Ron Carey, Former Teamsters Union President And Great Union Leader Has Died

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Former Teamster President Carey Dies
12/12/2008
Traffic World Staff

Ron Carey, the president who led the International Brotherhood of Teamsters through two major strikes before being forced out of his leadership role, died Dec. 12. He was 72.

Carey, a long-time UPS employee and son of a UPS driver, was elected Teamsters president in 1991 on a reform platform in the first secret ballot election in the union's history. He frequently clashed with Teamster employers, including UPS.

He led a three-week strike against the largest LTL trucking companies in 1994 and a 15-day strike against United Parcel Service in 1997.

He was narrowly re-elected president in 1996 after a fierce battle against James P. Hoffa, son of former IBT leader James R. Hoffa. However, that election was overturned in the wake of "Teamstergate," a money laundering scandal that led to the conviction of several Carey campaign officials.

The federal Independent Review Board set up to oversee the Teamsters barred Carey from seeking another term and he was later expelled from the union.

Carey, who claimed no knowledge of the illegal money transfer, stepped down in Dec. 1997. He was acquitted of all charges stemming from the scandal in 2001.

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