Jimmy Hoffa Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975) was an American labor union leader who served as the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union from 1957 until 1971. He vanished in late July 1975, at age 62. From an early age, Hoffa was a union activist and became an important regional figure with the IBT by his mid-20s. By 1952 he was national vice-president of the IBT, and was its general president between 1957 and 1971. He secured the first national agreement for teamsters' rates in 1964 with the National Master Freight
International Brotherhood of Teamsters a city and bring a strike into nearly every neighborhood. It also meant that Teamsters leaders were able to demand bribes in order to avoid strikes, and control of a Teamsters local could bring organized crime significant revenues. During Shea's presidency, the entire Teamsters union was notoriously corrupt. Noted labor historian John R. Commons famously concluded that during this time, the Teamsters were less a union and more a criminal organization. Several major strikes occupied the union in its first three years. In November 1903, Teamsters employed by the Chicago City Railway went out on strike. Shea attempted to stop