Student Scholarship

Document Type

Research Paper

Abstract

This research project presents a detailed study of the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field, popularly known as the McClellan Committee. Formed in January 1957 under Senate Resolution 74, the committee was granted broad jurisdictional powers to investigate criminal and improper practices within labor-management relations. The investigation was led by Chairman John L. McClellan and Chief Counsel Robert F. Kennedy, who utilized a large staff of investigators to uncover systemic corruption. 

A significant portion of the committee's work focused on the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and its leaders, Dave Beck and James R. Hoffa. The committee’s interim report, filed in March 1958, revealed that over 10 million dollars in union funds had been stolen or misused over a fifteen-year period. Specific findings highlighted the misuse of union dues for personal gain, the infiltration of racketeers into labor organizations, and the strategic power held by the Teamsters over the national economy. The report also examined the role of management middlemen, such as Nathan W. Shefferman, who were found to have used illegal tactics to defeat union organizing efforts. 

The committee’s findings led to five major legislative recommendations aimed at regulating pension funds, ensuring union democracy, and clarifying jurisdictional boundaries. These recommendations resulted in the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1958, also known as the Kennedy-Ives Bill. Although the bill passed the Senate, it was ultimately defeated in the House of Representatives due to concerns that it was either too weak or improperly balanced. The study concludes that while the committee faced criticism for lacking objectivity and focusing disproportionately on labor over management, its work successfully revitalized public and member interest in the integrity of the American labor movement.

Research Highlights

  • The Problem: Identifying widespread financial corruption, lack of democratic procedures, and the infiltration of organized crime within the labor-management field during the late 1950s. 

  • The Method: A field study and analysis of the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field, utilizing 17,485 pages of hearing transcripts, interviews with 16,000 persons, and the committee's 1958 Interim Report. 

  • Quantitative Finding: Union funds in excess of $10,000,000 were stolen, embezzled, or misused over a 15-year period; the committee held 104 days of public hearings involving 486 witnesses; the investigating staff traveled 650,000 miles across 44 states. 

  • Qualitative Finding: Specific investigations revealed "uncontrollable greed" and larceny by Teamster president Dave Beck; autocratic control and misuse of funds by Bakery and Confectionery Workers officials; and illegal anti-union activities conducted by management consultant Nathan W. Shefferman. 

  • Finding: The research resulted in the Kennedy-Ives Bill (Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1958), which passed the Senate but died in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor due to perceived weaknesses and labor-aligned opposition. 

Publication Date

1-1959

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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