The United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America (URW) 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 involved in manufacturing using specific materials, in the United States and Canada. The union was founded in 1935 as the United Rubber Workers of America, and was chartered 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 mutu ...

(AFL) on September 12. It aligned itself with 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 ...

(CIO), and as a result, was suspended by the AFL in 1936 and expelled in 1938. In 1937, it was chartered by the CIO, and by 1953, it had grown to become the federation's sixth-largest affiliate, with 190,000 members. In 1955, the URW affiliated to the new

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

, and by 1980, its membership had increased slightly, to 199,990.{{cite book , title=Directory of National Unions and Employee Associations , date=1980 , publisher=United States Department of Labor , location=Washington, D.C. , url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/bls/bls_2079_1980.pdf , access-date=3 May 2022 On July 2, 1995, it merged into the

United Steelworkers of America The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

Presidents

:1935: Sherman Dalrymple :1945: L. S. Buckmaster :1960: George Burdon :1966: Peter Bommarito :1981: Mike Stone :1990: Kenneth L. Coss

References

Plastics and rubber trade unions Trade unions established in 1916 Trade unions disestablished in 1980