Hoffa: From
By MICHAEL BECKMAN
Jimmy Hoffa's plan for conquest was basically modeled
after Dave Beck's, but it went one step further. Though Beck's
had realized his goal of collective regional bargaining and inte-
gration Hoffa's envisioned consolidated national bargaining, and
the grouping of all unallied workers, from all fields, under
Teamster jurisdiction. Under the careful scrutiny of tpe Board
of Monitors, it was difficult for Hoffa to wage these jurisdic-
tional wars, but he still managed to increase union member-
ship, until by the time the Monitors were removed in 1961, the
Teamster ranks had swelled to over 1.7 million members.
Among the unions he attempted to incorporate were the air-
lines and policemen, with varying degrees of success.
Hoffa made his presence known in other ways during the
Monitors' supervision. Foremost among these was his heavy
support for Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential election. He
actively campaigned for him and made large financial contri-
butions. In doing so he incurred a substantial debt from Nixon,
a debt which took over ten years to pay back; but to Hoffa, it
was worth the wait.
THE MONITORSHIP OF the Teamsters ended in March,
1961. Their accomplishments were negligible on the whole, but
they were able to procure a few token benefits for the rank
and file. In terms of real impact, though, they would be re-
membered for aggravating the internal struggle within the
union.
At the Teamster convention, Hoffa was easily elected Pres-
ident. With the Monitors out of his way, it seemed he had an
open path to just about anything that he wanted and more.
Hoffa was in charge of the single largest union in the country,
with assets of over $1 billion, and it didn't appear that their
expulsion from the AFL-CIO was hurting them greatly. The
sky seemed the limit for Hoffa.
However, as in 1957, the sky soon fell in. On June 4, 1963,
Hoffa was indicted in Chicago for alleged usurption of Team-
tkingpin to
ster pension funds. The indictment charged that Hoffa had
taken over $20 million out of the Teamster Central States Pen-
sion Fund and loaned it out to underworld friends who invested
it in high-risk hotel ventures and mob-run casinos. From these
loans Hoffa personally made $1 million for his own.
AT ABOUT THE same time he was indicted by a Nash-
ville, Tennessee grand jury for receiving hundreds of thousands
of dollars in payoffs through a trucking company there regis-
tered in his wife's maiden name, and his close ally, Tony Pro-
venzano was indicted on an extortion charge. In 1964, he was
convicted on separate charges of jury tampering and mail fraud
and sentenced to 13 years in jail.
For three years Hoffa fought to maintain his freedom. In
doing so he enlisted all the political clout that he has taken
years to buy and all the tactics at his disposal, but it was to
no avail. On March 7, 1967, Jimmy Hoffa entered Lewisburg
Penetentiary to begin serving his sentence.
While Hoffa was on-ice, the temporary Teamster leadership
fell to his handpicked successor, Frank Fitzsimmons. While
Fitz was more of a low-key individual than Hoffa, he ran the
Teamsters in the same fashion, and it was very clear where
he was getting his orders from.
The campaign for Hoffa's early release picked up where his
efforts at avoiding jail had left off. Tactics ran the full spec-
trim from threats to bribes to enlisting the aide of powerful
public officials to put in a word on Hoffa's behalf.
NOT MUCH HAPPENED until Richard Nixon assumed the
Presidency. The Teamsters finally had that all important
access to the White House. It was only a matter of time. The
Nixon reaime began putting immense pressure on the witnesses
against Hoffq.
In 1969, Hoffa's first bid for parole was rejected. Later that
vear, Nixon planned to pardon Hoffa, but a news leak prevented
it. A second narole bid was denied.
Finally after many secret meetings in 1971, Hoffa agreed
°onvict to...
o
"I'll tell you, when I
die, I'll have the big-
to drop all involvement with the Teamsters in return for his
release. But his third bid for parole was again denied because
he still had relatives on the Teamster payroll.
