The Independent Disciplinary Officers (IDO) provide Court ordered independent disciplinary oversight to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) to ensure that the union and all of its members comply with the IBT Constitution and relevant labor laws. The IDO is comprised of two different officers: the Independent Investigations Officer (IIO), who is responsible for investigating and charging members with violations, and the Independent Review Officer (IRO), who is responsible for reviewing IBT disciplinary decisions referred by the IIO.
The IIO is authorized to investigate any allegations of corruption in the IBT, including bribery, extortion, organized crime, embezzlement, racketeering, use of threats of force or violence against members to interfere with or extort their rights under the IBT Constitution or their union democracy rights under applicable law, including their rights to assemble, express their views, vote, seek election to office, support the candidates of their choice, and participate in the affairs of the IBT, as well as acceptance of money or other things of value from any employer or agent of an employer, and any racketeering activity.
This current system stems from a 1989 Consent Decree agreed to by both the U.S. Department of Justice and the IBT to settle a lawsuit filed in a New York federal court, United States v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, et. al., 88 Civ. 4486 (LAP). The Consent Decree required the Government to oversee the IBT to ensure that it would be run democratically, with integrity, and for the sole benefit of its members, with the goal of eliminating corruption and the influence of organized crime within the IBT.
In 2015, the Department of Justice, the IBT, and the Court replaced the Consent Decree with the Final Order, which recognized the significant success the IBT made in eliminating corruption and in conducting free, open, and democratic elections for its International Officers and Convention Delegates. Based on that success, the Final Order phased out the Government’s role in the union’s affairs but established the independent disciplinary system, which exists today in the form of the IDO.
The current IRO is the Honorable Barbara S. Jones (Ret.), a former District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. The IIO is Robert D. Luskin. Their five-year terms commenced on March 1, 2021.