Hoffa, James R. (James Riddle), 1913-

Jerome P. Cavanagh Photographs and Other Material

drice — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 11:06:29 -0400

The Jerome P. Cavanagh Photographs and Other Material consists of numerous photographs, the majority of which were taken during his time in office. These photographs cover events such as the 1968 Olympic Bid, visits from Lyndon B. Johnson, aftermath of the 1967 unrest, and Mayor Cavanagh with various prominent Detroit business people, union members, and politicians. Also included in the collection is memorabilia from his 1966 Senate campaign, 1968 Olympic information, and other various memorabilia during his time in office.

Jimmy Hoffa FBI Files

drice — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:15:29 -0400

Jimmy Hoffa (1913-1982) was born in Brazil, Indiana. He was heavily involved with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters between the years 1932-1971, first as an organizer and then serving as the union’s general president from 1958-1971. He played a major role in the development of the union, securing the first national agreement for teamsters’ rates in 1964. In 1964, Hoffa was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud. Hoffa was imprisoned in 1967, but released in 1971 in accordance with a pardon from President Nixon, which blocked him from participating in the union until 1980. After attempting to run for the union presidency again, Hoffa disappeared from the front of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township, MI in 1975 and was declared dead in absentia in 1982. As of 2013, his body had not yet been found.

The Jimmy Hoffa FBI Files contain FOIA request copies of FBI files related to the case of Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance. These files were acquired by the Detroit Free Press in response to the settlement and order in the matter of Detroit Free Press v. Department of Justice. The Free Press received pages from a prosecutive report dated May 13, 2002, and its attachments prepared by the FBI Detroit Field Office, as well as thousands of pages from the FBI Headquarters file 9-60052, relating to the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. The Free Press also received pages from files of the Department of Justice and other related FBI case files. Included in the collection are copies of reports that have not been redacted, given to Barbara Crancer by Mike Betzold, who found them in a discarded school locker and wrote about them in the Sunday Journal.

Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union Local 24 Records

aorchard — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:57:18 -0400

A Detroit-area labor union, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 24 represented people in the service industry from 1916 until 2004 when it became an affiliate for the organization UNITE HERE. The union started modestly in 1916 when a small group of waiters successfully applied for a charter in the AFL-affiliated Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union (also known as HERE, Hotel & Restaurant Employees, along with the Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Workers) and were given the title Local 705. Local 705 endured a tumultuous early history, due to the effects of the Prohibition Era and then the Great Depression. This lasted until the mid-1930s when the union expanded beyond wait staff and bartenders. Between 1937 and 1947, bellmen, doormen, maids, and other hospitality workers helped swell membership from 500 to 11,000. The larger numbers allowed the union to campaign for civil rights in local businesses, notably desegregating wait staff at the Detroit Athletic Club in 1941 and combating sexist policies at the Playboy Club in the 1960s. Myra Wolfgang, former Chief Executive officer of Local 24 and Vice-President of the International Union, came to represent the union’s continued stance for social inclusion in the workplace. Her outspoken and militant push for women’s equality in the service industry made her a national figure and the iconic leader in the local union’s long history. By 1973, Local 705 transformed into HERE Local 24. In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees to form UNITE HERE, altering the Detroit union’s name to UNITE HERE Local 24. UNITE HERE Local 24 now represents thousands of employees in Metro Detroit’s hospitality sector.

The Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union Local 24 Records are comprised of materials from Local 24 and its various incarnations in addition to items regarding affiliated unions. The collection is divided into two series, Organizational Records and Publication Materials, and Audiovisual and Oversize Materials. The membership ledgers and books listing members and dues payments make up the oldest and largest section of the organizational records. Also of note are the meeting minutes from various councils within the HERE chapter and original artwork from their Hotel-Bar-Restaurant Review newspaper

The audiovisual series primarily contains photographic stills. Common topics depicted in the photos are the annual Waiters and Waitresses Race, the Bartenders Mixed Drink Competition, HERE annual conventions, local meetings, union elections, strikes of area businesses, Hotel-Bar-Restaurant Review photographs, and executives Louis Koenig and Myra Wolfgang. Other notable subjects include a prison release party for Jimmy Hoffa and demonstrations against the local Playboy Club. The audiovisual series also contains photographic negatives of many of the stills as well as several artifacts. Oversize materials include larger original artwork from the Hotel-Bar-Restaurant Review, panoramic photographs, and a commemorative scrapbook.