And Frank Fitzsimmons was elected the new Teamster
president. Finally, amid cries by the Hoffa people of being
double-crossed, Nixon finally repaid his debt to Jimmy Hoffa.
On December 23, 1971, Nixon pardoned Hoffa, and he walked
out of prison a free man. The only conditions of his parole
were that he could not engage in any union activities until 1980,
and that he would have to report to a probation officer until the
end of 1973.
THE TEAMSTERS UNDER Fitzsimmons remains pretty
much with their old tricks, although they have lost some of the
tight national cohesion characteristic of the Beck and Hoffa
regimes. Until this summer, the Teamsters under Fitzsimmons
have kept a low profile except for the notoriety surrounding
their campaign to undermine Cesar Chavez' United Farm Work-
ers' attempts to organize California grape pickers. Their tac-
tics are reminiscent of union tactics of a prior era, with vio-
lence, strike-breaking and very little ethical bargaining the
order of the day. The struggle began at a time when the AFL-
CIO was considering readmitting the Teamsters. Subsequently
the AFL-CIO has lined up with Chavez, and the rift has only
grown wider.
Less publicized has been the Teamster connection with the
Nixon Administration, and especially Watergate. The relation-
ship seemed to be embodied in the person of one Charles Col-
son, special counsel to the President.
He was instrumental in having Hoffa released from jail,
and as a reward, after he was booted in the Watergate wipeout
for his part in the famous Nixon "hate" lists and other sordid
activities, Cosoln entered a law firm that received the Team-
ster's $200,000-plus per year legal business.
FITZSIMMONS HAS maintained a close working and social
gest funeral
in the
w o r l d.
Everybody'll
come just to make sure
I'm dead."
-jimmy Hoffa, 1960
: te... , . .. . ... .
relationship with Nixon, to the point of golfing and doing who
knows what else with him frequently.
Heading into the summer of this year, it appeared that the
Teamsters had finally settled down for a while; at least they
hadn't been in the news for some time. But the Hoffa kidnap-
ping changed all that. The incident was probably the strangest
of all whose history reads like a Rod Serling novel. What exact-
ly has happened to Hoffa nobody knows.
The facts and speculations exposed thus far are too fresh
in the public's minds to necessitate recounting them here; but
what has happened as a result is important to note.
For it seems that the Teamsters are going to be the sub-
ject of another Congressional investigation. And what might
it's topic be? The first person to answer alleged misuse of pen-
sion funds wins one hundred tow trucks.
The final installment of this history will speculate on
where the Teamsters have been, and where they are headed
in light of recent and not so recent developments.
Tomorrow: Teamsters at the crossroads
Michael Beckman is a member of the Editorial Page staff.
Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Friday, November 7, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
Douglas still tough as nails
N WHAT REALLY amounts to a
race with time, Supreme Court
Justice William Douglas is going
through monumental personal dis-
comfort to keep his seat from being
filled with a conservative Ford ap-
pointed replacement.
Since suffering a stroke last Dec.
31, Douglas has been in and out of
hospitals for much of the time and a
considerable degree of controversy
exists as to whether or not he should
remain on the bench.
We commend Justice Douglas' sta-
mina and principal. Instead of wing-
ing it to Jamaica or some such other
paradise for a quiet retirement,
Douglas has unselfishly chosen to re-
main steadfast in what he obviously
sees as his duty to not only himself
but to the country.
What Douglas is doing amounts to
nothing less than great personal sac-
rifice and as long as he is able to
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Mitch Dunitz, Jim Finkelstein,
Steve Hersh, Ann Marie Lipinski,
Rob Meachum, Cheryl Pilate, Jeff
Sorensen
Editorial Page: Michael Beckman,
Paul Haskins, Annette Higby, Doc
Kralik, Jonathan Pansius, Tom
Stevens
Arts Page: Jim Valk
Photo Technician:-Ken Fink
attend his hearings and function
with a sharp mind on the important
issues that appear before the court,
he should be allowed to continue in
his present capacity.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF a conserva-
tive Ford appointee need not be
spelled out. While Douglas remains
on the bench the liberals outnumber
the conservatives by one vote. If
Douglas were to leave the court be-
fore a democratic president takes of-
fice, the ratio would be reversed and
the nation subjected to much the
same innocuous political interpreta-
tion as Gerald Ford has displayed in
recent months.
