Jimmy Hoffa security. The workers were displeased with this situation and tried to organize a union to better their lot. Although Hoffa was young, his bravery and approachability in this role impressed fellow workers, and he rose to a leadership position. By 1932, after defiantly refusing to work for an abusive shift foreman, who inspired Hoffa's long career of organizing workers, he left the grocery chain, in part because of his union activities. Hoffa was then invited to become an organizer with the Local 299 of the Teamsters in Detroit. The Teamsters union, founded in 1903, had 75,000 members in 1933. As
Jimmy Hoffa a case for his union leadership skills being of more value to the nation, by keeping freight running smoothly to assist the war effort. At the 1952 IBT convention in Los Angeles, Hoffa was selected as national vice-president by incoming president Dave Beck, successor to Daniel J. Tobin, who had been president since 1907. Hoffa had quelled an internal revolt against Tobin by securing Central States regional support for Beck at the convention. In exchange, Beck made Hoffa a vice-president. The IBT moved its headquarters from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C., taking over a large office building in the capital in