Cloakmaker
A Cloak maker worked in the garment industry,[1] often in an enterprise whose workers were represented by a union.[2]
In the 1920s, there were more than 50,000 people employed as cloakmakers.[2]
Much of this industry was centered in NYC.[3] While most of the cloakmakers were Jewish women,[4]: p.191 [5][6] the next largest group, although much smaller in number, were Italian women.[7][8][9]
Cloakmakers were a part of those known as clothing-workers, including those who made cloaks, suits and skirts.[2][10]
Other areas where this industry was strong included Chicago[11] and Cincinnati.[12]
Unions
[edit]Suffragist Theresa Malkiel organized a union of cloakmakers in 1892.[4]: p.191 Other areas of the needle trade[13] were not unionized until years later,[14] of whom in 1912 over 80% were Jewish.[15]
This occupation involved making or repairing garments that contained animal fur. The high end of this profession focused on fur coats. A 1915 New York Times article about 75,000 garment workers said "Cloakmakers take the lead."[17]
The garment industry's strikes were neither rare nor long-lasting.[18][19]
References
[edit]- ^ Miller 1978, p. 190.
- ^ a b c "Cloak Makers Accept Plan for Conference". The New York Times. April 27, 1921. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ 60,000 to 70,000 cloakmakers in New York City in 1910 Oscar Handlin; Charles Reznikoff. Introduction: Louis Marshall, Champion of Liberty. p. xxi.
- ^ a b Miller 1978.
- ^ Hadassa Kosak (2000). Cultures of Opposition: Jewish Immigrant Workers, New York. p. 202.
The preponderance of Jews among cloakmakers ... 1885
- ^ contrast two strikes: 20,000 "mostly female" vs. a different strike in the same 1909/1910/1911 period: 1,200 men in one strike and 2,000 men in another. "History of the ILGWU: Early Struggles".
- ^ S. Luconi (Summer 2010). "Crossing Borders on the Picket Line: Italian-American Workers and the 1912 Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts". Italian Americana. 28 (2): 149–161. JSTOR 41426589.
- ^ The Ladies' Garment Worker. 1918. p. 25.
It was understood that money collected from Italians ...
- ^ La Porta, Alfredo (January 1, 1918). "Among Italian and Other Ladies' Tailors". The Ladies' Garment Worker. 9 (1): 22–23.
among the ladies' tailors, of whom there are about 500, almost evenly divided in number between Italians and Jews.
- ^ "Striking Dress and Cloak Makers". The New York Times. July 22, 1883.
- ^ "Clothing workers of Chicago, 1910-1922" (PDF).
- ^ "Amalgamated Clothing Workers (1919-1925)".
- ^ not to be confused with this (usage): Todd S. Purdum (February 18, 1990). "New York City Is Out of the Needle Trade". The New York Times.
- ^ only "half of all women working in the garment industry between 1909 and 1919 belonged to unions." Debran Rowland (2004). The Boundaries of Her Body: The Troubling History of Women's Rights.
- ^ Adam Dickter (1972). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem Israel: Keter Publishing House Ltd.
- ^ The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker: A Story of the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike in New York. New York. The Co-operative Press. 1910.
- ^ "Garment Workers prepare demands, Cloakmakers Take the Lead in Move Expected to Cause a Strike of 75,000". The New York Times. June 26, 1915.
- ^ "Persons to Fill Their Places Are to be Had ... Committee Appeals for Strike Funds". The New York Times. June 14, 1916.
- ^ "Cloakmakers' Spare Time". The New York Times. July 30, 1910.
Sources
[edit]- Miller, Sally M. (December 1978). "From Sweatshop Worker to Labor Leader: Theresa Malkiel, A Case Study". American Jewish History. 68 (2). The Johns Hopkins University Press: 189–205. JSTOR 23881894.
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