Hoffa was born in Brazil, Indiana, on February 14, 1913, to John and Viola (née Riddle) Hoffa. His father, who was of German descent from … See more

The Teamsters, founded in 1903, had 75,000 members in 1933. As a result of Hoffa's work with other union leaders, he consolidated local union trucker groups into regional sections … See more

Hoffa worked to defend the Teamsters from raids by other unions, including the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and he extended the Teamsters' influence in the Midwest from the … See more

Hoffa faced major criminal investigations in 1957, as a result of the McClellan Committee. On March 14, 1957, Hoffa was arrested for allegedly trying to bribe an aide to the Select … See more

Hoffa began union organizational work at the grassroots level as a teenager through his job with a grocery chain, which paid substandard wages and offered poor working conditions with minimal job security. The workers were displeased with that situation … See more

Hoffa took over the presidency of the Teamsters in 1957, at the convention in Miami Beach, Florida. Beck, his predecessor, had appeared before the John L. McClellan-led US Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor or Management Field See more

On December 23, 1971, less than five years into his 13-year sentence, Hoffa was released from prison when US President Richard Nixon See more