An added liberal presence or lack
thereof on the Supreme Court has
tremendous implications for the fate
of the country, especially at a time
when so many important constitu-
tional issues are being put to the
test.
We hope that Justice Dougles will
see the election of a democratic pres-
ident from the seat he now holds.
We should appreciate his toughness
rather than chide his infirmities.
Ford's choice of a new justice does
not promise to break the consistent
pattern of dazzling Neanderthal
thought our Nixon-chosen man has
displayed thus far.
WILLIAM DOUGLAS IS well aware
of this and we back him in his
staunch opposition to a Jerry-man-
dered high court.
Feline
By STEVE STOJIC
IT'S BEEN MY experience
that a lot of unusual things
happen in Ann Arbor. Of course,
I have difficulty in controlling
for one critical variable: myself
-strange things happen to me
wherever I go. But, I figure it's
all part of a liberal education,
enjoy it while you can and all
that. After all, you don't have
to ask our resident robbin' rob-
in, Robben, to know that "what
you pay ain't chickenfeed,
baby."
I was slouching around in my
English class one afternoon
when this particular incident
happened. We (really they, I
wasn't saying anything) were
discussing a few simple ques-
tions like the meaning of life
and the essence of true love. I'd
covered this stuff in my third
grade metaphysical philosophy
class so it was all kinda re-
view. Yet, my mind was hyp-
notized by the brilliant,articu-
late statements being made and
my head swooned from the pro-
found thoughts piercing the au-
tumn air - which is to say I
was having a hard time staying
awake.
THOUGH MY EYES were al-
most completely overcast by
their respective lids, I manag-
ed to notice a most elegant dark
black cat cruise into the room.
Some less perceptive observers
no doubt thought the cat was
just going to stroll around -
you know - check out the joint
for signs of friendly cats and
then ship on out, as is the cus-
tom. I, however, with years of
rool loses its cool, gets burned
training in the art of finding
significance in utterly meaning-
less things, knew otherwise: this
cat was no ordinary feline-type
of critter and this would be no
common event.
Perhaps I'd better explain a
few things that I've observed
about cats. First, every move-
ment they make has "I'm soooo
cooool" written all over it. They
move with such poise and grace
that they really look like they've
got everything figured out it's
all so simple. I've always had
this feeling about cats - like
they know so much, but don't
want to tell me. They seem
very condescending to me -
sure everyone else is too, but
that's no excuse for a cat.
OF COURSE, IT ain't saying
much fer yourself to feel intel-
lectually inferior to a cat, But,
after all they do have nine lives.
And how many people do ya
know that can fall outa trees
and land right-side up on their
feet? Of course, there's quite
a few runnin' around who seem
like they been fallin' pretty reg-
ular' on the other end, but they
don't count.
Second, you can't get cats to
do a darn thing fer ya. They
won't play dead, roll-over, fetch
or do anything. It's like beneath
their dignity to stoop so low as
to go one step out of their way
for anybody. They say that you
can't teach an old dog new
tricks, well you can't teach a
cat anything.
In fact, you have to get on
your knees and beg them to eat
their cat chow. Ya have to
bribe them with fifty flavors
and then they act like they're
doing ya a big favor just by
eating their Nine - Lives. I
guess when you're cool, you
don't have to go out of your
way to do anything.
ANYWAY, BACK TO this
very special cat. Whenever it
jumped into a student's lap it
wouldn't just sit there like a
nice critter and be petted, but
would climb up and stick its
claws through yer shirt into yer
meat and muzzle up under yer
chin and make these loud slurp-
ing noises.
