ILGWU Western Massachusetts District Records

The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States. It was one of the first U.S. Unions to have a membership consisting of mostly females, and it played a key role in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s. The union is generally referred to as the "ILGWU" or the "ILG". The ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, and political influence to become one of the most powerful forces in American organized labor by mid-century. Representing workers in the women's garment industry, the ILGWU worked to improve working and living conditions of its members through collective bargaining agreements, training programs, health care facilities, cooperative housing, educational opportunities, and other efforts. The ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1995 to form the Union of Needle trades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. The two unions that formed UNITE in 1995 represented only 250,000 workers between them, down from the ILGWU's peak membership of 450,000 in 1969.

The Western Massachusetts District Council began as part of the Northeast Department of the ILGWU. In 1976, the Western Massachusetts District Council became part of the newly-formed New England Region, along with other affiliates in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Within a couple of years, the Western Massachusetts District Council became the Western Massachusetts-Vermont District Council. In 1993, the Western Massachusetts-Vermont District Council merged with the Northern New England District Council (NNEDC); at the time of the ILGWU's merger with ACTWU in 1995, the NNEDC and the Boston Joint Board merged to become the Northern New England-Boston Joint Board District Council.



Jack Albano was the ILGWU representative in the district from the 1940s until 1977. Paul Winslow succeeded him as manager, serving in that role from 1977 to 1984. From 1984 to 1994, Richard Rumelt was regional manager. Following Rumelt, Warren Pepicelli, manager of the Boston Joint Board, led the Northern New England-Boston Joint Board District Council through the ILGWU's merger with ACTWU, and subsequently managed the regional affiliate of UNITE and UNITE-HERE.