The International Chemical Workers' Union (ICWU) was a

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

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 mutual ...

(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 a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. On September 11, 1944, the council was chartered by the AFL as the ICWU. In 1955, the union transferred to the new

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

, 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. In 1975, some of its Canadian locals split away, to form the Canadian Chemical Workers' Union. 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 absorbed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Trade unions established in 1940 Trade unions disestablished in 1996 AFL-CIO affiliates Organizations based in Akron, Ohio