James “Jimmy” Riddle Hoffa, was a well-known individual and a fierce leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Hoffa was President of the Teamsters from 1958 until 1971, and he was very passionate about the working man and their rights regarding fair wages, working conditions and benefits.
Hoffa disappeared about four years after he was released from prison and his death still remained a mystery until 2004. His deep connection with the Mafia leads society to believe they had something to do with this disappearance, but nothing has ever been proved. Although Jimmy Hoffa is well known for some union corruption, his fellow union workers still supported him until the end. This is why he is still known as one of the most influential
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His father passed away due to lung disease, when Jimmy was only seven years old. After the death of his father, his family moved to Detroit, MI where Hoffa decided to drop out of school and work full time at the age of 14. He found employment working at a warehouse in order to help his mom support the family. During his time at the warehouse, Hoffa was known because of his out spoken mind. Even at a young age, he was passionate about the working man’s rights. Hoffa was fired from his job at the warehouse because he would stand his ground against management for his co – workers.
In the 1930’s, when Jimmy was a teenager he found a job working at a loading dock for a grocery store chain called, Kroger Grocery. Hoffa didn’t agree with how his fellow co-workers were being mistreated, under paid and hardly had job security. He took matters into his own hands and declared a strike against management in the middle of a shipment arriving.
With the support from his union co - workers, they refused to unload the shipments of goods until management agreed to their demands. Management had no choice but to give in and come to an agreement, which led to the employees receiving a better contract of employment almost immediately. The contract included better wages and working conditions. At an early age, Hoffa was already becoming a passionate union leader, but that was only the beginning