onference of Teamsters to initially bring together the contracts of forty-six locals from eleven states. Securing contracts for truckers and warehousemen in major cities like Chicago and Detoit, the Teamsters expanded into the smnaller states. The Conference would eventually bring together the locals in twenty-three states. The Central States were a preview of what Teamster members throughout America were to come under. The truckers of the central states saw their pay rise from nineteen dollars to a whopping $469.80 for sizty hour weeks in a matter of three years. With this great increase and the appreciuation of the truckers of the central states, Hoffa began to be considered for the role of Vice President of the Internation Brotherhood of Teamsters. His cause was greatly aided by having his good friend, David Beck, as leading candidate for president of the IBT.Though not immediately the head of the union, Hoffa took part in most major actions acted upon by the union. Hoffa’s insistence on partaking in union activities permitted him to gain the eye of Dave Beck during the early 1950’s. Beck saw the drive in Hoffa as an asset to the Teamsters. Though the Teamsters were under watch by the AFL-CIO and the federal government, Hoffa took on the challenge of improving the Teamsters. Hoffa “combined a business sense of industrial tycoon with political instinct of big city boss and showmanship of a vaudeville entertainer.” (James, 1965, 271) The clout Hoffa brought to the Teamsters served as a boost to the morale of the members who had little to cheer about with the ongoing investigations. David Beck as President of the Teamsters left the roots he came from and became a Washington man. He flaunted his influence, power and wealth of the Teamsters to gain personal amenities. His “misappopriation of union funds and misuse of union power was not even known to his closest associates.” At the A.F.L....
