Timeline

Below is a timeline of labor and the formation and evolution of the UFCW.

Retail Clerk Strikers umbrellas

 

1800 - 1900: The Beginning of Organized Labor in North America

1804 - First Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers strike in Philadelphia.
1835 - National Association of Journeymen Cordwainers formed.
1850 - Clothing Cutters’ and Trimmers’ Union established.
1867 - Knights of St. Crispin formed to regulate machinery.
1869 - Daughters of St. Crispin formed as female counterpart.

" Among the things we advocate is that women should have equal suffrage with men.... We not only work for equality of suffrage, but work to fight and obtain equal wages for women."

                                                                        ~ Daughters of St. Crispin, 1891

1870 - First craft unions formed.
1886 - Journeymen Barbers Protective Union present at American Federation of Labor founding convention.
1887 - Journeymen Barbers International Union of America founded.
1888 - Clothing, Gents Furnishings and Shoe Store Workers receive AFL charter.
1888 - Mary Burke elected first female Vice President of the Retail Clerks.
1890 - Establishment of Clothing Cutters’ Progressive Union.
1890 - Retail Clerks National Protective Association gets AFL charter.
1891 - United Garment Workers of America chartered by AFL.

"Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself. We have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and deceived by politicians. But notwithstanding all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun."

                                                                                    ~ Eugene V. Debs, 1894

1895 - Boot and Shoe Workers Union receives AFL charter.
1897 - Amalgamated Meat Cutters Butcher Workmen of North America receives AFL charter.

1900 - 1979: The Growth of Organized Labor

1901 - United Textile Workers of America receives AFL charter. Amalgamation of dozens of separate craft unions.
1904 - International Fur Workers (IFWU) Union formed.

" With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity than any other organization of men that ever existed. They have done more for decency, for honesty, for education, for the betterment of the race, for developing character in man, than any other association of men."

                                                                                ~ Clarence Darrow, 1909

1913 - Major strikes secure minimum wage standards.

Striking Meat Cutters 1930s

 

1937 - Congress of Industrial Organizations charters the National Leather Workers Association.
1938 - Fur and Leather Workers of America created by IFWU and NLWA merger.
1944 - James Suffridge elected International President of the Retail Clerks International Union.
1948 - Retail Clerks International Association (RCIA) begins organizing health care and non-profit hospital field workers.
1950 - Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) affiliates insurance and Allied Workers Organizing Committee.
1953 - IAWOC changes to Insurance Workers of America at founding convention in Cleveland.
1968 - United Packinghouse Workers Association merges with the Amalgamated Meat Cutters.
1968 - Jim Housewright elected International President of the Retail Clerks International Union.
Addie Wyatt  

 Addie Wyatt

1976 - Addie Wyatt elected first woman vice president of Amalgamated Meat Cutters.
1977 - Boot and Shoe Workers Union merges with Retail Clerks International Association. 
1977 - Name changed to Retail Clerks International Union - 5th largest in the AFL-CIO.

" I know this union. I know the contribution it has made to the welfare of its members. I know the fight it has made for legislation improving the hours and working conditions of its members, and all those who labor, and I know that it has always interpreted generously its responsibilities not only to the laboring people of this country, but also to all our citizens."

                ~ President John F. Kennedy, 
                RCIU Convention, 1963

1978 - Professional Division changed to Professional and Health Care Division.
1979 - Merger of the Retail Clerks and the Meat Cutters creates the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.


1980 - 1993:  The Birth of the UFCW

UFCW members celebrate

1980 - Barbers, Beauticians and Allied Industries International Association merges with UFCW.
1980 - First UFCW Women’s Affairs, Civil Rights and Political Action Conference held in Washington, DC.
1981 - UFCW begins national safety and health programs to identify job hazards and create training.
1981 - 22,000 member United Retail Workers Union merges with UFCW and becomes UFCW Local 881.
1983 - UFCW’s first regular convention held in Montreal, Canada.

