Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / Union vs. Empire: Curtis Turner, the Teamsters, and NASCAR’s Forgotten Labor Battle

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Union vs. Empire: Curtis Turner, the Teamsters, and NASCAR’s Forgotten Labor Battle · BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

• 0:00
  Breakfix's History of Motorsports series is brought to you in part
• 0:04
  by the International Motor Racing Research Center, as well as the
• 0:07
  Society of Automotive Historians, the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of
• 0:11
  Commerce, and the Argettsinger family.
• 0:16
  Organized Labor and NASCAR, the Teamsters and the Federation of Professional
• 0:21
  Athletes, by Mackenzie Kierke.
• 0:24
  McKenzie Kirkey received his master's in arts in history from Brock University
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  and his undergraduate degree in history from Bishop's University.
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  McKenzie's presentation focuses on NASCAR driver Curtis Turner and the efforts
• 0:36
  of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to unionize NASCAR drivers in
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  1961, and the tactics used by NASCAR's founder and president Bill France Sr.
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  to try and thwart their attempts.
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  Our next presentation kind of ties into some of the, uh, things we've talked about
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  over the years, like with Buzz and some of the others who've talked about NASCAR.
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  Well, good afternoon, everyone.
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  My name is McKenzie, and today we'll be talking about organized labor
• 1:01
  and NASCAR, the Teamsters, and the Federation of Professional Athletes.
• 1:05
  And as Buzz McKim had already went a little bit this morning, France
• 1:09
  privately owned the company that was a management control system.
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  Basically, France had say in everything that NASCAR had to do,
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  whether it was guarding purses, driver points, schedule, etc.
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  But one thing that he did was disqualify any driver that did not specify his
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  rules book and only his rule book, which he had sole control over.
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  And this happened in 1949 with the first Grand National Race, which we
• 1:30
  know today as the NASCAR Cup Series.
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  When driver Glenn Dunaway was disqualified by France for having an illegal piece
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  of wedge in his springs that helped the car turn better in the corners.
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  Now back then, there was no appeals board for NASCAR, so
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  whatever France said was final.
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  Except, Dunaway's owner, Hubert Westmore, decided to sue NASCAR
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  for 10, 000 to have Glenn Dunaway reinstated as the race winner.
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  The first true case of someone going up against Bill France
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  and testing his authority.
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  In early 1950, Judge Johnson J.
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  Hayes sided with NASCAR saying that France had the right to disqualify
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  the race car drivers that did not fit specifications according to the technical
• 2:06
  specifications of the rules book.
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  A major victory for France in the sense that not only was his
• 2:12
  rule book legal precedent, but also his decision making as well.
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  Bill France Senior, if he caught you racing in any other series besides
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  his own, he would strip you of your driver points during the season.
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  Happened to Curtis Turner, the aforementioned Lee Petty.
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  In 1950, happened to Red Byron twice of the year, had been the previous champion.
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  But there's also one key legal case.
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  In 1951, That would be key not only for the start of the
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  FPA, but ultimately its end.
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  And this was the legal case of the Outdoor Sports Corporation.
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  So in a 6 1 rule, the New Jersey Supreme Court had said that the drivers
• 2:44
  participating in the series We're not employees of this series, but rather
• 2:48
  contestants or independent contractors.
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  In short, the court establishes there's no employer employee
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  relationship in any racing series.
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  Come 1961, the founding of the FPA and the latter stages of it.
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  So skipping a little bit ahead to 1959, Curtis Turner decides he wants
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  to build the Charlemotor Speedway, a dream of his to own and operate.
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  He even got Bill France Sr.
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  to sanction a bunch of NASCAR races starting in 1960, the most prominent being
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  the World 600, on Memorial Day weekend, which today is known as the Coca Cola 600.
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  Well, unfortunately for Turner, construction problems hampered
• 3:22
  the track from the very beginning.
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  First and foremost, the land that was being constructed
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  on was under solid granite.
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  Construction costs went for the roof overnight.
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  It also did not help efforts that over three feet of precipitation fell in
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  the fall and winter of 1959 1960 alone.
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  Despite enacting 12 hour workdays for the construction workers, The track could
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  not have the race ready for May of 1960, it got pushed back three weeks, in large
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  part because half the track wasn't even fully paved yet, and they only got it
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  done, the paving job, within about a day or two of the race actually ready to go.
