A fundamental premise of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 is that if the democratic rights of union members are protected, the members can eliminate corruption and racketeering. Currently there is a great deal of debate about the use of civil actions such as the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) and the remedy of government-imposed trusteeships to control union corruption. None of these measures have proved to be entirely successful in combating union corruption. To date, there has been no empirical inquiry into when and to what extent the premises of these Acts are functionally valid, nor has there been systematic examination of what legal measures may be necessary to encourage development of reform movements and establish democratic processes in racketeer controlled unions. This doctoral disseration project will analyze why these efforts have not succeeded in the past and how democratic reform has functioned or failed to function. Since the Teamsters Union presents the best example of the failure of unions to combat corruption, the study will encompass four generations of democratic reform in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Sources for the study will include internal union documents, trial testimony, rank and file literature and government documents from the National Labor Relations Board, and congressional hearings. This project will provide an empirical base and systematic factual analysis for understanding the phenomena of corruption in unions, potentials for internal correction by reform movements, and the role of union democracy in allowing and correcting various forms of corruption and racketeering. The results will not only contribute to basic knowledge about the impact of law but will be directly relevant to unions which want to protect themselves from racketeer infiltration, to law enforcement officials and judges who attempt to design remedies in specific cases, and to regulators and legislators who must develop general rules regulating internal union affairs.
