New York City Garment Workers

New York City Garment Workers. . , Garment workers and their unions, particularly the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU), played a formative role in new York City labor history, as depicted in these panels:, In 1909, workers in the shirtwaist industry, mostly young immigrant women, rose up against sweatshop conditions in 1 14-week strike known as “The Uprising of the 2000.” Thousands of garment workers across the county followed their example., in 1911, the tragic deaths of 146 workers, primarily young women, in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire awakened the conscience of the city and launched a movement to reform workplace conditions., Then as now, immigrant workers often faced exploitation. They joined unions to fight for their rights. Once the protest signs were in Yiddish and Italian. Today they are in Spanish and Chinese and Creole., As the garment unions gained strength, they supported other unions, sponsored cultural activities for workers and built cooperative housing., Today, at the start of the 21st century, New York City remains a fashion capital of the world and tens of thousands of people work in the industry., Sponsored by the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union on June 3, 1900 in New York City., Six bronze plaques set into the pavement near the unnamed fountain in the southwest corner of the park.