The International Chemical Workers' Union (ICWU) was a labor union representing workers in the chemical industry in the United States and Canada.

History

The union's origins lay in the Chemical Workers' Council, established by 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 mutua ...

(AFL) in 1937, bringing together local unions in the Mid West. In 1940, this was replaced by the International Council of Chemical and Allied Industries Union, led by H. A. Bradley and based in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

. On September 11, 1944, the council was chartered by the AFL as the ICWU. In 1955, the union transferred to the new AFL-CIO, and by 1957, it had 84,299 members. In 1968, the union joined the Alliance for Labor Action, which led to it being expelled from the AFL-CIO the following year, though it was readmitted in 1971. By 1980, the union's membership had fallen slightly, to 65,800.{{cite book , title=Directory of National Unions and Employee Associations , date=1980 , publisher=United States Department of Labor , location=Washington DC , url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/bls/bls_2079_1980.pdf , access-date=3 May 2022 On July 1, 1996, it merged into the United Food and Commercial Workers' International Union.

Presidents

:1940: H. A. Bradley :1954: Edward R. Moffett :1956: Walter L. Mitchell :1968: Thomas E. Boyle :1975: Frank D. Martino

References

Chemical industry trade unions Trade unions established in 1940 Trade unions disestablished in 1996