Union Power — 1957 through the 70's
  Despite some legislative assaults, the Teamsters grew in size and power from the late 50's to the late 70's. Unions and workers prospered as the middle-class reaped the benefits of the New Deal and post-war economic surge. Labor leaders like Teamsters General President Jimmy Hoffa were recognizable public figures who shaped public debate.
   The union used the position to better the lives of hard-working Teamster members. Seeking to expand their political clout, the Teamsters established D.R.I.V.E. (Democrat, Republican, and Independent Voter Education) in 1959. D.R.I.V.E. soon became the nation's largest Political Action Committee (PAC).
   The 1964 National Master Freight Agreement was a watershed event for the Teamsters. It covered 400,000 members employed by some 16,000 trucking companies and spawned similar bargaining in other Teamster trades and crafts.
   Teamsters were also at the forefront in the battle for social justice in America. In 1965, the International contributed $25,000 to Dr. Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This was the union's largest monetary contribution to a social cause of the time. Whatever working men and women marched for jobs, welfare, or justice, there marched a sizable contingent of Teamsters.
The Growth Slows
   By 1973, the American economy began to slow, but the Teamsters bucked the trends and continued to better the wages, security, and working conditions of the membership.
   As General President, Frank Fitzsimmons engineered an alliance with the Nixon White House that put him in a position to safeguard the interests of working men and women during the wage and price controls of the early 70's. Other 70's era advances included a 1975 master agricultural agreement won by the Western Conference, dramatically improving wages and conditions for more than 30,000 farm workers employed by 175 separate growers. In 1976, Teamster membership topped 2,000,000.