenty years, the Teamsters have grown from a regionally oriented group of disorganized locals to the larg- est and single most powerful union in America. From a modest membership of barely 100,000 in 1903, Team- ster ranks swelled to their cur- rent size of 2,000,000. Teamsters are strategically placed throughout a U. S. econ- omy over which they exert con- siderable control. They are or- ganized to a point where any or all segments of the union can - be mobilized on short. notice to shut down means of production and transportation. The power wielded by the Teamster legions, a group no- torious for its history of cor- ruption, is both amazing and -frightening. IN RECENT DECADES the Union has seen two of its presi- dents, Dave Beck and Jimmy Hoffa, sentenced to prison. Con- clusively linked to the under- world, the Teamster hierarchy has attracted constant Con- gressional investigation. In ad- dition, it has been exiled from the AFL-CIO, linked with the Watergate and other Nixon in- discretions, implicated in a bloody and violent program to crush the United Farm Work- ers, and fingered again for its possible role in the Hoffa kid- napping. Not only has the ubiquitous union survived these crisis, it has managed to grow stronger with each one. Such is the regrettable saga of the Teamsters Union. Con- ceived as an advocate and safe- guard for the millions of hard- working Americans who popu- late its ranks, it has garnered as much and more power than its founders had hoped for, but in the process it has betrayed its membership by using that power for internal coercion and, ultimately, personal gain. IN 1907, FOUR years after the union was founded, Dan To- bin became its president, a post he would hold until 1952. The Teamsters were a no-growth union in the early years. Inno- vation and expansion were not encouraged until the Mid-30s, the low point of the Depression. Since then, the Teamsters or- ganization has undergone two pivotal changes accounting for its rise to national power. Farrell Dobbs started the push in 1934. Dobbs, later to become the Trotskyist Party's presidential candidate organiz- ed Minneapolis city truck driv- ers into a powerful union. Fol- lowing a major strike victory there, he expanded the union's tentacles out across the U. S. Dobbs has been credited with moving the Teamsters power base beyond the local level and laying the groundwork for the national Teamster hierarchy of today. IN 1937, THE union absorbed the warehousemen from the AF of L. Slowly, the union began to fill out. Also in 1937, west coast em- ployers fearful of dealing with the corrupt CIO longshoremen under Harry Bridges, turned to a young Teamster organizer from Seattle named Dave Beck. Beck consolidated his charges into the Western Conference of Teamsters. He centralized the structure of the union, and soon held power over 11 states. In a short time his region grew from 60,000 members to over 400,000. Beck gained a reputation for being true to his word. His in- fluence grew immensely, and in 1952, Dave Beck replaced Dan Tobin as president of the Team- sters. Born in Seattle in 1894, Beck's parent were poor, and he was taught the value of the dollar. He developed a taste for power and money at an early age and started working as a truck driver. He owned his own truck by 1925, when Dan Tobin offer- ed him a post as a Teamster organizer in the Pacific North- west. Beck went about organizing in the accepted mode of the day, the tough way. He resorted to the use of goon squads and violence but didn't get very far. In 1937, Beck changed his methods from coercion to co- operation. By drawing business away from Harry Bridges' racketeers, Beck began to make a name for himself, leading to a rapid rise in the Teamster hierarchy. His ascension climaxed in 1952, when he became International President of the Teamsters. When Beck assumed the presidency, the Teamsters were divided into tight city-central bodies. Gradually, he began to apply nationally the same meth- ods of organizing that had worked for him on the west coast. He formed the Central, Eastern and Southern Confer- ences of Teamsters, all modell- ed on the Western Conference. In the process, he merged many locals, cleaned out many but not all of the racket-ridden lo- cals and molded the Teamsters PART ONE: eamsters: Origins of power into a strong, solid block. HIS CHIEF ALLY was James Hoffa of Detroit who, in return for his support of Beck's bid for the presidency, was named ninth vice-president and given charge of the Midwest and . Southern Conferences. Along with the conferences, Beck set up 15 trade divisions. Among these were the auto- mative division, the warehouse- man, the brewery and soft drinks, and others. The union was expanding both vertically and horizontally, and its power was skyrocketing. Beck was a man of arro- gance, a quality he often ex- hibited in his dealings with other unions, especially within the AFL-CIO. During the mer- ger conference of the AFofL and the CIO in December, 1955, Beck played with the agree- ment, conceding on points that benefitted his Teamsters, and abstaining from agreeing to such measures as the no-raid clause, for the same reasons. Going into the year 1957, there seemed to be limitless avenues open to the expansion of Team- ster influence and power. Tomorrow: Dave Beck's de- mise Michael Beckman is a mem- ber of the Editorial Page staff. MEN AND WOMEN GO TOGETHER LIKE BACON AND EGGS.. . LIKE. ICE CREAM AND CAKE. . s~'~ ;.. . _..... ..... ....._ .w. ___.Y... Halloween guzzler's escapade faIts flat gprd7,-1745r,-- Editorial staff GORDON ATCHESON CHERYL PILATE Co-Editors-in-Chief DAVID BLOMQUIST ............. Arts Editor BARBARA CORNELL .. Sunday Magazine Editor PAUL HASKINS ............ Editorial Director JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY Sunday Magazine Editor SARA RIMER .................. Executive Editor STEPHEN SELBST ...............City Editor JEF SORENSON .......... .Managing Editor MARY LONG .......... Sunday Magazine Editor STAFF WRITERS: Susan Ades, Torn Allen, Glen TODAY'S STAFF: News: Gordon Atcheson, . Elaine Fletcher, Angel ique Matney Sara Rimer, Jeff Ristine, Annemarie Schiavi, Jim Tobin Editorial Page: Paul Haskins, Jon Pan- sius, Tom Stevens Arts Page: Jeff Sorensen Photo Technician: Ken Fink Allerhand, Ellen Breslow, Mary .Beth Dillon, Ted Evanoff, Jim Finklestein, Elaine Fletch- er, Stephen Hersh, Debra Hurwitz, Lois Josi- movich, Doe Kralik, Jay Levin, Andy Lilly. Ann Marie Lipinski, George Lobsenz, Pauline Lubens, Rob Meachum, Robert Miller, Jim Nicoll, Cathy Reutter, Jeff Ristine, Tim Schick, Katherine Spelman, Steve Stojic, Jim Tobin,, Bill Turque, Jim Valk, David Wein- berg, Sue Wilhelm, David Whiting, Margaret Yao. Photography Staff KEN PINK Chief Photographer STEVE KAGAN ..............Staff Photographer PAULINE LUBENS.........Staff Photographer Sports Staff BRIAN DEMING Sports Editor MARCIA MERKER...........Executive Editor LEBA HERTZ .................. Managing Editor JEFF SCHILLER ................. Associate Editor CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Al 'Hrapsky, Jeff Liebster, Ray O'Hara, Michael Wilson NIGHT EDITORS: Rick Bonino, TomCameron, Tom Duranceau, Andy Glazer, Kathy Henne- ghan, Ed Lange, Rich Lerner, Scott Lewis, Bill Stieg ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Enid Goldman, Marcia Katz, John Niemeyer, Dave Wihak DESK ASSISTANTS: Paul Campbell, Marybeth Dillon, Larry Engle, Aaron Gerstman, Jerome Gilbert, Andy Lebet, Rick Maddock, Bob Miller, Joyce Moy, Patrick Rode, Arthur Wightman By JAY LEVIN T PROMISED MYSELF this year to spend Halloween night in a different way than last year's writing of a 'C' Calc midterm. Different it was. After guzzling pitchers full of Stroh's at the V-Bell, staggering through the UGLI yelling "nurds" and upsetting the hardy band of late night crammers, and taking a midnight jaunt, appropriately, through the ceme- tery, one of our party, masked for the occasion, invited up to his apartment where he wanted to fetch a warmer coat. Walking from our friend's digs after a very brief stopover, we came to a series of descend- ing steps in the hallway. Still a little tipsy, I negotiated the first series of three steps with a charming pirouette, a grace- ful move which delighted my equally tipsy friends. On the second flight I managed a bal-. letic leap, comparable to the likes of Nuryev, or maybe even Gene Kelly. APPROACHING THE THIRD flight, I gave myself a running start, left my feet and smashed my skull against a lowered por- tion of the ceiling, landing crumpled and dazed with all my weight registered on an unlucky left ankle. Embarrassed at my ultimate act of stupidity, I sat at the base of the steps with a throb- bing foot and blood gushing from a nasty head cut, staining the hall's brocade carpet. "Take me to University Hos- pital," I remembered telling the crowd cloistered around my sore body, cautiously avoiding the mention of Health Service in the interest of my health. So off to the hospital I went, wearing a tightly-fitting terry cloth turban around my battered head. And the folks at the 'U' Hos- pital emergency room, 12:30 Saturday morning, were very efficient. No sooner had my friends wheeled me in when a shapely, young nurse began to attack me with the customary barrage of questions. "WHY DIDN'T YOU go to Health Service?," "What's your name?," "What's your Ann Ar- bor address?," "Do you have a Blue Cross card?,". "What's your home address?," "What are your parents' first names?," "Are they living?," "What hap- pened to you tonight?" The first question, inquiring why I did not drag my bleeding body to Health Service, gave me the impression that they wanted to get rid of me. I explained that I had already tested Health Service last year when I lost my voice, was less than pleased with the care I received, and trusted only hospitals in an emergency situation. After being issued a blue, plastic 'U' Hospital accounts card, a jovial assistant shaved around my wound much to my displeasure) and began to de- germ it with antiseptic. X-rays were promptly taken of my sore ankle by a technician who look- ed more like a linebacker for the Redskins than a hospital medic. I WAS WHEELED back to a small, ominous room, filled with needles and cotton swabs, and was ordered to lie down and wait for the scalp surgeon. (Scalp surgeon! Fancy schman- cy...) Doc took his time in arriv- ing, arousing me from a dreary slumber. A young, poker-faced physician, he dodged my inquisi- tive questions with the skill of a political candidate and only informed me he was going to insert sutures in my head. "What are sutures?," I asked. "Stitches." I was slightly annoyed that he was using medical terms way above my head. A nurse (the shapely one) dropped in and asked Doc whether this one would be "with or without." "With," he said. Hey folks, let me in on this I boasted a ridiculous, rolled piece of gauze connected to my head with four freshly implant- ed sutures. After being given a pair of crutches ($7), an ace bandage ($?), instructions on the wear and care of my head and the news that the bill would be sent to my parents, I was free to leave. I had been in the hospital less than three hours and received excellent care with a minimum "I negotiated the first series of three steps with a charming pirouette, a graceful move which delighted my equally tipsy frienis. On the second flight, I managed a baltetic leap, comparable to the likes of Nuryev." '.' ,^ ::.ik?: , ;.' y?' ?n. .:"f b-, i " 'r.' . h*'r' ' 7 :t"' . v. r +' ^Yn ." '^4