1913-1975(?)
Labor Leader and Racketeer

Teamsters Hierarchy.

At one time possibly the most powerful union leader in the United States, James R. (Jimmy) Hoffa had worked his way up through the ranks of the Teamsters union, the largest union in the nation. In 1952 he won election as international vice-president of the Teamsters behind president Dave Beck, who was already under investigation by federal agencies. Hoffa centralized the administration and bargaining procedures of the union in the international union office and succeeded in creating the first national freight-hauling agreement.

President.

In 1957 Beck was summoned before the U.S. Senate's McClellan Committee, where he took the Fifth Amendment approximately two hundred times. When Beck finished his testimony, he had little credibility left as the Teamsters leader. Hoffa moved in. The election to put Hoffa in the presidency was disputed, and the government publicly emphasized Hoffa's connections with...