The Landrum-Griffin Act: A Case Study in the Possibilities and Problems in Anti-Union Corruption Law

Abstract

The Landrum-Griffin Act (1959) emerged out of hearings held on union corruption by the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field(1957-1959). There form law reflected many conflicting goals, including the desire of business groups to hamper new union organizing, but five of d act's seven titles concerned union governance and reflected a belief that union corruption could be solved by fostering union democracy. Though the act did bring some successes, it failed to protect democratic reform in the Teamsters Union, one of its primary targets. The history of a reform group in Teamsters Local 282 in New York City highlights the ability of corrupt incumbent officers with organized crime connections to circumvent the intentions of the law and stifle dissent. The act's short coming up have led the federal government to resort to the more intrusive, and therefore more problematic, remedies provided by the RICO Act.