The Boot and Shoe Workers' Union was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

of workers in the

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

manufacturing industry in the United States and Canada. It was established in 1895 by the merger of three older unions. It was affiliated with the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...

. In 1977 it merged into the

Retail Clerks International Union The Retail Clerks International Union (RCIU) was a labor union that represented retail employees. History The RCIU was chartered as the "Retail Clerks National Protective Union" in 1890 by the American Federation of Labor. It later adopted the n ...

, part of the AFL-CIO.

History

Forerunners

On February 23, 1889, Henry J. Skeffington led a dissident faction of shoemakers who were part of National Trade Assembly 216 of the

Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...

, to split off to establish a new organization called the Boot and Shoe Workers International Union.Stuart R. Kaufman, Peter J. Albert, and Grace Palladino (eds.), ''The Samuel Gompers Papers: Volume 4, A National Labor Movement Takes Shape, 1895-98.'' Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1991; pp. 540-541. Skeffington would serve as its National Secretary-Treasurer in 1889, and as Secretary and Treasurer from 1890 to 1894. This new union affiliated almost immediately with the

(AF of L), a federative organization which united many specialized

craft unions Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the sa ...

into a single entity. In an effort to avoid jurisdictional disputes with another member of the AF of L, the Lasters' Protective Union of America, the two shoe workers' unions joined forces in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, in 1895, establishing the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union (BSWU). The BSWU included members from both the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, including French-speaking workers from the Canadian shoe producing center of

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

.Bryan D. Palmer
"Boot and Shoe Workers Union,"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia,'' Historica Foundation of Canada, 2012. In an effort to retain ties with these workers, the BSWU published a section in each issue of its monthly journal in the French language. According to the preamble of an early BSWU's constitution, the union was to be organized for the following purposes:

"To thoroughly organize our craft; to regulate
wages A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', ''prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remuner ...
and conditions of employment; to establish uniform wages for the same class of work, regardless of
sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...
; to control
apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
s; to reduce the hours of labor; to abolish
convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...
and
contract labor Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...
; to abolish
child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
, prohibiting the employment of children under the age of 16; to promoted the use of our 'Union Stamp' as the sold and only guarantee of 'Union Made' footwear; to support the Union Labels of all other bona fide trade unions, and to assist them in every other way to the full extent of our power."

The Boot and Shoe Workers' Union was regarded as a "radical" union in its earliest days, with

John F. Tobin John Frederick Tobin (January 1, 1880 – October 26, 1954) was an American college football player and coach. Tobin attended the University of Chicago, where he played college football under head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. He was a "star guard" for ...

, the General President of the BSWU from its foundation until his death in 1919, regarded as a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and an opponent of conservative AF of L President

Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 13, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...

.Kaufman, Albert, and Palladino, 'The Samuel Gompers Papers: Volume 4,'' pp. 99, 555.

Development

In 1925 the 16th convention of the BSWU raised per capita dues from 25 cents to 35 cents per week."Boot and Shoe Workers' Union," in Solon DeLeon and Nathan Fine (eds.), ''The American Labor Year Book, 1926.'' New York: Rand School of Social Science, 1926; pg. 147. The organization also doubled its initiation fee to $2.00 at that time.

Official organ

The official organ of the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union was a monthly

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

called ''The Shoe Workers' Journal.''"Boot and Shoe Workers' Union," in Bernard G. Naas and Carmelita S. Sakr, ''American Labor Union Periodicals: A Guide to Their Location.'' Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1956; pg. 107. The periodical was launched in

on January 15, 1900, as the ''Union Boot and Shoe Worker'', changing its name to the more familiar ''Shoe Workers' Journal'' effective with the July 1902 issue. The magazine was irregularly produced, twice suspending publication for protracted periods during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

— from the start of 1934 through March 1935 and again from July 1937 through the end of 1940. The publication continued into the decade of the 1970s.

Merger

The Boot and Shoe Workers' Union merged into the

in 1977.

Presidents

:1889: John F. Tobin :1919: Collis Lovely :1930s: John J. Mara :1958: John E. Mara

Footnotes

{{reflist, 2

Publications

''Report of Proceedings of Fourth Convention of Boot and Shoe Workers' Union: Held in New Osborne House, Rochester, NY, June 13 to 19th, inclusive, 1899.''
Lynn, MA: J.F. McCarty & Co., 1899.
"Proceedings of the Ninth Convention of the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, Syracuse, NY, June 21-28, 1909,"
in ''The Shoe Workers' Journal,'' vol. 10, no. 7 (July 1909), pp. 1–136. * ''The Shoe Workers' Journal.'' *
Vol. 7 (1906)

Vol. 17 & 18 (1916-1917)

Boot and Shoe Workers Union, Edgemakers and Heelers Local (Brockton, Mass.) records, 1895-1930
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