ILGWU Chorus Records and Sheet Music, 1991-1996
Collection Number: 5780/214

The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States. It was one of the first U.S. Unions to have a membership consisting of mostly females, and it played a key role in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s. The union is generally referred to as the "ILGWU" or the "ILG". The ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, and political influence to become one of the most powerful forces in American organized labor by mid-century. Representing workers in the women's garment industry, the ILGWU worked to improve working and living conditions of its members through collective bargaining agreements, training programs, health care facilities, cooperative housing, educational opportunities, and other efforts. The ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1995 to form the Union of Needle trades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. The two unions that formed UNITE in 1995 represented only 250,000 workers between them, down from the ILGWU's peak membership of 450,000 in 1969.

The ILGWU Chorus was an organization within the ILGWU that brought together union members to perform songs for television and radio, and at conventions and other public events. Under the direction of Malcolm Dodds, the ILGWU Chorus was probably most-widely known for its performances of "Look for the Union Label" on television commercials in the mid-1970s. The song, written by Paula Green and composed by Malcolm Dodds, was part of the ILGWU's general campaign to educate the public about the union label, the work of the ILGWU, and the importance of both to consumers and workers alike. The ILGWU Chorus appeared at ILGWU conventions, AFL-CIO conventions, community and political events, and the group sang songs in Chinese, English, French, and Spanish.

Local unions, district councils, and regional departments also organized choruses, and in many instances, these groups pre-dated the ILGWU Chorus that gained national recognition in the 1970s. These smaller groups performed at local and regional meetings, community events, and sometimes at the ILGWU's international conventions. The musical revue, "My Name Is Mary Brown," for example, was performed by the Northeast Department at the ILGWU's Golden Jubilee Convention in 1950. Along with orchestras, theater groups, sports teams, and others, these choruses were one part of the union's active educational departments.

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ILGWU Chorus Records and Sheet Music #5780/214. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Collections: 5780: ILGWU records 5780/214 P: ILGWU Chorus Photographs