U.S. District Court Grants End to 37-Year Federal Monitorship of Teamsters Union

Judge Preska Issues Landmark Ruling Approving Joint Motion by Teamsters, DOJ

(WASHINGTON) - After nearly four decades, the U.S. government has officially ended federal monitorship of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, following the approval by the Honorable Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York (Southern District) of a joint motion filed this summer by the union and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The filing issued on June 17 sought to amend the Final Order established in 2015 and the original Consent Decree policing the union. In 1989, the Southern District and the Teamsters entered into an agreement to eliminate organized crime influence within the union and ensure fair, democratic, member-driven elections. Over the past 37 years, the Teamsters have conducted nine elections and successfully eliminated corrupt elements from the union.

Since the election of Sean M. O'Brien as Teamsters General President in 2021, the Teamsters have built a new system of rigorous checks and balances in which every member complaint is investigated, and when appropriate, referred to legal authorities. O'Brien was re-elected to a second term as General President this summer at the Teamsters 31^st International Convention.

In her ruling granting the motion, Judge Preska cited agreement by former federal judge Barbara Jones (ret.) - who has served as the Independent Review Officer monitoring the union - that the Teamsters indeed have "developed the institutional tools, processes, and procedures necessary to adequately detect, investigate, and resolve instances of major corruption."

"True history has been made today for the Teamsters Union that begins a new chapter of self-governance and organizational independence to benefit all rank-and-file members and elected leaders," O'Brien said. "This is the end to the longest monitorship of any union, corporation, nonprofit, or public entity in the history of the United States. Our efforts over the past four years to create a culture of vigilance in our union have proven that we can police our own. The controls in place in the Teamsters today to operate a strong, transparent, and progressive union are more stringent than any labor organization in the country."

Judge Preska in her ruling reiterated that any concerns of potential corruption in the Teamsters or any union should always be referred to the U.S. Department of Labor and the DOJ - and that the court has no intention of being an indefinite monitor. "Generalized concerns regarding the Teamsters should be directed to the Teamsters management or these agencies, not this Court," Judge Preska concluded.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

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