To put it in another way, its merit is in that
it has made supreme use of the highest practical acquisition of the
American Federation of Labor--namely, the trade agreement--while
reinterpreting and applying the latter in a spirit of a broader labor
solidarity than the "old unionism" of the Federation. As such the
clothing workers point the way to the rest of the labor movement.
The first successful application of the "new unionism" in the clothing
trades was in 1910 by the workers on cloaks and suits in the
International Ladies' Garment Workers Union of America, a constituent
union of the American Federation of Labor. They established machinery of
conciliation from the shop to the industry, which in spite of many
tempests and serious crises, will probably live on indefinitely. Perhaps
the greatest achievement to their credit is that they have jointly with
the employers, through a Joint Board of Sanitary Control, wrought a
revolution in the hygienic conditions in the shops.
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America have won great power in the
men's clothing industry, through aggressive but constructive leadership.
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