Teamster Career, 1980-1983
The U.S. Department of Labor began investigating Presser in 1981 after receiving allegations he had padded the Local 507 payroll with "ghost employees." A secret affidavit outlining the government's actions and preliminary findings was filed with a federal court in 1982.
On April 15, 1981, Frank Fitzsimmons announced he was stepping down as president of the Teamsters due to worsening health. Roy Williams and Jackie Presser were mentioned as possible successors, and some press reports indicated a fight for the presidency was under way. But Presser announced he would not be a candidate and that he was supporting Williams instead. Williams was opposed by Pete Camarata—a dock worker from Detroit, Michigan, and co-founder of the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU). When TDU activists picketed the Teamster convention at which Williams was elected, Presser declared the picketers "an ever-changing cast of union drop-outs, college students, aimless transients and an elite group of zealots who clearly have the clout over the sign carriers" and declared them to be under the control of "Marxist leaders from the International Socialist Party." He also repeatedly referred to Camarata as "Commie-Rat-A." Camarata accused Presser of hiring a "squad of thugs" to intimidate delegates and provoke violence—allegations which would later prove accurate.
During the convention, Presser was asked whether he supported the reaffiliation of the union with the AFL-CIO. He told the press that his attitude was "very negative" toward reaffiliation.
In mid-June, Bill Presser died of a heart attack.
Jackie Presser, who was re-elected as an international vice president at the June convention, later reported that he earned $353,737 in 1981 from his various Teamster jobs. In 1982, he made $394,895.
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