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  So how did the World 600 turn out in 1960?
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  It was a complete disaster.
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  The fact is, if you don't let the pavement harden, it's going to create
• 4:05
  the potholes, and the problem was that...
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  Chunks of asphalt were going so bad that they threatened to go through the
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  windshields of the drivers themselves and even the grills of the cars that
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  would pretty much kill the motor.
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  Out of the 60 drivers that started the race, only 18 finished.
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  It did not help things that Bill Francine disqualified Lee Petty,
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  Richard Petty, and Junior Johnson for what he called illegal pit entry
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  and stripped all their prize money.
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  Things could not have turned out worse for Curtis Turner.
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  And the track floundered with attendance and upkeep costs like the unforeseen
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  repaving the track and even payable costs.
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  So by the time we get to June of 1961, the Charlemore Speedway is at a crossroads.
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  It's facing over 800, 000 in debt.
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  And the track board is given an ultimatum, remove Curtis Turner
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  immediately from all positions, whether it's the board, the presidency, or
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  the track will be foreclosed on.
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  So, that's exactly what happens.
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  And now Turner, in his mind, after being forced to resign as president
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  and bloated off the board directors has one goal in mind, regain control
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  of the track in any way he could.
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  And he only saw one way to do so, get the debts paid off that the track owed.
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  And this is where the Teamsters Union comes in.
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  Ironically, before Turner was even ousted, his chief financial officer, William
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  Rabin, had offered him a meeting with the vice president of the Teamsters Union,
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  Harold Gibbons, to talk about the problems of the track, to see if he'd be interested
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  in getting a loan in exchange for unionizing himself and his fellow drivers.
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  Turner was just too proud of a guy to do so.
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  So he rejected it thinking that he and he alone could
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  solve the track debts problems.
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  What ended up happening was Turner at this point realized I need to
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  go see the Teamsters again See if the offer still stands and it did.
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  So Kurtis Turner along with his fellow driver Glenn Farlbaugh Roberts One of the
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  most respected drivers of the early NASCAR days Decided to go to Chicago to meet with
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  the Teamsters in an early August hampered out the agreement for an 850, 000 loan
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  for unionizing as many NASCAR drivers as possible and with the understanding that
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  this would have to be formally in public recognized by NASCAR Once the meeting
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  is done, Turner quickly goes to Bowman Gray Stadium on August 5th to talk to his
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  drivers to see if they'd be interested.
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  And surprisingly, there were quite a few.
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  Now, why did the drivers be so interested in the FPA?
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  Well, they saw a few reasons.
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  One, pay scale wasn't right.
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  They thought that the pay themselves that they were getting in the
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  rice purses were more like the late 40s, early 50s standards.
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  By the time you get to 1961, NASCAR has a longer schedule, more
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  diverse races, higher paying races.
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  And they would get fans not only for the races themselves, but for
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  practicing and qualifying as well.
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  So the tracks would make more money, and the drivers didn't see
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  that trickling down to themselves.
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  Also, once you retire from NASCAR, there was no retirement system, you
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  had no pension, you had no benefits.
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  But above all, the drivers saw one thing.
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  They saw Bill Francis having all decision making in any NASCAR
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  decisions, and they had no say.
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  And they saw this union as a potential for them to finally get in
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  voice of NASCAR's decision making.
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  So, Once they're doing that right under Bill France Senior, do you
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  think he's going to just let it go?
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  Of course not, he doesn't.
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  First thing he does on August 6th through the 7th is call his fellow
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  track owners and promoters to see if not only are they behind him, but
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  behind him for one particular reason.
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  A ban.
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  France wanted to ban any FPA driver competing in any of his races at
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  any of the tracks and wanted to make sure the tracks themselves...
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  When in force is spanned by escorting any drivers from the property and seizing
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  the last car licenses if it came to that.
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  But you also want to do one other thing.
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  Go to Washington DC.
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  In early 1961, who's the one guy you want to see in Washington DC if you
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  have a teamsters Jimmy Hoffa problem?
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  Specifically someone who's confronted Hoffa maybe in the televised, not
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  so much debates, but grillings.
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  That's right, Attorney General Robert F.
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  Kennedy.
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  And does France have an appointment to go see him?
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  Of course he doesn't.
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  It's Bill France.
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  So he goes right to his office and, well, France can't see him at the moment.
