The 123rd Anniversary of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
By Maura Drumm
August 4 marks the 123rd anniversary of the founding of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. This anniversary is not just a milestone — it is a reminder that the notion of workers fighting as one is still the most formidable force for change in America.
The Teamsters’ story began long before tractor-trailers and package cars. The union’s earliest members drove horse-drawn wagons, hauling freight, coal, beer, ice, and every other essential good through America’s growing cities. They understood that whether you held the reins of a horse or the wheel of a truck, working people were strongest when they stood together.
That spirit of solidarity was cemented in 1903, when two rival organizations — the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union — set aside their differences and met in Niagara Falls, New York, to unite as one organization: the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. It was an extraordinary decision. Rather than competing against one another, workers chose unity, recognizing that a single, stronger union could accomplish far more than divided organizations ever could. More than a century later, that same principle continues to define the Teamsters.
That spirit of solidarity was cemented in 1903, when two rival organizations — the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union — set aside their differences and met in Niagara Falls, New York, to unite as one organization: the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. It was an extraordinary decision. Rather than competing against one another, workers chose unity, recognizing that a single, stronger union could accomplish far more than divided organizations ever could. More than a century later, that same principle continues to define the Teamsters.
For those of us who come from Teamsters families, this anniversary isn’t just a story you read about once a year — it’s something you grow up with.
My great-grandfather immigrated from County Derry to Philadelphia and worked at Schmidt’s Brewery, first taking care of the delivery horses and then worked as a truck driver, always as a proud Teamster. He took great pride in delivering Schmidt’s products to thirsty Philadelphians, knowing his Teamsters paycheck helped secure a stable life for him, my great-grandma, and their five children. He later found comfort that his union benefits would help my mom, his granddaughter, after the early death of her own father.
My dad and his brother were Teamsters as well, working in a UPS warehouse while putting themselves through college. As the sons of an IUEW member and the grandsons of two members of the FOP and a union seamstress, they understood that a good union job wasn’t just a paycheck — it was a path to a better life.
My dad and his brother were Teamsters as well, working in a UPS warehouse while putting themselves through college. As the sons of an IUEW member and the grandsons of two members of the FOP and a union seamstress, they understood that a good union job wasn’t just a paycheck — it was a path to a better life.
Being a third-generation Teamster means that countless stories were told at the dining room table about hard routes, long strikes, and the difference a union contract made to a family’s future.
That kind of upbringing teaches you that unions are about dignity, fairness, and leverage in a system that tilts heavily toward the employer. A union contract takes individual vulnerability and turns it into collective strength.
In a Teamsters household you learn that the benefits of a union contract aren’t just given, they are fought for, often over years, and are then defended over and over again. Every generation holds the responsibility to hold onto and build upon the gains they negotiate.
I’m proud of my family’s history with labor unions and grateful to have been given a firsthand look at the importance of solidarity.
The work of my dad and great-grandpa, and the union stories they told during my childhood, inspired me to pursue my own career with the Teamsters, as a member of the Strategic Initiatives Department of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
On this 123rd anniversary, the story of the Teamsters is not only written by contract wins, strikes, and organizing victories, it is written in families like mine, where labor is not just a job, it is a career and path to success.
The Teamsters were founded because workers understood that unity was stronger than division. That lesson remains just as important today as it was in Niagara Falls in 1903. From horse-drawn wagons to modern logistics, from my great-grandfather’s delivery route through Northeast Philadelphia to my dad’s years in a UPS warehouse and now to my own career with the union, the thread connecting every generation has been solidarity.
The enduring strength of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is not in one moment in history but in the way its message is passed from worker to worker, family to family, and encouraging future generations to continue building, protecting, and believing in the power of collective action.
Originally published by Just Cause Teamsters. Read the original article here.
https://justcauseteamsters.substack.com/p/solidarity-across-generations-the