Flag of the New York State Jewish Labor Union,
United hebrew Trades of the State of New York
USA, 1888
Wool felt, synthetic tassels and ribbons, cotton lining
The United hebrew Trades was established in the 1880s as an association of New York Jewish labor unions in.
Must Know
The organisation was modelled on the socialist United German Trades – an earlier German labor workers union within the United States. Initially, the organisation’s only members were printers and choir unions respectively. Yet as the organisation grew, by 1914, it has about 250,000 members. The union, among other things, supported an 8 hour work day and the cancelation of sweatshops.
Since its establishment it has gained wide recognition in the United States, being part of the Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance in 1895 as well as expanding from an independent union into a branch of the Jewish Labor Committee in 1933 through the joining of multiple Jewish labor unions across the United States. Flags such as this kind were carried and waved during labour demonstrations and protests.
More Info
The earliest Jewish labour unions were set up within the garment industry as well as among cigar makers, bakers, printers and actors. American Jewish Socialism was founded parallel to mass Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe and Russian in the 1880s.