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  So he sends him to one of the special assistants to the
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  Attorney General, John Cassidy.
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  But before he does, France calls Cassidy and lets him know what's going on.
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  Tells him who France is, what his organization is, and tells him Jimmy Hoffa
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  and the team should try and take it over.
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  We cannot let that happen.
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  Do what you need to do to help him.
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  But also, before France left Washington, he wanted to check one important thing.
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  The 1951 Supreme Court case by the state of New Jersey was still legal precedent.
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  That the drivers themselves were not employees of racing series, but rather
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  contestants or independent contractors.
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  And he got that reassurance.
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  With all that said, on August 9th, Bill France leaves Washington, D.
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  C.
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  and goes right to Bowman Gracie in the next race on the schedule.
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  Well, on the way down, it did not help things that the Teamsters had publicly
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  proclaimed in the Charlotte Observer.
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  They had taken over NASCAR by signing up the majority of drivers.
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  That did not help Bill France feel any better.
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  Bill France, before the race, quickly meets with the drivers and lets it know.
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  Any driver after tonight's race that's an FBA member will be
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  banned from NASCAR for life.
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  Yes, he had a gun.
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  Yes, he showed it and threatened them.
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  But he also reminded them a few things.
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  Any support you would get from Detroit will be taken away
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  if you stay with the union.
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  If you have any, say like any workers, like a mechanic, now you're
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  gonna have to pay them overtime.
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  Time and a half on Saturday, double time on Sunday.
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  And he offered the drivers to sign these cards, renounce your union
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  membership, pledge your loyalty to NASCAR.
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  No worries, I'll even do something that's gonna really make you happy.
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  I'm gonna offer you a committee.
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  Ned Jarrett, you can lead it and we're going to seek to improvements in NASCAR.
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  If you have any grievances against me or any questions, any
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  concerns, go to this committee.
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  After all that's done, did it convince the drivers to change their mind?
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  Well, it did.
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  And why did the drivers abandon this union so quickly?
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  France had offered to address their main grievance, have a grievance
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  committee listen to all the complaints or whatnot, and maybe
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  have a say in NASCAR decision making.
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  But by the time you get to early 1961, NASCAR was no longer a hobby.
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  NASCAR at this point, with their extended schedule of high paying races, drivers
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  did not work in the mills Monday through Friday and go race on the weekends.
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  NASCAR was their livelihood.
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  A way that they made a living for their families.
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  That's the way the NASCAR was to them.
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  And also, we have to remember, Bill France had a monopoly on 7 star car racing.
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  You just couldn't go to any other series, make the same amount of
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  money, make a living for your family.
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  France had control, whether you owned the racetracks or sanctioned races with other
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  track promoters who were behind them.
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  Remember, the reason track promoters were behind him too is, these are
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  the big races they get every year.
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  This is where the most money is made, for the tenants, for gate receipts.
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  The drivers had nowhere else to race.
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  And, we cannot forget about the perception of the Teamsters Union itself.
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  Not just between Jimmy Hoff and Robert Kennedy.
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  Or as Bill France liked to call them, gangsters.
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  Or thugs.
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  Or corrupt.
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  The good news for Kurt Turner is he still has Fireball Roberts,
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  who is the FPA president.
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  But, two days after France met with the drivers, Roberts surprises everyone
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  and renounces his union membership.
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  He resigns as president.
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  Of course, Bill France welcomes him back right away.
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  Now, Roberts was asked, why did you abruptly resign your membership?
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  And it goes back to the very last point, the perception of the Teamsters.
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  He sees the Teamsters Union doing more harm than good
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  when it came to NASCAR racing.
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  What does Curves Turner think the next move is?
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  Well, I got myself, I still got Tim Flock.
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  Let's see if France really is gonna enforce this ban.
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  You know, he's just all talk.
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  He's not gonna do anything.
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  Let's go to like a modified race, one of the lower divisions
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  in NASCAR in Roanoke, Virginia.
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  Is he really gonna do anything?
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  Track officials are waiting for him.
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  As soon as Turner and Flock get there, they're confronted, they
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  have their NASCAR licenses seized, they are banned from the track.
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  Just a couple days later, on the 13th of August, the next Grand National
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  Race, or Cup Race, is held in Nashville, with not a single FPA driver racing.
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  Just what Bill France said would happen.
