Organized Crime Infiltrated American Cities Through Labor Unions

The rise of organized crime syndicates in mid-twentieth-century America was inseparable from the rise of labor unions. This episode traces how criminal organizations used unions as vehicles for money laundering, extortion, and violence, how they provided employment and protection to working-class communities, and how law enforcement's response was often to attack unions rather than the criminals who had infiltrated them. We examine specific cases of union corruption, the Teamsters and their relationship with organized crime, and the way the FBI's investigations often targeted union organizers as much as criminals. Using court documents, FBI files, and historical analysis, we explore the complicated relationship between organized crime and working-class resistance, asking whether the criminalization of unions was about fighting crime or about breaking labor power.