Ron Carey and the Teamsters: How a Ups Driver Became the Greatest Union Reformer of the 20th Century by Putting Members First

Probes the enduring impact, and devastating fall, of one of the greatest union organizers of the 20th century

In this riveting account, retired UPS driver and unionist, Ken Reiman, gives us the first in-depth portrait of Ron Carey as he rose from a local union officer in the mid-1960s, to president of what was, in 1991, the largest labor union in the United States.

For many years, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was one of this country’s most corrupt unions, with close ties to organized crime. Hundreds of officers drew enormous salaries while doing no work. Pension funds were drained to build Las Vegas casinos. Ultimately many Teamster leaders were either sent to prison or killed. But because he was willing to put members first, Carey and the Teamsters were able to defeat UPS and the major trucking companies along with their many enemies in the mob, in corporate boardrooms, and in the halls of Congress. In the process Carey tangibly transformed the lives of countless workers.

Drawing on transcripts from court hearings, public records, newspaper references and over fifty first-person interviews--including several off-the-record conversations--Reiman brings us the untold story of Carey’s meteoric rise and demise.

Ken Reiman worked for UPS for over thirty-three years as both a package car driver and a preloader. He was involved in the UPS strike of 1997, and first became politically activated when he and his fellow unionists witnessed the attacks on Ron Carey by the powers-that-be. During the years following he joined Teamsters for a Democratic Union, was elected as a Business Agent for 804 Members United on a reform slate, and became the writer, publisher and distributer of his local’s newsletter, The Local Agitator. Ken Reiman is currently a school bus driver and lives with his family on Long Island, New York.