Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-10-27
~ DAVID KOONCE

ny DAVID KOONCE
Whether or not the giant
Transfers Union stays in or Il
expelled from the family Of labor.
one thing seems certain: A dra-
matte barehanded struggle win
take place between James r.
Hoffa. the Transfers newly
elected president tthe courts
villingl. and Walter Reuther,
head Of the United Auto Workers
and AFL-cIo vice president.
II the AFL-CIO convention on
December ratifies expulsion OF
the Transfers. as 1t is expected
TO do. that union viii. as Mr..
Hoffa has implied. no longer feel
bound by jurisdictional pacts with
other unions. The Transfers viii
set out to take over the organiza-
ton of everything that moves"
whether or not AFL-CIO contracts
already exist. The AFL,-CIO field
marshal In such campaign would
be Walter Reuther.
If the Teamsters should. by
some slim chance. remain In
the AFL-CIo. the Hofia-Reu-
ther struggle would be no less
fierce. In this case. the Great
Issue would be the Hoffa philcs-
only of unionism VS.. the Reuther
philosophy of unionism - two
creeds that seem as far apart IS
those Of Adam Smith and Kari
Marx.
The prospect Of the clash viii
remain If the Transfers are forced
By legal processes to hold another
selection. for even some OF Mr..
Hoffa's enemies suspect that the
vote still would 60 to him.
The two labor titans from De-,
troit have often FLASHED in the
past. to the detriment Of AFL-CIO
unity in that city. Mr.. Reuther
for some months has been imply
ing that the Teamsters could
cleanse themselves only by purging
Mr.. Hoffa. The Hoffa forces. mean
while, have tried 70 convince the
craft unions-which have never
admired the JAW chief - that
Walter Reuther has been almost
the sole inspiration Of the
Transfers many woes. Mr..
Reuther. as one Of the 20 who
sat in Judgment on the Transfers
Thursday, also proved to be an
insistent prosecutor.
preview Of the Contest
A close look at the two pro-
tagonists provides somewhat OF
a preview Of what the holders OF
rinRside seats will see.
The two men are alike in many
of the unimportant attributes.
Neither smokes nor drinks nor
tranquilizes with pills. Both are
young-Hoffa is a. Reuther so.
Both came to unionism out Of the
depression and those years left
similar scars. Both are human
dynamos, working II to IS hours
a day, and often through the
weekends. Their respective un-
ions are not far apart In size.
Mr.. Hoffa's has just under Id
million members and Mr.. Reu-
Tiers Just under IA million.
But at about this point, the
similarity ends
Mr.. Hoffa's manner Is lusty and
aggressive. He is given TO pic
turesque profanity. Mr.. Reuther
feldom resorts TO emotive language.
generally establishing his argu-
rnent logically with q well-made--
II sometimes tediously drawn
uoint. Profanity he saves for the
great and trying moments.
Mr.. Hoffa lives comfortably In
q not-inexpensive home. drives
a Cadillac and wears tailor-made
clothes. When he Is allowed TO
start drawing his pay as Team
ster president. his salary viii be
$50, 900 q year. Mr.. Reuther. who
has refused to permit his union TO
raise his salary above the pres
ent $4,000 a year, lives in a home
he purchased nine years ago for
$4,000, drives a Nash Rambler
station wagon. and buys his suits
from a chain department store.
He wears a pair Of shoes until
they are beyond repair, and has
never owned a tuxedo.
The Hoffo Story
Mr.. Hoffa was born in Brazil.
Ind, the son of a coal field worker
who died OF an occupational
disease when Jimmy was 2. His
family later moved to Detroit.
where Jimmy quit school in the
ninth grade TO go TO work.
His first experience with union
organization was when he was
II, and like so many Hoffa ex-
periences, was spectacular. En-
ployed by a wholesale grocery
company to help unload boxcars
of produce, jimmy talked his ITS
coworkers at the warehouse into
q bold strategy TO win union recos-
milton and a contract.
They planned to strike when
the next carload Of highly
perishable commodity - which
turned out to be strawberries
arrived. While the strawberries
waited refrigeration, Jimmy talked
contract with his employer and
won recognition. Six months
later his union was received by
the AL as an independent union.
A few months later the new union
afiiliated with the Transfers.
Mr.. Hoffa's rise in the Teamsters
Union was rapid. He became
president Of the local at "a. and
a. n, in recognition Of his or