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The ILGWU
Social Unionism in Action
Luigi Antonini sympathizes with a foot sore picketer supporting Local 89, the Italian Dressmaker’s Union , striking for overtime pay
ILGWU Archives (5780PB1F19C), Kheel Center, Cornell University.
The large majority of local unions of the ILGWU embraced all ethnic and religious groups. However, some tended to attract members of a single nationality or ethnic group. Local 89, the Dressmakers Union, was predominantly Italian. Luigi Antonini, its Manager, became the first Vice-President under President David Dubinsky in 1934. Antonini was an organizer of the Italian-American Labor Council and a respected leader of the Liberal Party as well. Here he acknowledges a weary picketer on the line with her co-workers and the Local’s male leaders.
