Teamsters Local 208

Local 208 in the mid-1970s was a democratic local that, rarely for the Teamsters, elected its shop stewards. Much Local activity centered on handling grievances when companies broke the contract. Local staff handled these tasks well and professionally, though not through direct action or wildcat strikes since 208 had been tamed by the defeat of the mass wildcat in 1970 and the experience of a trusteeship (see Chapter 8 ). Although democratic, meetings of the membership and the Local’s monthly Stewards’ Council focused very much on grievance handling and routine business, so instead of strategic discussion the Local as a whole muddled through, taking on specific problems as they came up.