After 37 Years, the Teamsters Can Hide Assets Again

A federal monitorship that started in 1989 is about to end.

The Teamsters and the DOJ jointly asked a judge this week to wind down the oversight that began to “eliminate organized crime influence within the union.” The plan: cut the Independent Investigations Officer role in December, sunset the Independent Review Officer in three years.

The Justice Department says the Teamsters have shown they can run their own investigations and audits. President Sean O’Brien — just re-elected to a second term — calls the union’s internal controls “more stringent than any labor organization in the country.”

That’s a notable claim from an organization that needed federal babysitting for 37 years.

Do you think Sean O’Brien’s speech in favor of Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention and delivering Teamsters votes for President Trump had anything to do with the DOJ ending this oversight?

A judge still has to sign off. But if approved, the Teamsters police themselves.

How do you think the Teamsters’ self-policing will go?