ABSTRACT
For the better part of the last century, garment and textile industries have been a mainstay of the New York City regional economy, providing manufacturing jobs at decent wages for many urban residents. Even as manufacturing in general declined in the city since the 1950s, the industry remained a strong presence in the city through the 1960s, reaching a high of 250,000 workers in the 1970s, most of whom were members of the two leading unions—the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Union (ACTWU). As other industries declined, garment and textile workers accounted for over half of all manufacturing jobs in New York.
