Hourwich, Isaac A. Collection

Founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States, the ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, 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. In 1995, the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) to form the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE).

Isaac A. Hourwich was born on April 27, 1860 in Russia to a middle-class family, which afforded him the opportunity to attain an education. In response to his activity with a revolutionary Socialist circle in St. Petersburg, Hourwich was imprisoned in Siberia. After his release, he studied law, earning his legal degree and was admitted to the Russian bar in 1887, wherein he practiced law in Minsk. During this time, Hourwich maintained an involvement in radical political movements, and in 1890, fled Russia leaving behind a wife and four children.



After immigrating to the United States and settling in New York, Hourwich found himself involved with the Russian Workers Society for Self-Education (later the Russian Social Democratic Society), which was composed mainly of Jewish immigrants from Minsk. Hourwich divorced his first wife and remarried and had five children. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University where he was also a fellow from 1891-1892. Throughout his career, Hourwich also served as a lecturer at the University of Chicago and George Washington University. He continued to practice law, serving as the lawyer for the United Brotherhood between 1897 and 1899. In New York City, Hourwich founded the first party branch of the Social Democratic Party.



In 1900, Hourwich moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the U.S. government, including as a statistician and expert on mining for the Census Bureau until 1913. Knowing little Yiddish, Hourwich wrote essays in the Yiddish press about American politics and economics. At this point, Hourwich returned briefly to Russia where he ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the second Duma in Minsk as a nominee for a new Democratic People's Party.



In January of 1913, the ILGWU appointed Hourwich to the position of Chief Clerk of the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Union. In his new post, Hourwich sought to reform the Protocol of Peace, a system set up by Louis Brandeis to resolve conflicts in the garment industry between workers and manufacturers without arbitration. His attempt to amend the protocol bothered the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers' Association and put him out of favor with the International office. While the union sought to force Hourwich from his position, he instead decided to seek reappointment. A struggle emerged between Hourwich and the workers and locals that supported him and the International. This became known as the "Hourwich Affair" and concluded with Hourwich's resignation in 1914.



Hourwich visited the Soviet Union in 1922 and continued to remain current and informed of the country's government and politics, yet opposed to the Soviet regime. In the U.S., he maintained a commitment to Socialism and was involved with the Socialist Democratic Party, but supported Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 and ran for Congress on Roosevelt's Progressive Party ticket. He continued to write for Yiddish papers, regardless of political affiliation. In 1917, Hourwich helped organize the American Jewish Congress and became active in the Zionist movement. Hourwich died on July 9, 1924.