Jimmy Hoffa and Unionism
Hoffa and Unionism
As an organizer for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Jimmy Hoffa made significant progress toward improved working conditions for truckers and was fore mostly responsible for the rapid progression and development of the union. With over 1.5 million members during Hoffa’s tenure as president, IBT eventually became the largest single union in the United States (International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 2012). Through interpretive reactive analysis, topical course comparison, and personal professional experience, this paper will summarize the movie Hoffa and discuss the variance of organizational necessity of the IBT and Hoffa within the context of historical and present day working conditions and the implications thereof.
Motivation for Organization As depicted in the film, the catalyst which stirred truckers and warehousemen to unionize was due to increased frustration concerning deplorable working conditions such as long hours, minuscule compensation, and absence of properly functioning vehicles to sufficiently complete the responsibilities of the job. Another contributing factor was that workers initially lacked the ability to choose otherwise in the absence of a platform to address concerns associated with unfair labor practices. Although completely disgruntled, workers seemed somewhat enslaved to their circumstance and stuck in the vicious cycle of working extensive hours in attempts to support their families. The level of employee frustration and job discontentment is positively correlated to the probability of unionization as written by Fossum (2012) who reports that “employees are more likely to vote for unions due to dissatisfaction with employment conditions rather than job task characteristics” (p. 9). Unhappy workers are interested in positive change which results in the possibility of improved circumstances. When approached by a sympathizing organizer such as Jimmy Hoffa offering assistance and a means toward
As an organizer for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Jimmy Hoffa made significant progress toward improved working conditions for truckers and was fore mostly responsible for the rapid progression and development of the union. With over 1.5 million members during Hoffa’s tenure as president, IBT eventually became the largest single union in the United States (International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 2012). Through interpretive reactive analysis, topical course comparison, and personal professional experience, this paper will summarize the movie Hoffa and discuss the variance of organizational necessity of the IBT and Hoffa within the context of historical and present day working conditions and the implications thereof.
Motivation for Organization As depicted in the film, the catalyst which stirred truckers and warehousemen to unionize was due to increased frustration concerning deplorable working conditions such as long hours, minuscule compensation, and absence of properly functioning vehicles to sufficiently complete the responsibilities of the job. Another contributing factor was that workers initially lacked the ability to choose otherwise in the absence of a platform to address concerns associated with unfair labor practices. Although completely disgruntled, workers seemed somewhat enslaved to their circumstance and stuck in the vicious cycle of working extensive hours in attempts to support their families. The level of employee frustration and job discontentment is positively correlated to the probability of unionization as written by Fossum (2012) who reports that “employees are more likely to vote for unions due to dissatisfaction with employment conditions rather than job task characteristics” (p. 9). Unhappy workers are interested in positive change which results in the possibility of improved circumstances. When approached by a sympathizing organizer such as Jimmy Hoffa offering assistance and a means toward
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