Laird Evans ran the Teamsters Local 568 in Shreveport for 25 years. He stepped down as a union official in 2001. Evans describes this time as the golden age of the union in his new memoir “And Justice for All… Even Teamsters.”
His book gives glimpses inside the mighty labor union – the power struggle over government deregulation and outsourcing jobs overseas -- and how it fiercely defended the middle class worker securing fair wages and benefits.
“When I walked in, we had several companies on strike. Now, I had just come off of a freight dock. We have people on strike and we couldn’t get the strikes settled. When I got in, I had no idea how you handled all of this stuff,” Evans said.
Evans’ memoir examines Jimmy Hoffa’s rise to power, his reputation and governance.
“Hoffa ran this union and each local with an iron fist,” Evans said.
Through personal anecdotes – like the birth of his daughter – Evans describes how grateful he was that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters gave him benefits like time off at her birth and coverage of the hospital costs.
“I do tip my hat to Jimmy Hoffa. If it weren’t for Jimmy Hoffa I couldn’t have got out of the hospital with my first child without the insurance. He got the insurance for us,” Evans said.
A self-described history buff, Evans donated his three decades of Teamsters memorabilia to a museum at George Washington University. His book theorizes who killed Hoffa and it contains a section of pictures. Evans will sign copies of his book at Barnes and Noble in Shreveport on April 2 at 1 p.m.
