Title: Out of the jungle : Jimmy Hoffa and the remaking of the American working class /
Authors: Russell, Thaddeus.
Publisher: A.A. Knopf,
Year: 2001
Subjects: Hoffa, James R.; International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America.; Labor unions United States Officials and employees Biography
Abstract: "In Out of the Jungle, historian Thaddeus Russell gives us an account of Jimmy Hoffa's life and times, much of it previously untold. Russell argues that Hoffa was compelled by a variety of social forces to place the economic interests of his union members over broad ideological concerns. The most important of those forces was the demonstrated desire of ordinary Teamsters to improve their material lives. "What do you hire us for," he famously asked a meeting of truck drivers, "if not to sell your labor at the highest buck we can get?" He responded to the rank-and-file members' demands as did none of his contemporaries in the labor movement, seeking financial gain with the mercilessness that made him renowned and feared."
Contents: American soil -- Jungle unionism -- The limits of brotherhood -- The wages of war -- The price of peace -- A new man of power -- The making of a "labor boss" -- Jungle politics -- The enemy within -- Remaking the American working class -- Crucifixion of an antichrist -- Epilogue : resurrection.