Cigar Makers International Union Records on Microfilm

The Journeymen Cigar Makers' International Union of America (CMIU) was a labor union established in 1864 that represented workers in the cigar industry. The CMIU was part of the American Federation of Labor from 1887 until its merger in 1974.

The first local Cigar Makers' Union was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1851. In 1863 came the first effort to establish a nationa union of cigar makers, bringing delegates from New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Cleveland, New Haven, Boston and Detroit. The first national union formed was called the National Union of Cigar Makers of America, but, eventually changed its name to the Journeymen Cigar Markers' International Union (CMIU) in 1867.

The CMIU was instrumental in the formation of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1881, which later evolved into the American Federation of Labor (AF of L). In 1882 the CMIU split in two over the question of political endorsements, the second union formed was known as the Cigarmakers' Progressive Union of America. The unions reunited in 1886. The final merger for the CMIU was in 1974 when the union merged into the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.