Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) in Canada

From left to right at ACWA table: Joe Sutter, Asst. Mgr. Central Ontario Regional Joint Board; Sam Fox, Manager; Jack Sheinkman; Rod Swartz, President, C.O.R.J.B; Nat Schacher, Secretary Treasurer Photographer and date Unknown. Toronto Join Board. Courtesy of the Kheel Center at Catherwood Library, Cornell University.

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was the largest union of workers in the men’s clothing industry in the early 20th century. It was developed in a breakaway movement from the United Garment Workers (UGW) in the aftermath of the 1910 Chicago garments workers’ strike. Originally composed of immigrant Jewish workers with radical and socialist politics, ACWA would eventually open up to other nationalities working in the garment industry while its politics remained the same. 

ACWA established itself in Canada as early as 1915 where it quickly garnered 500 members. Membership in Canada grew between 1915 to 1922 and hit a high of 9,700 members. By 1923, ACWA had at least eight locals in the Toronto area. As a union with a high immigrant membership, some Locals recruited from specific ethnic groups. As explained by William Villano, former Toronto Joint Board Manager of ACWA, Local 132 was exclusive to Jewish members for a time, while Local 235 was predominantly Italian. Other Locals that made up the Joint Board were organized by specific jobs in the garment industry—Local 211 was for sergers, Local 216 was for those who made trousers, the 219 Pressers Local was for men’s fine tailoring, and 222 was the sleeve hanger’s Local. A worker who didn’t fit into any of those categories might find themselves in Local 233, known as the “Anglo” Local. Rounding out the Toronto Joint Board was Hamilton’s Local 210. 

An early 20th Century blue satin labour banner for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. 

Featuring red and gold embroidery.
Image: Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Toronto Joint Board and Affiliated Locals 132, 211, 212, 216, 219, 222, 233, 235

The Toronto Joint Board of ACWA saw representatives working collaboratively on a variety of governance issues, workplace dispute investigations, strikes, and May Day celebrations while liasing with the National ACWA office. We are lucky to have this Joint Board’s banner as part of our collection.

This banner has undergone several changes. With evidence of Locals being added and removed, and affiliations changed from the American Federation of Labour to the Canadian Congress of Labour in 1940.

WAHC’s Executive Director Tara Bursey explains changes that have been made to the ACWA Toronto Joint Board banner over the years. 



While how long the banner was in use is not entirely clear. What we do know is that it wouldn’t have been past 1956. The stitching likely would have had to have been amended again to reflect the CCL and the Trades and Labour Congress (TLC) merger to create the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). 

As with many unions founded in the early 20th century, ACWA underwent a number of mergers, first with the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) in 1976 to create the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. In 1995, ACTWU merged with the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union in 1995 to form UNITE. The UNITE Ontario Council donated this banner to the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre in 2003. 

Image: Detail of ACWA Toronto Joint Board Council
Key Sources

Kheel Center, Guide to the ACWA Oral History Project Records, Collection Number: 5619 OH. (Ithaca, New York: Kheel Center for the Study of Labor, n.d.). Accessed 30 March 2023. https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL05619oh.html 

City of Toronto Archives, Finding Aid: Fonds 315, ACWA (Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America) Fonds, (Toronto, Ontario: City of Toronto Archives, n.d.). Accessed 30 March 2023. https://gencat.eloquent-systems.com/city-of-toronto-archives-m-permalink.html?key=322331 

Harold Logan, Trade Unions in Canada: Their Development and Functioning (Toronto, Ontario: MacMillan Company of Canada Limited, 1948), 616; Steedman, “Canada’s New Deal in the Needle Trades,” 536.