On this day in labor history, the year was 1913, James Riddle Hoffa was born to a coal miner in Brazil, Indiana. Tragedy struck the Hoffa home in 1920 when at age 7 young Jimmy lost his father.
In 1924, like many families in Brazil the Hoffa family moved to Detroit, Michigan in search of work.
At 14 Hoffa left school to help support his family where he found work in a Kroger grocery store warehouse.
At the young age of 19 he led the warehouse workers in a successful strike. A year later he joined the Teamsters Union.
He rose quickly through their ranks, becoming vice president in 1952 and then president in 1957. Under Hoffa’s leadership the Teamsters union grew to represent 2 million workers.
Hoffa took a strong stand against racial discrimination both within the Teamsters union and in American society.
In 1958 he wrote a letter to Teamster union locals asserting this stance. He wrote, “As Americans, we should be opposed to bigotry and racial discrimination at every turn, and do everything possible to make the Bill of Rights a reality for every citizen.”
In 1964, Hoffa was able to bring nearly all of the nation’s truck drivers under the National Master Freight Agreement, one of the first industry wide, nationwide multi-employer agreements, a powerful bargaining strategy for these workers.
That same year Hoffa was convicted for bribery. Rumors swirled about his alleged connections to organized crime. After his prison sentence was commuted by President Nixon, Hoffa mysteriously disappeared in 1975.
There are many Conspiracy theories about the disappearance, fueling many T.V. specials , film and books. But these allegations and mysteries cannot diminish the lasting legacy of Hoffa’s unwavering commitment to working people.
Today his son serves as President of the Teamster’s carrying on his father’s legacy.
Labor History in 2:00 brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society and The Rick Smith Show