Teamsters in Hollywood
I’ll say it, though I know it’s not true across the board: teamsters in Hollywood give teamsters a bad name. In my past experiences, they’ve been rude and made me feel like I was doing something wrong even if it was my golf cart they were sitting on or even if I had just as much a right to be eating lunch as they did. I’ll spare you the stories, as they’re not that great, but suffice it to say that I’d rather be standing in line with Alan Arkin, making a fool of myself with nonsense small talk, then a teamster, no matter how big a beard that teamster may have.
- The term teamster originally meant one who led a team of horses, mules or oxen (draft animals) who pulled a wagon.
- It was commonly used on the American frontier during the US/Mexican and Indian wars (19th-early 20th century).
- Today teamsters are truck drivers and there is a labor union, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest in the United States.
- Founded in 1903, the union was originally called The International Noise Conspiracy.
- JK, it was originally called The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America.
- The prominence of teamsters in the movie business came about during the Great Depression, when the industry was booming and work was lacking elsewhere.
- Sure, it was good to have a job while so many others were out of work, but teamsters in Hollywood were exploited, paid very little and were very replaceable, as there were so many others lined up, waiting to take one’s place if he complained.
- Faced with such circumstances, 180 men organized themselves into Teamsters Local 399 in April of 1930.
- Today, over 4,000 people boast membership in the Motion Picture & Theatrical Trade Division. Animal wranglers are included in this division, as are a few other non-truck driving positions.
- Teamsters are important and they know it - if they went on strike, the industry would shut down, but I feel like sometimes some teamsters exploit that fact, case in point with my lame, vague anecdotes.
