The First Teamsters
Since colonial times, the men who drove the horsedrawn wagons formed the backbone of America's wealth and prosperity. Despite their essential role as the guardians of trade, they remained unorganized and exploited. In a teamster's life, work was scarce and jobs insecure. Poverty was commonplace. In 1890, the typical teamster worked 12-18 hours a day, 7 days a week for an average wage of $2.00 per day. A teamster was expected not only to haul his load, but to assume liability for bad accounts and for lost or damaged merchandise. The work left teamsters assuming all of the risks with little chance for reward.

In response to the conditions, groups of teamsters started forming in the late 19th century. By 1898, Midwest team drivers had organized into 18 local unions. The activity caught the interest of American Federation of Labor (AFL) leader Samuel Gompers, who called on the locals to create a national teamsters organization under the umbrella of the AFL. The next year the Team Drivers International Union (TDIU) was chartered, with an initial membership of 1,700.

Organizational competition culminated in the establishment of the rival Teamsters National Union. Gompers Convinced the rival unions to meet. As a result, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) was born in Niagara Falls, NY in 1903. Cornelius Shea was elected its first General President.

The early International struggled. Labor laws were nonexistent and companies used anti-trust laws against unions. In 1905, the international backed a bloody strike at the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward Company. The strike lasted more than a 100 days, cost about $1 million and led to 21 deaths. In the end, Montgomery Ward's cutthroat tactics broke the strike. Shea's skills as a union leader were questioned and his reputation tarnished. By the 1907 convention, Local 25's Dan Tobin had solidified national support and was elected General President. His election brought forth new momentum to the fledgling union.

1907-1915
Tobin began his term with an aggressive plan to organize. The Teamsters union set its sights on bringing the beer wagon drivers, travel haulers and the men who made deliveries for bakers and confectioners into the union.

Workers sought International representation to advance their economic aims through trade unions. Despite the gunfire and bloodshed that often confronted these workers' efforts, Teamster union activity resulted in improved working conditions. Contracts became standardized, reduced hours of work were won, and the right to overtime pay established. But the freight-moving business was radically changing. In 1912, with the first transcontinental delivery of goods by motor truck, the wave of the future was obvious. Horses were fast being replaced by trucks. Tobin recognized the trend and set out to organize the fast growing motorized truck delivery industry.

For several years, trucks and horses worked some of the same jobs: Teamsters at the reins and steering wheels. Desperate to compete with the new motor carriers, horse drawn freight firms foolishly sought to economize by eliminating noontime feedings for Teamster horses. Teamsters responded by striking, safeguarding their animals' well being.

World War I and the 20's
  The start of World War I in Europe, in 1914 , led to an economic downturn in the U.S. that quickly gave way to an industrial boom. The war-powered boom was a powerful engine helping to drive Tobin's relentless organizating.
  Teamsters played a crucial role in the war effort. Union members helped secure military success by speedy movement of overseas troops and supplies from ports to battle lines. Speeding through France and Germany, American trucks were a key part of the U.S. war effort.
  Following the war, Tobin emerged as a pre-eminent U.S. labor leader, and the International's position in the vanguard of the U.S. labor movement was cemented.
  Americans prospered in the post-WW I era. Teamster locals responded to new opportunities with zeal, making sure Teamsters won their fair share of the nation's new production of wealth. In 1920, Tobin persuaded the membership to double the per capita assessment charged to all locals. This made it possible to raise International strike benefits. In addition to rapid organizing of the burgeoning trucking industry, the International expanded by affiliating with the Canadian Trades Labor Congress.
   By 1925, the union's treasury had reached $1 million. The International was prosperous enough in 1926 to make a donation of $5,000 to brother trade unionists striking in the anthracite coal mining industry. But in October 1929 America's course changed.