Labor history of the United States democracy on the previously authoritarian union hierarchies. However, in the 1958 elections, taking place during a sharp economic recession, the unions fought back especially against state Right to Work laws and defeated many conservative Republicans. The Teamsters union was expelled from the AFL for its notorious corruption under president Dave Beck. Its troubles gained national attention from highly visible Senate hearings. The target was Jimmy Hoffa (1913–1975), who replaced Beck and held total power until he was imprisoned in 1964. The UAW under Reuther played a major role in funding and supporting the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and
Foreign trade of the Soviet Union the two countries. In 1987 total trade between the United States and the Soviet Union amounted to US$2 billion. The Soviet Union exported chemicals, metals (including gold), and petroleum products in addition to fur skins, alcoholic beverages, and fish products to the United States and received agricultural goods—mostly grain—and industrial equipment in return. The value of exports to the Soviet Union in 1987 amounted to US$1.5 billion, three-quarters of which consisted of agricultural products and one-quarter industrial equipment. Competition from other parts of the world, improvements in Soviet grain production, and political disagreements between the two countries adversely affected American