The Department of Justice and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters jointly filed a motion Wednesday to end the federal government’s oversight of the union, closing out what officials say is the longest monitorship of any union, corporation, nonprofit, or public entity in U.S. history.
The filing asks a federal court to terminate the final order and consent decree that has governed the Teamsters since 1989, when the government imposed oversight following a sweeping civil racketeering lawsuit alleging that top union leaders had ties to organized crime.
“After 37 years, this filing marks an end to the longest monitorship of any union, corporation, nonprofit, or public entity in the history of the United States,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement.
The DOJ first signaled its intent to wind down oversight in 2015, but the formal end of the monitorship did not come until now. Court filings indicate that more than 400 union members were removed from the organization over the course of federal supervision, helping clear the path for termination.
O’Brien, who won reelection to lead the 1.3-million-member union on Tuesday, said the Teamsters have proven they can operate without government supervision.
“Over the past four years, we have developed a system of internal controls and created a culture of vigilance in our union,” O’Brien said. “Our efforts have proven that we can police our own, and the controls we have put in place are more stringent than any labor organization in the country.”
The union established a review board to handle corruption reports and overhauled its election process to ensure results are, in the union’s words, “fair, democratic” and “member-driven.”
The monitorship dates to 1988, when federal prosecutors filed a civil RICO suit against the union’s leadership under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The government accused top Teamsters officials of running a racketeering enterprise in cooperation with organized crime. A consent decree signed the following year brought the union under federal oversight and created the Government Investigations and Audits office to monitor its operations.
The joint motion now goes to a federal court for approval.
The Teamsters made national headlines during the 2024 presidential campaign when O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention, the first time in decades the union’s leadership had appeared at a GOP convention. The union ultimately declined to endorse either candidate in that election after previously backing Democratic nominees.
