Potofsky, Jacob S. (Jacob Samuel), 1894-1979

Union official.

From the description of Reminiscences of Jacob Samuel Potofsky : oral history, 1964. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 309722949

Jacob Potofsky, garment worker, labor organizer and leader, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.

Jacob Potofsky was born in Radomisl, Ukraine, in 1894. He emigrated to the United States in 1905 and began working in a Chicago men's clothing factory in 1908. He became active in labor matters and took part in the 1910 strike against Hart, Schaffner and Marx that led to the organization of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA). He served as an official in ACWA Local 144 and on the Chicago Joint Board before moving to New York to work as assistant general secretary-treasurer for the national union.

Potofsky held a number of positions within the ACWA, including assistant president and general secretary-treasurer. He became the union's president in 1946 after the death of Sidney Hillman, a position he held until 1972.

From the description of Jacob Potofsky correspondence, 1913-1929, 1920-1929 (bulk). (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 63891425