The United Textile Workers of America (UTW) was a North American

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 ...

established in 1901.

History

The United Textile Workers of America was founded following two conferences in 1901 under the aegis of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) as an amalgamation of several smaller craft unions. AFL first vice president James Duncan presided over a two day initial conference held at

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 ...

's Quincy House Hotel in May before a larger conference finalized the organization in November. The union's most important early leader was

John Golden John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...

, a

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

-born spinner from

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

. Golden was elected as the union's second president in 1902 and re-elected at each subsequent convention until his death in 1921. At the time of his election, UTW's membership was just 10,600 spread out among 185 local unions. During that time, UTW engaged in intense competition with the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

(IWW) for the allegiance of textile workers across the northeastern United States. Generally opposed to strikes as a means of solving industrial disputes, the UTW frequently collaborated with company officials and sent union members to act as strikebreakers to IWW-led strikes, including the 1907 Skowhegan textile strike, the

1912 Lawrence textile strike The Lawrence Textile Strike, also known as the Bread and Roses Strike, was a strike of immigrant workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1912 led by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Prompted by a two-hour pay cut corresponding to a ne ...

, and the

1913 Paterson silk strike The 1913 Paterson silk strike was a work stoppage involving silk mill workers in Paterson, New Jersey. The strike involved demands for establishment of an eight-hour day and improved working conditions. The strike began in February 1913, and en ...

. As such, it had limited success prior to the 1930s, and the union claimed about 350,000 members at the time of a general textile strike in 1934. A year later in 1935, it became a founding member of the

Committee for Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of Labor unions in the United States, unions that organized workers in industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in ...

, whose Textile Workers Organizing Committee established the basis for a new union, the

Textile Workers Union of America The Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) was an industrial union of textile workers established through the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1939 and merged with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America to become the Amalgamated Clo ...

, founded in 1939. A diminished UTW continued separately after 1939 and, in 1996, merged with the

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

Publications

From its founding in 1901 until 1912, UTW used the privately-published '' The Laborer and Journeyman'' as its official organ. In 1912, '' The Textile Worker'' was founded and published by the union itself with secretary-treasurer Albert Hibbert as its editor. In September 1915, John Golden took over as editor on top of his other duties as president. He was replaced in both roles following his death by Thomas F. McMahon.

Leadership

Presidents

:1901: James Tansey :1902:

:1921: Thomas F. McMahon :1937: Frank Gorman :1939: C. M. Fox :1941: Frank Gorman :1944: Anthony Valente :1958: George Baldanzi :1972: Francis Schaufenbil :1986: Vernon Mustard :1991: Ron Myslowka

Other leaders

* Sara Agnes Mclaughlin Conboy, secretary-treasurer

References

1901 establishments in the United States 1939 disestablishments in the United States American Federation of Labor Textile and clothing trade unions Defunct trade unions in the United States

External links

PBS
''The Uprising of '34'' {{trade-union-stub