My uncle was a Teamsters driver. He used to say that "Hoffa is no lamb," but he supported him because he got tangible benefits out of his membership in the union. Although Hoffa was in bed with the Mob, he was never under the Mob's thumb. He fought hard for his union, making the Teamsters the largest and wealthiest union in America in its day ,and wages/benefits greatly improved under him. He did engage in criminal activities, but so did the Justice Department--the "Get Hoffa Squad" sometimes used extralegal means to get Hoffa. On the negative side, Hoffa's notoriety hurt the Teamsters' image, and that of organized labor as a whole. The Mob grew stronger because of its ability to tap Teamsters pension funds and to put their own men in high places in the union.

Unions have been in long decline because of America's transition to a service economy, and because high tech industries were never unionized. I think the teachers unions are the biggest today, and they are losing ground to charter and private schools.