Jimmy Hoffa Press Conference Chicago
President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Jimmy Hoffa addresses the union at a central conference held at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago, and then holds a press conference.
This film opens with a short scene in which Jimmy Hoffa concludes an address that is met with applause by a large union member audience. This scene cuts to a brief shot of Hoffa sitting down with the press and several exterior shots of the Hotel Sherman. The subsequent footage returns to the conference room where Hoffa responds in length to questions from the press. During this session, Hoffa states that based on Senator John Kennedy’s reactive attitude toward organized labor, he would find it very difficult to solicit any help from him. He alleges that Robert Kennedy harbors a personal animosity towards the Teamsters Union, and Hoffa places no faith, confidence, or trust in him. He describes Walter Reuther as insincere and hypocritical, and stresses that on the day Reuther has the courage to assist the strikers at the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin by recognizing it has a legitimate labor dispute, the Teamsters Union will put its full resources behind the strike. Hoffa emphasizes that he recognizes the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) as its entire executive board and structure, rather than just the union’s president, George Meany, who he considers to be incidental to the AFL-CIO. The film concludes as Hoffa emphasizes that the Teamsters Union will not agree to give up the constitutional right to the Fifth Amendment for any member.