Jackie Presser - Early Life

Early Life

Presser was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1926. His grandfather, a Jewish immigrant from Austria, became a garment worker, and was active in and participated in several strikes led by various garment makers' unions in New York City. Presser's father, William (Bill) Presser, was at the time of Jackie's birth a Teamster organizer. The Pressers were very poor: Bill Presser stuffed newspapers into shoes to block holes in the uppers and strengthen worn-out soles. The family often moved into an apartment at the beginning of the month and out again at the end of the month because the Pressers could not afford the rent.

Bill Presser, however, was a protege of Jimmy Hoffa and quickly rose within the local, regional and international Teamsters ranks. He was elected president of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters and eventually a vice president of the international union. Bill Presser was also intimately connected with the Cleveland mob.

Presser's childhood was by his own account a happy one. However, he was deeply influenced by his family's poverty, and by the anti-semitic prejudice he often encountered.

Presser dropped out of school in the middle of the eighth grade. Using his father's connections, he got a job delivering juke boxes to local restaurants and bars.

Presser enlisted in the United States Navy in 1943 when he was 17, and served in World War II. After the war, Presser returned to Cleveland and got a job as a truck driver for a vending machine company.

After a year as a truck driver, Presser was hired as a union organizer by Local 10, a Cleveland affiliate of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. In 1948, Presser was elected president of Local 10. He merged his local with four other local unions in order to improve the workers' collective bargaining position. He also began receiving a markedly larger salary, and spending large amounts of money on travel and automobiles. He wore pinky rings and diamond bracelets, and became notorious for wearing loud, brightly colored sports jackets. He also began to gain substantial amounts of weight, a health problem he would fight for the rest of his life. In 1952, Presser lost re-election as union president after members became dissatisfied with his colorful and lavish lifestyle.