Ralph Orr Papers

aorchard — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 12:10:19 -0400

Ralph Orr was the labor writer for the Detroit Free Press, a position he held until his retirement in 1985. Two of his primary focuses over the years were the UAW and the Teamsters, particularly the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, for which he became the journalistic voice of authority. The materials in Ralph Orr Papers are primarily Orr's research materials on Hoffa and his disappearance, including interview transcripts, notes, clippings, and correspondence as well as drafts of Orr's articles. The collection also contains 5 audio cassettes, three of which feature Orr on the radio program, "Spotlight on the News."

UAW Local 833 Records

drice — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:48:34 -0400

United Auto Workers Local 833 has had divisive history between workers at the Kohler Co. in Kohler, WI and their employers. First organized in 1933 by the American Federation of Labor, workers were soon embroiled in a jurisdictional dispute with a company-formed union, the Kohler Workers' Association (KWA). Following a strike, the KWA won the bid from the NLRB to represent workers, but leadership soon became dissatisfied and voted in 1952 to join the UAW. The local's records mainly document the strike and NLRB case that shortly followed their affiliation with the UAW, but also touch on the 1934 strike, the original Kohler strike in 1897, and the years before the union's chartering by the UAW.

Stories from the Collections: The last portraits of Jimmy Hoffa

eclemens — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 15:30:32 -0400

On the morning of July 30, 1975, Tony Spina, the Chief Photographer for the Detroit Free Press, had no idea that a routine assignment would connect him to one of the defining mysteries of the late 20th century: the disappearance of former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa. read more »

"Last Pictures of Jimmy Hoffa," proof sheet, 1975

eclemens — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 14:31:09 -0400

Negatives taken by Free Press photographer Tony Spina of Jimmy Hoffa on the morning of Hoffa's disappearance.

(2009) Jimmy Hoffa, Lake Orion, Michigan, 1975

eclemens — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:49:07 -0400

Jimmy Hoffa poses on picnic table outside of his home in Lake Orion, Michigan. Picture take on July 24th or 30th.

Photographer’s caption: “These are candid shots of Jimmy Hoffa taken for the paper’s photo files. Little did I know when I took them that Hoffa would disappear later that day. The photos became important in the government investigation of the disappearance.”

(2012) Jimmy Hoffa, Lake Orion, Michigan, 1975

eclemens — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:50:23 -0400

Jimmy Hoffa stands outside of his home in Lake Orion, Michigan. Picture take on July 24th or 30th.

(9944) Portrait, James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa, Lake Orion, Michigan, 1975

eclemens — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:18:44 -0400

James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa poses for photo with left arm slightly raised outside his home, Lake Orion, Michigan. Picture take on July 24th or 30th.

Photographer’s caption: "These are candid shots of Jimmy Hoffa taken for the paper’s photo files. Little did I know when I took them that Hoffa would disappear later that day. The photos became important in the government investigation of the disappearance."

Photographer’s caption II: "JIMMY HOFFA, 1975. The last photos of Jimmy Hoffa."

(9945) Portrait, James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa, Lake Orion, Michigan, 1975

eclemens — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:16:01 -0400

James Riddle “Jimmy” Hoffa poses for photo while leaning on railing outside his home, Lake Orion, Michigan. Picture take on July 24th or 30th.

Photographer’s caption II: “JIMMY HOFFA, 1975. The last photos of Jimmy Hoffa.”

(9946) Portrait, James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa, Miami Beach, Florida, 1957

eclemens — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:12:55 -0400

Hoffa for President support signs hanging in lobby of Eden Roc Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida.

(26871) Cavanagh, Hoffa, 1972

eclemens — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 12:20:07 -0500

Snapshot of Jerome Cavanagh sharing a laugh with Jimmy Hoffa.

(29132) Jimmy Hoffa, Campaigns, Teamsters, Detroit, 1959

eclemens — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:46:27 -0400

Jimmy Hoffa holds a “Hoffa for President” button during his 1959 campaign for the Presidency of the Teamsters Union.

(29133) Jimmy Hoffa, Campaigns, Teamsters, Detroit, 1959

eclemens — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:44:20 -0400

Jimmy Hoffa, wearing Indian headdress, campaigns for the Teamsters’ Presidency.