Well, it was doing this to the
guy on my left so I figured I
would be the next lucky one. To
my amazement, the cat walked
over me to the guy on the
right. "What an insult," I
thought, "What's wrong with
me kitty, not good enough fer
me kitty, not good enough fer
so I had that covered. Maybe it
was my aftershave. It claims
"A man wants to smell like a
man." That could be it: I
smelled like an aqua-velva man,
not a cat.
Later, I realized it wasn't my
aftershave. In being friendly,
the cat was just following a
cookie connoisseur's method of
eating an oreo cookie: first the
crunchy wafers on the outside
then, saving the best for last,
the delicious creamy inside. Af-
ter it finished with the crummy
crackers at my sides it would
come to me, the sugary cream.
And everyone knows us creams
are the greatest.
WHEN IT HAD finally sunk
N i:, ";.., :.v.: e y .. r y: rr ::yy ."..,
"We were discussing
a few simple questions
like the meaning of life and the essence of truf
love. I'd covered this stuff in my third grade
its claws into me and had it's
teeth near my jugular for quite
some time, I got to thinking
about how I would break this
up. Perhaps an imploring whis-
per of "please, we've got to
stop meeting like this." Maybe
something more forceful like,
"Keepa your paws offa me, ya
animal!" Or, I could do it poet-
ically and thereby sicken the
cat: "For the love of Zeus, let
should have been more friend-
ly. I guess I was just overhaul-
ed by the 'overt friendliness of
the cat. Seeing how I can count
my real and true friends on one
paw, I should have taken ad-
vantage of its friendly gesture.
One more friend would have
been a huge percentage in-
crease. After all, the cat was
probably lonely and just trying
to be friendly, and really going
metaphysical philosophy class so it
was al
kinda review.
ynvv":w::w:.:.rrw":r":"y'ii"yr-:-1v,}} : ' ,{}; j, I ,".}wSo m e m F,
me loose before I swat you on
your caboose."
Suddenly,the cat began to
purr very loudly, almost drown-
ing o u t t h e discussion.
"Please," I thought, "not in
public. Have you no self re-,
spect?" Then, just as sudden-
ly, it left me to visit others in
the class. It tried to come back,
but my stare told it plainly,
"Buzz off, ya two timer." Just
like me to expect fidelity from
a cat. It later left the room,
never to return, with an un-
doubtedly broken little heart.
LATER I CONCLUDED that I
out of its way to do it too.
So, you shouldn't feet inhibit-
ed just because it isn't "be
kind to animals week." Next
time that dog on thy. diag growls
and bares its teeth at you go
on over and give it a great big
hug. If you see, a squirrel bury-
ing nuts in the ground, skip up
and give it a pat on the head.
Don't worry, it won't try to
stash you away too. Kindness
counts, and that goes for people
as well.
Steve Stojic is a regular con-
tributor to the Editorial Page.
Who knows what evil lurks
within simplistic presidents?
Letters to the Daily
GREAT MOMENTS IN MEDICINE
SPLITTING THE MALPRACTICE SETTLEMENT
~
By DOC KRALIK
WATCHING MONDAY NIGHT'S presidential
news conference was a frightening experi-
ence for me. It reminded me of the terrifying
final news conferences of Richard Nixon.
Gerald Ford is a simple man. His simpleness
is never more evident than in live news con-
ferences like Monday's. At one point he was
unable to recall three proper names at once.
After fifteen months in office, Ford has learned
to use his simplicity for the same purpose that
Nixon used his lawyerly expatiations: to obscure
and conceal information from Americans.
Where Nixon once said, "Let me make this
perfectly clear," Ford has substituted, Let me
state affirmatively." But in the end, the effect
is the same. For a half hour newsmen re-
phrased the same question over and over, try-
ing to find the reason for the shake-up in the
administration. Over and over, Ford kept in-
sisting that he just wanted his "own team."
