as chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. The Dotson-led labor board had issued a string of decisions which the Teamsters considered anti-labor. On the eve of the Republican National Convention, Presser told the press that Dotson's removal was a "do-or-die situation" for the Teamsters—which held more NLRB-supervised organizing elections than any other union. Reagan refused to fire Dotson, although presidential aides said that a compromise would be reached over the NLRB's actions. Just a week later, the Teamsters endorsed Reagan. Vice President George H. W. Bush accepted the endorsement in person. The Teamster endorsement was the only large labor union endorsement Reagan received. In apparent gratitude, Reagan named Presser to the second Reagan transition team as a labor advisor. Collective bargaining achievements Trucking: Deregulation had led to intense competition in the trucking industry, and many union trucking firms were nearing bankruptcy or were in financial difficulty. In January 1983, the employer organization which governed collective bargaining activities in the trucking industry asked the Teamsters to re-open its contract and approve significant wage reductions. Presser agreed to do both, so long as laid-off union members were given preference in re-hiring. The employers agreed. The agreement was announced on August 16, 1983. But in a surprise vote, Teamster members rejected the new wage agreement 94,086 to 13,082—easily reaching the two-thirds majority necessarily to reject a contract under the Teamster constitution. The results were a serious blow to Presser's prestige and power in the union. Trucking industry talks began again in January 1985. Presser pushed for limits on the use of non-union subcontractors and subsidiaries, as well as wage and pension increases. Employers pushed for the establishment of a two-tier wage scale that would set permanently lower salaries for new drivers. Negotiators reached a new contract on April 1, 1985, as the old agreement expired. Teamsters officials initially claimed the settlement retained a single wage scale. In fact the agreement created a two-tier pay system, with new workers receiving wages 30 percent lower than incumbent drivers. The agreement also eliminated cost-of-living increases and significantly lower wages for temporary workers. The total wage and benefit package provided an increase of 10 percent over three years, the lowest increase since a national agreement had first been established in 1964. Presser and other Teamster leaders were forced to lobby hard for passage of the agreement. After a month-long ratification battle, Teamsters members narrowly ratified the