Fitzsimmons rapidly solidified his own hold on the Teamsters presidency throughout 1967. He had permitted the International vice presidents greater latitude in their own affairs and delegated authority to them, winning their allegiance. He defeated an executive-board attempt to oust him in July, and followed it up by demoting Hoffa aides and promoting his own supporters (including Weldon Mathis) to high positions in the union. By August, he had openly declared he would run for the presidency of the union. He further increased his popularity by negotiating in October 1967 a national master contract in the trucking industry which brought 40,000 Northeastern truckers into the contract for the first time, and by negotiating a new contract that ended a five-month steel haulers' strike.