longer be head of the Teamsters, Hoffa took more decisions into his own hand and took a more commanding role as vice president of the Teamsters.Hoffa continued to work incessantly at improving the Teamsters image and reputation. He respected few people but always maintained a high image for the Teamsters. “Nothing’s good enough for the Teamsters and very little is good enough” (Walker, 1959, 47) Hoffa’s experience at Kroger’s had set him up to be a union man. Hoffa devoted his life to the Teamsters in all aspect of their operations. “Hoffa is a tireless worker who probably logs more air miles visiting his locals than John Foster Dulles visiting our allies.” (Life, 1959, 36) Many times Hoffa would work from seven in the morning to late evening six days a week but “every hour I work is an hour of pleasure” (De Weaver, 1956, 11). Hoffa increased the power of the Teamsters methodically so as not to scare the country from unions. Initially he wanted to negotiate individual contracts to gain better working conditions and benefits for Teamsters. These small increases brought more people to the Teamsters and allowed Hoffa to negotiate nationwide contracts for union members doing the same work. One of Hoffa’s methods to increasing the power was to negotiate multiple contracts that would expire on the same day. The looming effect of a nationwide shutdown scared not only the government but also the public. Though the contracts allowed for Hoffa to control the life of every American, he knew “he could never actually shut down the country because it would mean the end of the Teamsters.”As president of the teamsters, Hoffa brought a new skill that few presidents before him were capable of executing. His negotiating skills made him the first president in recent years to combine the roles of collective bargaining chief along with that of political head of state. By sitti...
