Today in Labor History June 3rd, 2023

 

International Ladies Garment Workers Union

The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) was formed.  At its founding convention, delegates represented roughly 2,000 members.  The ILGWU grew to become one of the largest unions in the US, with 450,000 members at its peak in 1969.  It merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1995 to form the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE). – 1900

A federal child labor law that had been enacted in 1916 was declared unconstitutional. A new version was enacted on February 24, 1919, but was also later declared unconstitutional. It was not until the 1930s that child labor provisions were enacted as part of sweeping labor law reforms, through the exploitation of children continues to be a problem in the United States today. – 1918