IX. LABOR RACKETEERING FILES OF PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANT, LES FINNEGAN, 1954-1958

Grouped in two major sequences: alphabetical subject files and chronological clipping files pertaining to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Finnegan compiled and maintained an extensive reference series--consisting of press clippings, articles, editorials and AFL-CIO resolutions--devoted to the subject of corruption in organized labor and labor racketeering from 1954-1958. The clippings (1957) were collated from major dailies in New York, Washington, and Philadelphia, The Wall Street Journal, and news magazines such as U.S. News And World Report, Newsweek, and Business Week. Major labor columnists include: Abe Raskin, Drew Pearson, Victor Riesel, Murray Kempton, and John Herling. The centerpiece of the series chronicles the activities and revelations of the Senate Select Committee on Improper Practices in the Labor Management Field (McClellan Committee Hearings) and its probe of Teamsters' officials, President David Beck and Vice President James (Jimmy) R. Hoffa.

The McClellan Committee hearings, held in several cities over an eight month period, uncovered an intricate web of corruption involving the pilfering and mismanagement of union funds by Beck and Hoffa's ties to labor racketeers (Johnny Dio) and organized crime. Events surrounding the investigation and subsequent expulsion of the Teamsters and other unions (Bakery and Confectionery Workers, Laundry Workers) by the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 1957 are also chronicled. Contained within the series are the reports and resolutions of the AFL-CIO Ethical Practices Committee that conducted labor's internal investigation of the corrupt unions. Other major topics include: Hoffa's federal trial on bribery, jury tampering, and conspiracy (illegal wire tapping) charges; litigation arising from the election of Hoffa as Teamsters' president in 1957; Teamsters' proposals for the creation of a "supertransport union;" and Teamster ties to Nathan Shefferman, a labor relations consultant engaged in union busting tactics and the implementation "Sweetheart Contracts" on behalf of the union.