“The Heart Blood of the Union”
David Dubinsky was a leading light of labor in the 20th century, heading up the International Ladies Garment Workers Union from before the New Deal upsurge until well into the 1960’s. He was also an inveterate splitter and eager faction fighter. Therefore, it is of little surprise to find a passage describing his relish in fighting one of the earliest staff unions in his autobiography, “A Life With Labor.” It comes during his chapter on “Union Firsts” (many of which were actually pioneered by Sidney Hillman’s Amalgamated Clothing Workers, a few of which are even acknowledged as such), while describing a union-sponsored Training Institute that took young college graduate and trained them to be paid staff organizers, working for the ILGWU. Quoted and highlighted in relevant part: An even greater disappointment came in the early 1960’s when some of the institute graduates became the spearhead of a movement to organize […]