The 1950s Business and the Economy: Headline Makers

James R. Hoffa (1913–c. 1975) James R. Hoffa is a key figure in the history of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the largest union in the United States. In 1957, Hoffa won the union presidency in a disputed election. However, Hoffa and his union leadership were alleged to have been linked to organized crime. In 1964, he was convicted of jury tampering, fraud, and conspiracy. Although Hoffa was jailed, he remained the union's president. In July 1975, after dining with two reputed Mafia figures, he mysteriously disappeared and eventually was declared "presumed dead."

Raymond A. Kroc (1902–1984) In 1954, Raymond A. Kroc, then the lone distributor of a multiple-milkshake-mixing machine used in restaurants, observed the operation of McDonald's, then a small-time restaurant franchise. "Visions of McDonald's restaurants dotting crossroads all over the country paraded through my brain," Kroc recalled. First he became the fast-food chain's exclusive franchising agent. Then in 1961, he purchased McDonald's for $2.7 million, and developed it into a global empire that forever altered the restaurant industry and the eating habits of millions.

George Meany (1894–1980) In the 1950s, the term "organized labor" was synonymous with one man: George Meany. In 1934, he became president of the New York State Federation of Labor. Five years later, he became secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Meany was elected AFL president in 1952; three years later, he spearheaded its unification with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). He became the AFL-CIO's first president, a post he held for the next twenty-four years, during which time he engineered a campaign to rid the organization of its ties to organized crime.

Walter P. Reuther (1907–1970) Walter P. Reuther's organizing skills and deep commitment to the American worker made him one of the era's top labor leaders. Beginning in 1946 and ending with his death in a plane crash in 1970, Reuther was president of the United Automobile Workers (UAW). Meanwhile, in 1952, he took over leadership of the CIO. Understanding the economic, social, and political advantages of linking with the AFL, Reuther became one of the merger's most prominent supporters and planners. When the AFL and CIO emerged in 1955 as the AFL-CIO, he became the new organization's vice president.

Thomas J. Watson Jr. (1914–1993) In 1952, Thomas J. Watson Jr. succeeded his father as the president of IBM. At the time, the company was a leading producer of office equipment; IBM had not entered the computer field because the senior Watson did not foresee a future for machines that specialized in data processing. Unlike his father, Watson Jr. understood that computers, if properly marketed, soon might dominate the business world. Under his leadership, within five years, IBM became responsible for over half the computers sold in the United States.

Charles E. Wilson (1890–1961) Charles E. Wilson is best remembered for a legendary declaration that he actually did not make: "What's good for General Motors is good for the country." Nonetheless, he was a major player at General Motors (GM), America's leading automobile manufacturer and the world's largest corporation. As GM's CEO, Wilson successfully negotiated labor agreements with the United Auto Workers, granting employees pension plans and salary increases that matched the rising cost of living. Wilson also served as secretary of defense under President Dwight Eisenhower.