ILGWU Organizing Department 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 ILGWU established the Department of Organization and Field Services in 1980. The department was responsible for, among other things, the coordination and survey of organizing activities, coordination and administration of information services including computer utilization, and the administration of all OSHA-related matters. It also coordinated the identification and implementation of new services.



As the ILGWU's central office for organizing, the Department of Organization and Field Services worked with affiliates of the international (e.g., local unions, district councils, and regional departments) in dealing with issues in their locations. In addition to working with union affiliates, the department also worked on legal and legislative fronts to ensure safe conditions for garment workers. Insofar as the department conducted surveys and gathered information, its work resembled that of the Research Department, and insofar as it supported pro-labor legislative efforts. To make clear the primary purpose of the Department of Organization and Field Services, the Report and Proceedings from the 1983 ILGWU Convention noted that, "The central concern is organization, and from this has stemmed the other broad activities which require skills, knowledge and information to be successful."