ACTWU

 The Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) began as a national organization in America known as the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) in 1914. It was initially successful in Cleveland, Ohio but was organizationally slowed by the recession of the 1920s. In 1924, it started organizing the Joseph & Feiss Co. By 1934, the company recognized ACWA after 1,600 workers went on strike. This win encouraged more organizing in other Cleveland shops. ACWA was able to negotiate huge improvements in working conditions and wages and fringe benefits. 

In 1934, ACWA joined the American Federation of Labor (AFL) but split from the AFL a year later to form the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). This was a powerful and organized union, and this allowed the ACWA to go further in helping textile workers. By 1939, the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) was formed. Ten years later, it used the Sidney Hillman Building at 227 Payne Ave. for members’ use and community use. 

The ACWA was able to hold on to its wages and benefits despite the clothing industry recession in the 1950s. In 1976, the TWUA and ACWA joined for increased strength to create the ACTWU. ACTWU is famous for its impressive and successful clothing unions, securing improvements and benefits for its members, and these benefits include cooperative housing, banks, and insurance. Three years later, most industries in men’s attire were represented. In 1995, ACTWU merged again with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union to form the Union of Needletrade, Industrial and Technical Employees (UNITE). This union was one of America’s largest with 16 local affiliates in the Cleveland area and 350,000 members nationwide.