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  So at this point, Turner only sees, he only has one car left in his deck.
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  And that is to sue Bill France and NASCAR to be reinstated.
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  And this happens in September 1961.
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  NASCAR simply brings up the legal precedent of the 1951 case.
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  Before you know it, early 1962, Circuit Court Judge Robert Winfield agrees
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  and tosses the lawsuit out of court.
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  And Turner's Turner and Tim Flock are banned, at least for the time being.
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  Why didn't the team try harder to save the union or get more involved?
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  They had a lot of other problems going on with them.
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  First and foremost, In Cincinnati, in late August of 1961, they
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  have four of their own branches trying to defect to the AFL CIO.
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  And not just there, but in St.
• 12:22
  Louis, and San Francisco, and elsewhere found in the country.
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  Jimmy Hoffa did not want to let that happen.
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  He personally flew to these places to make sure that he would convince
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  them to stay, or maybe in his words, remind them who's boss.
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  But also the Teamsters realized the union itself was not worth saving.
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  You had gone from maybe about 10 to 12 drivers on the August
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  5th to down to two drivers.
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  At the end, the Teamsters realized they had violated one of the very simple rules
• 12:48
  of the Hart Taftley Act, Section 302.
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  You cannot offer a person or a group of people, in this case Turner and Roberts,
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  alone in exchange for forming a union that you would be affiliated with.
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  It's against the law.
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  So they realized after they had sued NASCAR that this was not going to work.
• 13:07
  And that's why the Teamsters themselves did not get more involved between
• 13:10
  having problems with their own union members and the fact they realized
• 13:13
  this lawsuit was not going to work.
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  FPA failing, Kurtz Turner never regained control of Shubhamer Speedway.
• 13:21
  An ironic twist of fate?
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  Bill France maintained full control and power of NASCAR because
• 13:26
  the committee he had set up.
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  He didn't really set it up to, you know, like, actually do anything.
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  He made sure that he picked Ned Jarrett.
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  Someone who was, as they say, his nickname, Gentleman Ned.
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  Someone who is respected, but wouldn't be like Kurtz Turner.
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  He wouldn't form his own driver's union or raise a fuss.
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  He would just be told what to do, and simple as that.
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  So, as Ned Jarrett said, the committee met for a couple of
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  years and then quietly dissolved.
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  France had quashed the union.
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  And had gained full control and say of NASCAR decision making.
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  And the Teamsters themselves.
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  Unfortunately, for their decision not to fully support the union,
• 14:01
  focus on more important things, which might have been the good point
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  at the time, led to its demise.
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  In fact, the Teamsters are so embarrassed by this, that when I did my research at
• 14:10
  the Teamsters archives in Washington, D.
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  C., I could not find anything on this.
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  And I asked the person who was the archivist, why is this the case?
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  Why is there no documentation?
• 14:18
  He said, well, since this was such a failure, and a bit of a small black
• 14:22
  guy on the teamsters, any documentation they had at the time was destroyed.
• 14:26
  They wanted this erased from memory.
• 14:29
  That's how bad it was for them.
• 14:31
  That was a very good explanation.
• 14:34
  One of the better ones I've heard.
• 14:36
  Nothing against you Buzz, but that was really good to the point.
• 14:40
  We're going to take some questions right now.
• 14:42
  I was on the board of International Speedway Corporation from
• 14:45
  1982 to about 10 years.
• 14:49
  John Cassidy was their go to Washington attorney, even in those days.
• 14:54
  So he had a long tenure working with the France family after he
• 15:00
  left and went into private practice.
• 15:02
  Did you ever look at 1977?
• 15:05
  Jeff Bodine and Jack Housby and their efforts to get Teamsters as a sponsor.
• 15:13
  Yeah, you ought to look into that one, too.
• 15:14
  It's pretty interesting.
• 15:16
  Any news about what ever happened to Jimmy Hoffa?
• 15:22
  I was hoping you'd ask.
• 15:23
  I was a Mark Scorsese fan with the movie The Irishman.
• 15:26
  I have to believe that you cannot find the body of Jimmy Hoffa.
• 15:29
  If the movie is correct, I believe it is, there is no body.
• 15:33
  He was whacked, and then they pretty much incinerated him.
• 15:36
  Turned him into ashes, so I don't think you're gonna find a body.
• 15:39
  Thank you everyone.
• 15:46
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