Shelley Appleton (born New York City, June 11, 1919, died New York City, July 27, 2005) was a local union manager and later Vice-President and General Secretary-Treasurer of the

International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membe ...

Biography

A graduate of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

(B.A., LL.B. 1940), Appleton was an organizer in the Eastern Out-of-Town Department from 1941 to 1942. After serving in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and earning a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for his service, Appleton became Business Agent in the ILGWU's Office and Distribution Employees Local 99 in 1946. In 1951, Appleton was elected Assistant Manager of Local 99, and in 1953, Manager of Local 99. In 1959, Appleton left Local 99 to become manager of the Skirt and Sportswear Workers Local 23, a position he maintained through the merger of Local 23 and 25 to create Local 23–25. In 1961, he was elected a Vice-President of the ILGWU. He retired from the ILGWU in 1983. In addition to his work with the ILGWU, Appleton served as chairman of the ILGWU's international affairs committee, member of the Women's American ORT ( Organization for Rehabilitation through Training), board member of the National Committee for Rural Schools, treasurer of the Reunion of Old Timers, chairman of the World ORT Union (1980-1983), and president of the

Tamiment Institute The Tamiment Library is a research library at New York University that documents radical and left history, with strengths in the histories of communism, socialism, anarchism, the New Left, the Civil Rights Movement, and utopian experiments. The R ...

(1986-2005).

Sources

ILGWU. Communication Department biography files. 5780/177. Kheel Center for Labor Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University.
"Shelley Appleton, Garment Union Official, 86." New York Times. 29 Jul. 2005. Web. 26 Jan 2011. International Ladies Garment Workers Union leaders 1919 births 2005 deaths Trade unionists from New York (state) New York University School of Law alumni United States Army personnel of World War II {{Labor-activist-stub