Jimmy Hoffa He accused senior Nixon Administration figures, including Attorney General John N. Mitchell and White House Special Counsel Charles Colson, of depriving him of his rights by imposing this condition; Mitchell and Colson both denied this. It was probably imposed upon Hoffa as the result of requests from the Teamsters' leadership, although Fitzsimmons also denied this. Hoffa sued to invalidate the non-participation restriction in order to reassert his power over the Teamsters. John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, was among those called upon for depositions in 1974 court proceedings. Dean, who had become famous as a government witness
GCHQ trade union ban in Cheltenham. Following the expression of concern by US spymasters, trade unionism was banned at GCHQ (which monitors radio communications around the world as a part of an Anglo-American intelligence agreement). The US security agency used its diplomatic influence to secure the union ban. Margaret Thatcher claimed industrial action at the base, particularly during the 1981 civil service pay strike, had undermined the nation's security and justified the ban. On 25 January 1984, during the Second Thatcher ministry, Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe announced in the House of Commons that trade unionism was no longer acceptable at GCHQ. The TUC, CCSU,