- Title Pages
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Awakenings
- Part II In Struggle
- 6 “Strong, Firm, and Correct Propaganda” (1886)
- 7 “Socialism Is Not a Dream” (1888)
- 8 The Birth of the Knee-Pants Makers’ Union (memoir; 1924)
- 9 “The Whole City Seethed” (1892)
- 10 Working Women Unite (1893–1894)
- 11 The Attempted Assassination of Henry Clay Frick (memoir; 1912)
- 12 The Prophet Karl Marx (c. 1910s)
- 13 “Our Mecca” (memoir; n.d.)
- 14 “The Right to Control Birth” (1916)
- 15 A Personal and Confidential Letter to Louis Marshall (1917)
- 16 Gangsters and Socialists on Election Day (memoir; 1944)
- 17 “If I Were a Colored Man What Would I Do?” (1919)
- 18 The Meaning of Labor Day (1921)
- 19 An Encounter with a Klansman (memoir; n.d.)
- 20 Communist “Criminals” in Los Angeles (1929)
- 21 “Unions with Brains” (1930)
- 22 In Defense of the Kentucky Miners (1932)
- 23 “The Obligations of Youth Today” (1932)
- 24 “Some Vital Problems of Negro Labor” (1935)
- 25 “Charlatans and Gangsters and Pompous Racketeers” (1938)
- 26 “With Nazism We All Are at War” (1942)
- Part III Life of the Mind
- Part IV The Russian Revolution
- Part V The Question of Zionism
- Recommended Reading on Jewish Radicals
- Index
- About the Editor
“Unions with Brains” (1930)
“Unions with Brains” (1930)
- Chapter:
- (p.133) 21 “Unions with Brains” (1930)
- Source:
- Jewish Radicals
- Author(s):
The Nation
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
This chapter extols both the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union for their innovations in the areas of education, social welfare, racial integration, and industrial relations. These two unions are praised for their creative efforts in facing the problems plaguing so many other unions during the 1920s—the suppression of conventional tactics which did not evolve or expand in scope along with changing business and labor practices. Likewise, other unions simply did not aim beyond their own workplaces, whereas the ILGWU broadened their conception to the actual organization of the whole industry, so that no one should be able to take advantage of sub-standard labor conditions. Furthermore, these unions were praised for maintaining their Jewish socialist ideals all throughout their campaigns for change.
Keywords: Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, ILGWU, garment unions, Jewish socialist ideals, education, social welfare, racial integration, industrial relations
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- Title Pages
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Awakenings
- Part II In Struggle
- 6 “Strong, Firm, and Correct Propaganda” (1886)
- 7 “Socialism Is Not a Dream” (1888)
- 8 The Birth of the Knee-Pants Makers’ Union (memoir; 1924)
- 9 “The Whole City Seethed” (1892)
- 10 Working Women Unite (1893–1894)
- 11 The Attempted Assassination of Henry Clay Frick (memoir; 1912)
- 12 The Prophet Karl Marx (c. 1910s)
- 13 “Our Mecca” (memoir; n.d.)
- 14 “The Right to Control Birth” (1916)
- 15 A Personal and Confidential Letter to Louis Marshall (1917)
- 16 Gangsters and Socialists on Election Day (memoir; 1944)
- 17 “If I Were a Colored Man What Would I Do?” (1919)
- 18 The Meaning of Labor Day (1921)
- 19 An Encounter with a Klansman (memoir; n.d.)
- 20 Communist “Criminals” in Los Angeles (1929)
- 21 “Unions with Brains” (1930)
- 22 In Defense of the Kentucky Miners (1932)
- 23 “The Obligations of Youth Today” (1932)
- 24 “Some Vital Problems of Negro Labor” (1935)
- 25 “Charlatans and Gangsters and Pompous Racketeers” (1938)
- 26 “With Nazism We All Are at War” (1942)
- Part III Life of the Mind
- Part IV The Russian Revolution
- Part V The Question of Zionism
- Recommended Reading on Jewish Radicals
- Index
- About the Editor
