Chauffeurs and Garage Helpers 1957

An illustration of the Teamster logo sits in the center of the button, an image of two horses facing opposite directions connected to/or above a wheel. The illustration sits on a orange and white background with black text. On the edge of the button is black text on a mustard-yellow background that circles the illustration.   

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, it was originally known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America. Infiltration by organized crime dominated the agenda of the Teamsters throughout the 1950s.  Although the more extreme, public forms of corruption had been eliminated after General President Cornelius Shea was removed from office, the extent of corruption and control by organized crime increased during Daniel J. Tobin's time as General President of the union from 1907 to 1952. In 1929, the Teamsters and unions in Chicago even approached gangster Roger Touhy and asked for his protection from Al Capone and his Chicago Outfit, which were seeking to control the area's unions.