Cornelius Shea
| Cornelius Shea | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
September 17, 1872 Cambridge, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | January 12, 1929 (aged 56) Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Occupation | Union leader |
| Spouse(s) | Mary "Minnie" Shea (nee Lyons) |
| Children | Margaret and Genevieve (three sons did not survive infancy) |
| Parent(s) | James and Mary Shea |
Cornelius P. Shea (September 7, 1872 – January 12, 1929) was an American labor leader and organized crime figure. He was the founding president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, holding the position from 1903 until 1907. He became involved with the Chicago Outfit, and although he was indicted many times, he usually escaped conviction. After a short prison term for attempted murder removed him from union affairs, Shea was appointed secretary-treasurer of the Mafia-dominated Theatrical Janitors' Union in Chicago.
Cornelius Shea was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on September 27, 1872, to James and Mary Shea, Irish immigrants. His father owned his own tipcart and collected garbage for a living. Shea attended public elementary school, then dropped out after the sixth grade to work for his father.
Little is known about Shea's life between 1884 and 1894. But at the age of 22, Shea married 19-year-old Mary "Minnie" Lyons, the daughter of Irish immigrants Patrick and Margaret (Reagan) Lyons. The Sheas married in Cambridge on May 27, 1895. The couple had five children. The three sons did not survive infancy, but the two daughters (Margaret and Genevieve) did.
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) had helped form local unions of teamsters since 1887. In November 1898, the AFL organized the Team Drivers' International Union (TDIU). In 1900, Shea helped organize TDIU Local 191 in Boston. He was elected the local's business agent in 1901, and president of the newly organized Boston Team Drivers' Joint Council in 1902. He was also elected a delegate to the Boston Central Labor Council and the local building trades alliance.
In 1901, a group of Teamsters in Chicago, Illinois, broke from the TDIU and formed the Teamsters National Union. The new union permitted only employees, teamster helpers, and owner-operators owning only a single team to join, unlike the TDIU (which permitted large employers to be members), and was very aggressive in advocating higher wages and shorter hours. Claiming more than 28,000 members in 47 locals, its president, Albert Young, applied for membership in the AFL. The AFL asked the TDIU to merge with Young's union to form a new, AFL-affiliated union. The two groups did so in 1903, creating the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). Shea was elected the new union's first president.
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