| |
N0KFQ > TODAY 31.07.11 22:08l 58 Lines 2688 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 10481_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jul 31
Path: IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<VE3UIL<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 110731/1956Z 10481@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Jul 31, 1975:
Jimmy Hoffa disappears
On July 31, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa, one of the most influential
American labor leaders of the 20th century, disappears in
Detroit, Michigan, never to be heard from again. Though he is
popularly believed to have been the victim of a Mafia hit,
conclusive evidence was never found, and Hoffa's death remains
shrouded in mystery to this day.
Born in 1913 to a poor coal miner in Brazil, Indiana, Jimmy Hoffa
proved a natural leader in his youth. At the age of 20, he helped
organize a labor strike in Detroit, and remained an advocate for
downtrodden workers for the rest of his life. Hoffa's charisma
and talents as a local organizer quickly got him noticed by the
Teamsters and carried him upward through its ranks. Then a small
but rapidly growing union, the Teamsters organized truckers
across the country, and through the use of strikes, boycotts and
some more powerful though less legal methods of protest, won
contract demands on behalf of workers.
Hoffa became president of the Teamsters in 1957, when its former
leader was imprisoned for bribery. As chief, Hoffa was lauded for
his tireless work to expand the union, and for his unflagging
devotion to even the organization's least powerful members. His
caring and approachability were captured in one of the more
well-known quotes attributed to him: "You got a problem? Call me.
Just pick up the phone."
Hoffa's dedication to the worker and his electrifying public
speeches made him wildly popular, both among his fellow workers
and the politicians and businessmen with whom he negotiated. Yet,
for all the battles he fought and won on behalf of American
drivers, he also had a dark side. In Hoffa's time, many Teamster
leaders partnered with the Mafia in racketeering, extortion and
embezzlement. Hoffa himself had relationships with high-ranking
mobsters, and was the target of several government investigations
throughout the 1960s. In 1967, he was convicted of bribery and
sentenced to 15 years in prison.
While in jail, Hoffa never ceded his office, and when Richard
Nixon commuted his sentence in 1971, he was poised to make a
comeback. Released on condition of not participating in union
activities for 10 years, Hoffa was planning to fight the
restriction in court when he disappeared on July 31, 1975, from
the parking lot of a restaurant in Detroit, not far from where he
got his start as a labor organizer. Several conspiracy theories
have been floated about Hoffa's disappearance and the location of
his remains, but the truth remains unknown.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Using Outpost Version 2.5.0 c21
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
