The Playthings, Jewelry and Novelty Workers' International Union (PJNWIU) was a

labor 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 ( ...

representing workers in various related industries in the United States. The union was founded in 1938 as the International Union of Playthings and Novelty Workers, an affiliate of the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...

. In 1940, it absorbed several locals representing paper industry workers, and was renamed as the United Paper, Novelty and Toy Workers' International Union. On January 1, 1944, its paper workers' section was spun off as the

Paper Workers' Organizing Committee The United Paperworkers of America (UPA) was a labor union representing workers involved in making paper in the United States. The union's origins lay in the United Paper, Novelty, and Toy Workers' International Union, which was affiliated to the C ...

, and the remainder of the union became the PJNWIU. By 1953, the union had 30,000 members. In May 1954, it merged into the

Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) is a labor union in the United States. Founded in 1937, the RWDSU represents about 60,000 workers in a wide range of industries, including but not limited to retail, grocery stores, poultry proc ...

.{{cite book , last1=Mitchell , first1=James P. , title=Directory of Labor Unions in the United States , date=1955 , publisher=United States Department of Labor , location=Washington, D.C.

Presidents

:1938: Anthony H. Esposito :1952:

Alex Bail Alex Bail (1900 – June 8, 1973) was an American radical and union leader. Biography Early years Alex Bail was born in the Russian Empire in 1900. Communist years Bail entered the US labor movement in 1922. He was also an early member of th ...

References

Manufacturing trade unions Trade unions established in 1938 Trade unions disestablished in 1954