Skip to main content

We Ask Justice For Our Union Leaders! - 1948 Pamphlet - International Fur & Leather Workers Union C.I.O.



"Almost from the very day that the fur workers first organized themselves into a union to fight for better working conditions, the bosses hired gangsters to smash the union. They sent their agents to disrupt it from within. They attacked the union through injunctions and court cases. They slandered and besmirched the union through the big-business controlled press. And as is their usual practice, they singled out trustworthy and militant leaders of the workers for frame-ups and persecutions - men in whom the membership had the greatest faith, leaders whose entire lives were devoted to serving the membership.

But the union survived and grew, despite violence and gangsters and lockouts of employers.

Why was it able to survive attacks as fierce as any ever aimed at a labor organization in the United States? Who were these men who could not be threatened, bribed, or slugged into submission?

The history of the I.L.F.W.U. answers these questions. We give here only a few highlights of that fighting history. In its pages are lessons that can help the labor movement beat back the Tafts and Hartleys and those they stand for."

The International Fur and Leather Workers Union, another of the 11 expelled CIO unions were among the most radical and militant of the bunch. They faced some of the most extreme oppression, including frame ups, deportation trials, arrests of leadership and violent clashes with hired goons. Philip Foner authored a massive book documenting their history.

This pamphlet is extraordinary. I intend to get a full scan of it's pages and will provide the text when I have a bit more time. 






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union - C.I.O. Local Union list

This is a working list that is continually being expanded and cross referenced as I work through archival material. You will notice I pose questions next to some of the locals or include various notes. If you use this list as a reference please know it may not be 100% accurate. This is a continuation of my project to map the Congress of Industrial Organizations. You will notice several different charters with the same local number. The International reused local numbers as they amalgamated or ceased to exist. Making this research a tad bit more difficult. ILWU Local 1 - RAYMOND, WA (longshore) *** chartered ’37  ILWU Local 2 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA (shipscalers) *** chartered ’37 ILWU Local 3 - STOCKTON, CA, (Barge / Power Boat)  *** chartered ’37 in 1950 Local 3 becomes catch all for the International Fisherman & Allied Workers after they are expelled from the CIO. Below is a list of locals that became Local 3 in 1950. I believe these numbers correspond w...

Mine Mill + Western Federation of Miners - Union Pins

International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers C.I.O. side by side with their predecessors the Western Federation of Miners - Union Pins 

"The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America advocates and practices the program and tactics of militant industrial unionism..." 1942 Constitution - Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America C.I.O.

"We, the shipyard workers, will be able best to achieve our aims as an integral part of the working class only by combining our collective strength to defend the interests of all the workers in the industry. We must at all times maintain strong unity for the achievement of a higher standard of living, and guard all gains won by standing ever alert against any encroachment on the part of the employers of the industry. Recognizing that craft unionism, as practiced in the past, has been proved during the course of history to be both ineffective and dangerous to the interests of the workers. The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America advocates and practices the program and tactics of militant industrial unionism, based on the principle of One Industry - One Union. The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America calls for the united front of all workers in the industry, regardless of creed, color, nationality, religion, sex or politic...