Trade Unions and Working Immigrants
Suggested Teaching Instructions
NYS Social Studies Framework
8.2 A CHANGING SOCIETY: Industrialization and immigration contributed to the urbanization of America. Problems resulting from these changes sparked the Progressive movement and increased calls for reform.
(Standards: 1, 2, 4; Themes: MOV, SOC, TECH, EXCH)
8.2d In response to shifts in working conditions, laborers organized and employed a variety of strategies in an attempt to improve their conditions.
Students will examine the goals and tactics of specific labor unions including the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor, and the Industrial Workers of the World.
Students will examine key labor events including the Haymarket affair, the Pullman Strike and the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union strike.
11.5 INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION (1870 – 1920): The United States was transformed from an agrarian to an increasingly industrial and urbanized society. Although this transformation created new economic opportunities, it also created societal problems that were addressed by a variety of reform efforts.
(Standards: 1, 3, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, GEO, SOC, CIV, TECH)
11.5b Rapid industrialization and urbanization created significant challenges and societal problems that were addressed by a variety of reform efforts.
Students will examine the attempts of workers to unionize from 1870 to 1920 in response to industrial working conditions, including the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor, the American Railway Union, the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union, and the Industrial Workers of the World, considering actions taken by the unions and the responses to these actions.
Artifacts:
International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) rain bonnet, H-2009.8.101
Plastic rain bonnet in a storage case printed with the ILGWU logo. This rain bonnet would have been a give-away, which would have been useful to women to keep in their purses, to pull out when it rained. Putting the union logo and message about the importance of buying union made into the everyday lives of women, who were often the ones making purchasing decisions about things like clothing for their household, helped ensure that it was at the forefront of women’s minds.
International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) handkerchief, H-1991.5.11
Handkerchief in a cheery, multi-colored floral print, with the logo of the ILGWU. A handkerchief like this was likely worn by union members to represent their support of the union. A dress made of the same fabric is in the collection of the Keel Center for Labor History, Cornell University.
International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) ruler, H-2009.52.73
Union made garments with union labels, H-2018.47.45, H-2018.47.46
Supporting documents and images:
Online exhibition, including dresses, signs, bags, & other ephemera: Union-Made: Fashioning American in the Twentieth Century Note: this dress is made with the same fabric as the handkerchief in our collection
Digitized ILGWU publications, Kheel Center, Cornell University
Other reading/resources:
“The Geographical Movement of Chinese Garment Shops: A Late-Twentieth Century Tale of the New York Garment Industry,” Xiaolan Bao, in A Coat of Many Colors: Immigration, Globalism, and Reform in the New York City Garment Industry, ed. Daniel Soyer, New York: Fordham University Press, 2005, pages 67-87.