The Disappearance of Labor Leader Jimmy Hoffa
History Daily
History Daily
4.4 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 31 July 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
July 31, 1975. James Riddle Hoffa, the powerful and infamous union leader, is officially reported missing. This episode originally aired in 2023.
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Transcript
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| 0:29.5 | Okay. It's spring of 1932 at a warehouse in Detroit, Michigan. |
| 0:35.7 | 19-year-old worker James Riddle Hoffa, better known as Jimmy, carries a heavy crate of strawberries from a truck to a refrigerated car. |
| 0:38.4 | He sets the crate down and then wipes sweat from his brow. |
| 0:41.5 | His back aches, his hands are calloused, and he wears a permanent scowl on his face, |
| 0:46.3 | as if he's ready to fight at any moment. Today, he is. |
| 0:50.3 | When Jimmy walks back to the truck where the strawberries are being unloaded, he gives a signal. |
| 0:55.5 | And at once, all of the workers set their crates now, no matter where they are. |
| 1:00.2 | With hundreds of pounds of strawberries now sitting on the ground, the clock is ticking. |
| 1:05.2 | If they aren't put in the refrigerated truck soon, they'll spoil, |
| 1:08.8 | costing these workers' bosses plenty of money and giving the employees |
| 1:12.3 | the leverage they need to renegotiate their contracts. When he hears that work has stopped, |
| 1:18.3 | the night manager bursts in to see what's happening. He orders the men to get back to work, |
| 1:23.0 | but they don't budge. The only one who moves is Jimmy, who walks right up to the manager and hands him a list of |
| 1:28.7 | grievances, demanding better pay and better working conditions. The manager scowls, but he knows |
| 1:34.7 | he's in trouble if the workers don't finish unloading those strawberries. So he promises to set up a |
| 1:40.0 | meeting with management the very next day. The workers cheer and whistle. |
| 1:45.0 | Their show of collective strength seems to have paid off, |
| 1:47.8 | and over the next few days, |
... |
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