Beep for Striking Americans

 

1983 - 15,000 member Insurance Workers International Union votes to merge with UFCW.
1984 - UFCW’s organizing total sets record with 65,000 workers organized.
1985 - UFCW’s organizing total broken with 71,000 workers organized.
1986 - Canadian Brewery Workers Union merges with UFCW.
1986 - Organizing total for 1986 is best ever with nearly 82,000 workers organized.
1986 - Lenore Miller becomes president of RWDSU.
1987 - The Office of Safety and Health Agency investigation of meatpacking plants starts after UFCW discovery of injury log reporting violations.
1987 - Due to UFCW pressure, OSHA expands hazard communication standard to provide information and training to hair care and retail workers.
1987 - UFCW yearly organizing total reaches 100,000 new members.
1987 - Beth Shulman named first woman director of UFCW Trade Division and elected International Vice President.
1987 - United Hispanics of the UFCW founded.
1988 - UFCW Canadian regions consolidate.
1988 - UFCW, IBP and OSHA sign safety and health agreement with three-year program to reduce trauma injuries for packinghouse workers.
1988 -UFCW organizing record shattered again with over 100,000 newly-organized members.
1988 - UFCW Women’s Network founded.
1990 - UFCW hosts international summit to propose an action plan for combatting the spread of anti-union multinational corporations.
1990 - UFCW Women’s Network holds first Mother’s Day Wal-Mart protests.
1991 - Independent Foodhandlers and Warehouse Employees Union located in Massachusetts and Rhode Island with 5,000 members affiliates with UFCW and becomes Local 791.
1991 - UFCW organized more than 86,000 workers.
1991 - UFCW’s first Political and Legislative Conference held.
1991 - UFCW’s first Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Conference held.
1992 - UFCW organizes more than 93,000 workers.
1992 - Local 1, Leather Goods, Plastics, Handbags and Novelty Workers Union merges with the UFCW.
1993 - International Union of Life Insurance Agents of Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota merges with the UFCW, bringing 1,500 new members.
1993 - Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union merges with UFCW, effective October 1st. 100,000 RWDSU members become RWDSU District Council of the UFCW.

1994 - Present:  A Modern Union

1994- Douglas H. Dority elected International President of the 1.4 million member UFCW. 
1994- United Garment Workers of America merges with UFCW, bringing 15,000 members.

" We can move mountains when we’re united and enjoy life - Without unity we are victims. Stay united."

~Bill Bailey, Union Activist, 1994           

1995 - Textile Workers merge with UFCW, bringing 15,000 members to become UFCW Textile and Garment Council.
1995 - Distillery Workers merge with UFCW, bringing 15,000 members to become the UFCW’s Distillery, Wine and Allied Workers Division.
1995 - UFCW organizes more than 97,000 workers.
1996 - International Chemical Workers Union merges with UFCW, bringing 40,000 members, becoming the International Chemical Workers Union Council of the UFCW.
1997 - Canadian Union of Restaurant and Related Employees merges with UFCW.
1998 - United Representatives Guild, Inc. merges with UFCW.
1998 - Production Service and Sales District Council merges with UFCW, bringing 10,000 members.
1998 - UFCW members march on Wal-Mart headquarters at Bentonville, Arkansas.
2000 - Wal-Mart workers in Jacksonville, Texas make history by becoming the first Wal-Mart employees to join the UFCW. 
2002 - Whole Food workers make history by becoming the first Whole Food employees to join the UFCW.
2002 - UFCW Day of Action challenges Wal-Mart to become a positive force for workers, families and communities.
2002 - UFCW organizes 85,000 new workers.
2003 - 80,000 UFCW members across the country strike to protect their health care benefits.
2004 - Joseph Hansen elected International President of United Food and Commercial Workers.
2005 - The UFCW and six other unions --the Teamsters, SEIU, UNITE-HERE, Laborers, Farm Workers, and Carpenters -- disaffiliate from the AFL-CIO to form Change to Win.  Representing 6 million union members, Change to Win is a new alliance devoted to creating a large-scale, coordinated campaign to rebuild the American Labor Movement.