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The fall of RISE in the Teamsters union and
A double miscalculation ended RISE

In a letter to the Teamsters' general secretary-treasurer on April 28, Edwin Stier, initiator and architect of RISE, the union's self-reform program, resigned from the project and announced its dissolution. His letter of resignation was no diplomatic mealy-mouthed evasion of the reality but a hard-hitting statement of his findings:

"I have concluded," he wrote, "that he [Teamsters President Jim Hoffa] has backed away from the Teamsters' anti-corruption plan in the face of pressure from a few self-interested individuals .... I can no longer permit my presence in the union to act as an endorsement of his sincerity." Stier charged that Hoffa had retreated from his pledge to identify and remove any hidden mob associates from the union.

More damning than the accusations of a simple failure to act were Stier's conclusions that Hoffa's office, in undermining investigations into corruption, had placed witnesses at great risk. Referring to a corruption scandal in a Texas IBT local, "the magnitude of which dwarfs any in recent years," Stier wrote, "rather than creating an atmosphere in which serious allegations are resolved expeditiously and fairly, the record of this case leaves the clear impression that the union is slow to react to corruption issues and is insensitive to witnesses' justifiable fear of retaliation."

Most disturbing is Stier's conclusion that "we have substantial reliable information that organized crime again threatens the union." On April 7, three weeks before his resignation, Stier informed the union that it was imperative to investigate organized crime influence over the union in Chicago, only to discover that Hoffa's executive assistant Carlos Scalf under pressure from racketeers, was endeavoring to shut down RISE's investigative activities.

The RISE warning of the danger from organized crime in Chicago has never been made public. At first, according to reports, the union hoped to conceal its very existence even from members of the ruling general executive board; however, by now they have been allowed only to read it but not to take home an actual copy.

In addressing a copy of his resignation letter to each member of the Teamsters' general executive board members, Stier apparently calls attention to their fiscal responsibility as individuals to safeguard the union against racketeers. "I can only hope," he writes, "that some of you and other Teamster leaders will one day pick up the pieces ... and finally achieve the goal of institutional integrity that I know is possible.

A double miscalculation ended RISE
by Herman Benson

After a government suit against the union in 1988, a consent decree subjected the Teamsters to court supervision. As part of the agreement between the union and the Department of Justice, a federal judge appointed a three-person Independent Review Board, answerable only to the judge and not to the union hierarchy. The IRB drove scores of crooks and racketeers out of the union. Now, sixteen years later, the court retains jurisdiction; the IRB remains.

Edwin Stier, a former federal prosecutor, felt that extended government control over the affairs of a union was harmful to the labor movement. Shortly after James Hoffa was elected Teamsters' president, Stier proposed that the union adopt its own self-policing program to prove that the government monitorship could be lifted. It was to be called RISE - acronym for Respect, Integrity, Strength, Ethics. Stier and colleagues would run the project. Hoffa, open to any suggestion that might eliminate government oversight, agreed.

For Stier, it was an ambitious challenge: To liberate this million and a half-member union, with a long history of racket control, and keep it clean! But he was confident. Not long before, as court-appointed trustee with government backing, he had driven the murderous Provenzano racketeers out of Teamster Local 560 in New Jersey. Now, backed by Teamster President Hoffa, who vowed to root out racketeers, he could do the same, as a private citizen, for the international union.

During the next years, Stier perfected the RISE program: There were conferences, organization of support committees in the union and advisory committees of eminent public citizens on the outside, reports on progress, addresses at public meetings - all intended to create a new culture in the union that would be hostile to corruption. RISE developed an ethical Code of Conduct, carefully crafted to meet approval and still be effective. A suggested mode of enforcement would become operative only after the government monitorship was lifted. Union Democracy Review, generally skeptical, welcomed the code itself, suggesting that there would be a vastly improved labor movement if it followed such a code.

But RISE remained mostly a promise for the future without immediate application. And, even in conception, there was a flaw: The projected RISE program left enforcement in the hands of the union hierarchy. How could you depend upon this officialdom to police itself?

Stier forthrightly defended the program in public discussions and replied vigorously to critics. However, it is clear now that, even while rejecting the misgivings of critics, he had decided that even though they were wrong, their views required more than verbal assurances as an answer. Obviously, he decided to move RISE to a new stage. To demonstrate that the union was now capable of policing itself, he would transform it from a mere promise of a bright future into an actual enforcement agency. "You wait and see," he told one AUDer.

The RISE staff moved forward. After investigating events in Texas and Chicago, RISE discovered evidence of massive corruption, and Stier insisted that the union act. That effort to transform RISE into an effective policing agency provoked a crisis.

It revealed a double-edged miscalculation.

Stier hoped to replace government supervision with the union's own effective program to keep it free of corruption. If successful it would have been a remarkable achievement for the Teamsters and a model for the whole labor movement. It was possible, he felt, because his aims were shared by James Hoffa, the union president, who could be counted on to use his power to make the program a success. That was a miscalculation. Hoffa turned out to be an obstacle not a point of support.

Hoffa, on the other hand, was - and is - anxious to get the government out so that he can run the union without restraint. For him, the RISE program was obviously not intended to implement an anti-corruption program but only to serve as a public relations ploy to get the government out. Apparently, he was under the impression that he could convince Stier, or manipulate him, to serve as a mere PR instrument. That was a serious miscalculation. Unlike Hoffa, Stier was serious. The union's general counsel told the New York Times, "Ed is resigning because we're not letting him do whatever he wants to do." Precisely. What he wanted was what Hoffa had promised: action against corruption and organized crime.

And so, once it became clear that Stier would not serve Hoffa's PR needs, and Stier concluded that Hoffa would not support a sincere anti-corruption effort, the continuation of RISE became pointless. Looking back now, after four years of effort and an expenditure of fifteen million dollars, how are we to assess the RISE experience?

Fifteen million is indeed a lot of money. If RISE had succeeded, however, it would have been worth the cost, a small price to pay for demonstrating that a major union can free itself of racketeering and keep it free. But it did not succeed. Nevertheless, even with a failed RISE program, the union is better off than before. In the very act of resigning with a stinging statement of reasons, Stier argues persuasively that all was not wasted:

The validity of an ethical code of conduct has been widely popularized in the union. The requirement of an effective, independent enforcement machinery against racketeering is now indisputable. The Hoffa regime stands accused as an obstacle to enforcement. A new round of reform is essential. All this is explicit in the Stier's resignation letter.

Articles on RISE and Teamster reform:
RISE uncovers corruption before its demise (9/04-10/04)
RISE and Teamster reform at Cornell University (1/04-3/04)
Can the IBT police itself?(9/03-10/03)
The Transmogrification of Teamsters Local 854(9/03-10/03)
Is Teamsters Union safe for dissenters? An exchange (10/11 2002)
The vindication of Ron Carey (12/1 2001-2002)
"The Fox and the Chicken Coop" -- comments on the proposed Teamsters Ethics Code. (3/4 2000)
"Some Modest Proposals for a Teamster Code" (3/4 2000)

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