Labor / Notorious figures
Jimmy Hoffa
1913–1975 · Teamsters union president (1957–1971)
Detroit-raised Teamsters boss who built the union's power from Local 299, went to prison and vanished outside a suburban restaurant in 1975.
- Born
Brazil, Indiana- Died
disappeared from Bloomfield Township, Michigan
aged 62- Birth name
- James Riddle Hoffa
- Detroit years
- 1924–1975
- Field
- Labor, Notorious figures
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
James Riddle Hoffa moved to Detroit with his widowed mother in 1924, left school early and, as a teenager working at a Kroger warehouse, led a walkout that launched his union career. Teamsters Local 299 in Detroit hired him as an organizer, and he became its president in 1946, building a regional power base through tough bargaining and, from the start, deals with Detroit's gangsters. He rose to national vice president in 1952 and general president in 1957, and in 1964 won the first nationwide freight contract. That same year he was convicted of jury tampering and fraud; he entered prison in 1967, and President Nixon commuted his sentence in 1971 on condition that he stay out of union office. Determined to return, he clashed with mob figures backing his successor. On July 30, 1975, he went to the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township expecting to meet Detroit mobster Anthony Giacalone; his car was found in the parking lot, but he was never seen again. He was declared legally dead in 1982.
Highlights
- President of Teamsters Local 299 in Detroit from 1946
- General President of the Teamsters, 1957–1971
- Won the first National Master Freight Agreement in 1964
- Disappeared from the Machus Red Fox parking lot on July 30, 1975
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Related place · 1975
Machus Red Fox restaurant (former)
Closed
Restaurant on Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Township where Hoffa was last seen on July 30, 1975; his son's wedding reception had been held there. The restaurant has since closed.
Worked here · 1930s–1975
Teamsters Local 299
The Detroit Teamsters local that was Hoffa's power base from the 1930s; he led it from 1946 and took a job there again after prison.