United Hebrew Trades

United Hebrew Trades
Founded 1888
Office location New York
Country United States

The United Hebrew Trades, in Yiddish the Fareynigte Yidishe Geverkshaftn, was an association of Jewish labor unions in New York formed in the late 1880s; to some degree it was modeled on and took inspiration from the United German Trades, the Vereignte Deutsche Gewerkshaften, formed decades earlier by German immigrants to the United States who were active in the German, and later the German-American, labor movement.

It was founded by the Socialist Labor Party's Yiddish Branch 8 and Russian Branch 17 together with Jewish unions in New York in October 1888. Among the founding members were Morris Hillquit and Bernard Weinstein.[1] In 1895, the UHT became a member of the SLP affiliated Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance, becoming "District Alliance 2" in February 1896. Some of its constituent unions, however, were still affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and splintered to become the Federated Hebrew Trades of Greater New York in September 1897. As the ST&LA declined, the UHT disaffiliated in 1899 and merged with the newer federation.

By 1910, Weinstein was able to report that the UHT had 106 unions under its umbrella, consisting of 150,000 working men and women.[2] In 1914 the UHT celebrated its 25th anniversary in Carnegie Hall. Clarence Darrow and Samuel Gompers were featured speakers at the event.[3]

In May 1915, eight members of the association's Executive Committee were indicted in New York City and charged with hiring gangsters, including Benjamin Fein, to intimidate uncooperative employers. UHT secretary Abraham Shiplacoff told the New York Times that "we are not going to allow the reactionary District Attorney to eat our beloved leaders alive."[4]

By 1922, the UHT represented approximately 200,000 workers.[5]

In 1933, United Hebrew Trades' activists joined with other organizations and trade unions to form the Jewish Labor Committee, which had its founding convention in February 1934. In 1938, when the UHT celebrated its 50th anniversary, it had 250,000 members.[6] In the 1990s, the UHT changed its relationship with the JLC, from that of an independent affiliated organization to the New York Division of the JLC.

References

  1. ↑ Howard Sachar. "Jewish Workers and Trade Unions:Needling capitalism in America". Retrieved 3 July 2012. Reprinted from Howard Sachar (1992). A History of the Jews in America. Knopf. ISBN 0394573536.
  2. ↑ "Many New Unions Formed in 1910". New York Times. 3 January 1911. p. 20.
  3. ↑ "Celebrate Birth of Jewish Union". New York Times. 25 January 1914. p. 17.
  4. ↑ "Lawyers Drew Up Gangs' Contracts: District Attorney Plans to Have Disbarred Attorneys Who Arranged Terms for Raids". New York Times: 22. May 14, 1915. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  5. ↑ "United Hebrew Trades Aids Miners". New York Times. 12 July 1922. p. 3.
  6. ↑ "Pledges Loyalty to A.F.L.". New York Times. 19 December 1938. p. 40.

Further reading