HIS OWN TEAM. So it was that simple. Rums-
feld to Skowcroft to Kissinger, a classic infield.
Or perhaps he envisioned his foreign policy ad-
visors as a football backfield with Kissinger at
the quarterback spot and Rumsfeld and Skow-
croft as running backs.
But there was something about the notion
that my country was being run with all the
subtlety of a high school football team. It made
my after dinner coffee roll over in my stomach.
It was an unconscionable affront to my intelli-
gence to suggest that I was part of an electorate
that was presided over by a man that was not
only simple, but downright stupid.
I had calmed down a little by the time Mon-
day night football came on. No, Ford was not
stupid, I knew that. What was becoming pain-
fully obvious, however, was that he was using
his simplicity to conceal the real motives for
his" decision.
By the time the Rams had demolished the
Eagles, an even more frightening thought oc-
curred to me. Suppose Ford really did have some-
thing to hide. After all, the whole move, when
combined with Rockefeller's decision not to run,
seemed entirely political. It put a partisan poli-
tician, George Bush, in charge of an agency
which he was supremely unqualified to direct.
It put Donald Rumsfeld in charge of the na-
tion's defence for no apparent reason except
that he was one of Ford's "guys." And will
someone please tell me how Elliot Richardson
qualifies as Secretary of Commerce?
I HOPE THAT FORD doesn't really have
something to hide. I've had enough corruption
for one week with John Swainson's television
set. I also hope that Ford will not make a
habit of hiding the truth behind his friendly
smile and ridiculously simple statements.
In short, Mr. Ford, I would like to state
affirmatively that I live in this country and
deserve to know what the hell is going on.
Doc Kralik is a member of the Editorial Page
staff.
rejection
To The Daily:
THIS LETTER IS in reference
to the recent UAC decision to
not invite former Premier Ngu-
yen Cao Ky and William Shock-
ley to speak on campus as part
of the "World Series" lecture
program. I hope it is published
as it represents a number of
students' opinions. Though I
consider myself a partisanbin-
dividual, I have - never been
motivated enough to write a
"letter" to the Daily. Until now.
UAC's rejection of Ky and
Shockly is at least preposterous.
What has happened to the en-
lightened University?
Ky and Shockley are two very
controversial figures, there is no
question about that. Further-
more, they would both face an
audience which would be almost
unanimously opposed to their
views, if not personalities. Yet
they are apparently willing to
come here and speak. Bill Pow-
ers, UAC President, asserts
"they'd be booed down." Well
Shockley, at least, seems to
have survived his adventure at'
Yale last year.
I am confident that both indi-
viduals have a fairly good idea
of the campus climate and stu-
dent attitudes in Ann Arbor. If
there is any question, why
doesn't UAC inform them and
let them decide for themselves
whetherethey are up to a U
of M lecture?
FINANCIAL and security risks
were also gited as reasons for
withdrawing invitation plans. If
UAC is so concerned about
their financial matters, why did
they schedule the Proctor and
Bergman concert Tuesday night?
A 600 person audience for this
type of concert can hardly be
called a financial success. Some
UAC members believed inade-
quate security would pose an-
other problem. You mean to tell
me that the University can pro-
vide sufficient security at foot-
ball games attended by 100,000
and can't do the same for a
controversial lecture? That's ab-
surd.
I am not supporting the views
of either Ky or Shockley, but
rather the opportunity to hear
them speak. The question in-
volves not the individual's
views, but the overriding func-
tion of the University as a for-
um of ideas and a catalyst of
controversy.
UAC should not limit speakers,
and hence freedom of ideas,
through value judgments. I, for
one, like to hear both sides of
an issue before I make a deci-
sion. If UAC is to decide who
,will speak at the University,
then they must use a better de-
fined and more concrete set of
criteria in their determination.
James Reynolds
Director of Student
Organizations, SGC
October 29
Contactour reps-
Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem), 253 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 20515.
4