Death
After suffering shortness of breath at a Teamsters executive board meeting, Fitzsimmons underwent surgery in late December 1979 which removed a non-malignant tumor in his bronchial passage. In early January 1980, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner published a story claiming that Fitzsimmons was suffering from abdominal cancer, setting off widespread rumors that Fitzsimmons was dying and that a power struggle over his successor was raging in the Teamsters. Fitzsimmons denied that he had cancer. Nonetheless, by July Fitzsimmons admitted he had lung cancer and had undergone chemotherapy for the past seven months. However, he also declared himself cancer-free and fit to run for re-election in 1981.
Fitzsimmons' cancer returned in January 1981, leading to repeated hospitalizations, tests, weight loss, hair loss, and bouts of depression. Although he returned to work in mid-March, he was so ill by early April that many felt he might not attend the union's executive board meeting later that month. Although the deadline for announcing his re-election bid was June 1, anonymous union officials believed him to be so ill that he would announce his retirement before the board meeting. Planning began to name Ray Schoessling, the union's 75-year-old secretary-treasurer, interim president. As news of Fitzsimmons' deteriorating health spread, a number of union leaders began to fight to take over the union.
Fitzsimmons's illness led to a significant deterioration in labor relations in the trucking industry. Deregulation had led to fierce competition and significantly lower rates in the industry, and a number of trucking companies let it be known that they would not pay the wage and benefit increases Fitzsimmons had negotiated two years before. Before entering the hospital again in late March, Fitzsimmons wrote a letter to the employers demanding that they adhere to the contract.
On May 1, 1981, Roy Lee Williams announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Teamsters. Williams made it clear, however, that if Fitzsimmons' health improved he would back the ailing general president. Williams made his announcement after rumors spread that union officials had visited Fitzsimmons in the hospital in La Jolla, California, and Fitzsimmons had agreed to retire.
Fitzsimmons died of lung cancer in San Diego, California, on May 6, 1981. He was survived by his second wife, Mary, and his four children. Only four mourners attended his funeral mass at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Palm Desert, California.
Read more about this topic: Frank Fitzsimmons
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