Laundry Workers' International Union
The Laundry Workers' International Union (LWIU) was a labor union representing laundry workers in the United States.
The union was founded in November 1900 at a congress in Troy, New York, as the Shirt, Waist and Laundry Workers' International Union. It was chartered by the American Federation of Labor to represent both makers and launderers of shirts. In 1909, its shirt makers were transferred to the United Garment Workers of America, but it began representing all workers in laundries, and became the LWIU.[1][2]
In 1925, the union had 6,500 members, but this figure grew to 100,000 in 1953.[3] It became part of the new AFL-CIO in 1955. In 1956, it absorbed the International Association of Cleaning and Dye House Workers, changing its name to the Laundry, Cleaning and Dye House Workers' International Union. This merger occurred without the consent of the AFL-CIO, and in 1957, the federation expelled the union, on charges of corruption.[4] In March 1962, the union merged into the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.[5]
Presidents[edit]
- 1900: John J. Manning
- 1912: James F. Brock
- 1932: Robert Roy Burt
- 1935: Bill Donovan
- 1943: Ray Nickelson
- 1945: Sam J. Byers
- 1957: Ralph Thomas Fagan
References[edit]
- ^ Handbook of American Trade Unions (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Labor. 1926. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ Reynolds, Lloyd G.; Killingsworth, Charles C. (1944). Trade Union Publications: The Official Journals, Convention Proceedings, and Constitutions of International Unions and Federations, 1850–1941. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
- ^ Directory of Labor Unions in the United States (PDF). Washington DC: United States Department of Labor. 1953. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ Directory of National and International Labor Unions in the United States (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Labor. 1957. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ Directory of National and International Labor Unions in the United States (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Labor. 1961. Retrieved 19 September 2022.