[10] Raised in Astoria and Long Island City,[9] he graduated from Haaren High School in Manhattan and was offered entry into St. John's University on a swimming scholarship.
[8][9][10][11] He earned a reputation as a hard bargainer (by 1977, he had negotiated salary increases which doubled his members' 1968 hourly wages) and for being free from graft and the influence of organized crime.
[18][19] In mid-October 1990, McCarthy, suffering from health problems and losing support within the union for his handling of various contract negotiations, announced he would not seek a full term as Teamsters president.
[1][20] Utilizing TDU's national mailing list, he raised $200,000 in mostly small contributions from Teamsters members and criss-crossed the country by car to meet with the union's membership.
The Independent Review Board (IRB), a three-member panel created under a Federal court order in 1989 designed to help supervise the union's elections and rid it of corruption,[31] began an investigation into how Carey was able to finance hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate investments and into who may have forged Carey's estranged wife's signature on several documents.
[44] The Teamsters' executive board gave him permission to close the offices by a vote of 14 to 3, and the regional headquarters were shuttered in June 1994—saving the international union $15 million in salaries and expenses.
[55] Throughout the convention, Hoffa and his supporters introduced resolutions and constitutional amendments intended to transfer authority from the president and give it to local and regional offices.
Hoffa drew strong support from Teamsters members in the Midwest and the West (with New York state a battleground), and from union leaders unhappy with Carey's anti-corruption drive and his attempt to dismantle regional and local bases of power.
[25] Carey derogatorily referred to Hoffa as "Junior," and denounced him as a "flunky" of the "old guard", "the same old mobbed-up, on-the-take teamster his daddy was", an "imposter," and all "smoke and mirrors.
[43] Hoffa accused Carey of overseeing the loss of 40,000 members, mismanaging the union's finances, agreeing to concessionary contracts, and corruption.
[60] The deal, Hoffa alleged, had been brokered by Martin Davis, owner of another direct mail business which had done work for the union and the Carey campaign.
[68] On June 6, 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Davis on charges of conspiracy, embezzlement, and violations of federal labor law for masterminding the kickback scheme.
[69] Ansara pleaded guilty to conspiracy and admitted he had used the union's money to reimburse his wife for her donations to the Carey re-election effort.
[69] The Carey campaign tried to shield its internal documents from federal investigators, arguing they were protected by attorney–client privilege, but this claim was dismissed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Carey had ordered Teamsters staff and local leaders to begin preparing for a strike against UPS a year before the contract expiration deadline.
[71] The union also circulated a petition which obtained 100,000 member signatures supporting its negotiating strategy, held numerous small rallies four months ahead of the strike deadline to identify and overcome problems with member mobilization, distributed 50,000 whistles for use at rallies, distributed hundreds of thousands of pro-union stickers, and forced local unions to build effective communications networks.
[72] If the union could win most of its negotiating goals at the bargaining table, Carey intended to use the new UPS contract to help organize workers at Federal Express and Overnite Transportation.
After five days of silence, talks began again on August 14 under the personal supervision of Labor Secretary Herman at the Hyatt Regency Washington hotel across the street from the Teamsters' headquarters.
[71] President Clinton personally spoke to both parties over the weekend to encourage them to continue bargaining, and a final tentative contract emerged on Monday afternoon, August 18.
[79] Carey quickly announced plans to boost organizing efforts at Federal Express, using the gains won in the UPS contract as a major selling point for the union.
[3] In late July, Carey campaign manager Jere Nash met with Martin Davis, who owned The November Group (a direct-marketing company).
[3][82] Five days after Carey's historic victory at the bargaining table in the UPS strike, details of the donations kickback scheme were unveiled by the court-appointed federal official overseeing the union's elections.
[93] On October 22, the IRB accused William Hamilton, the union's former political director, of conspiring with Nash, Davis, Ansara, and others in the donation kickback scheme.
[96] In late September, the re-run of the Teamsters presidential election was set for January 1998, albeit with much stricter limits on campaign contributions and greater disclosure requirements.
[4] Three Teamsters began to vie for the nomination to oppose Hoffa: Tom Leedham, director of the union's warehouse division; Ken Hall, Carey's chief strategist during the UPS strike; and George Cashman, president of a Boston-area truck drivers' local.
[99] Meanwhile, Carey and the Justice Department signed an agreement in which a federal monitor would oversee the union's spending to prevent any additional improper expenditures.
[106][107] On November 25, 1997, Ron Carey took a leave of absence from the Teamsters, just hours before the Independent Review Board accused him of illegally using union money to fund his 1996 re-election campaign and failing to meet his fiduciary duties.
He was accused of making false statements to the grand jury in his August and October 1996 testimonies, and for lying to federal officials overseeing the Teamsters election and to the Independent Review Board.
He argued that his court vindication had proven the IRB wrong for expelling him, and that a lifetime ban should be applied only to those Teamsters associated with organized crime—not officials who may have engaged in other sorts of wrongdoing.
[118] He was critical of the policies of his successor, particularly the centralization of authority in the international headquarters, business-model organizing, and giving Teamsters officials permission to draw multiple salaries again.