Cigar Makers International Union

In 1864, delegates from local cigar makers' unions in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and a number of other cities met in New York to form the Cigar Makers National Union of the United States; only hand cigar makers were allowed to join the union. At this meeting, Andrew Zeitler was elected the union's first president. Cigar makers had organized locally as early as 1845 in Cincinnati, but no national organization had been attempted. The union became international in 1867 when a number of Canadian locals affiliated with it; it was subsequently renamed the Cigar Makers International Union of America (CMIUA).

In 1869, a group of disgruntled cigar makers led by Adolph Strasser formed a new union, the United Cigar Makers of New York (UCMNY). Their union admitted all cigar makers, whether their product was made entirely by hand of fashioned wit the assistance of a mold. In 1875, CMIUA President George Hurst called for a joint meeting of the two groups in the first issue of the Cigar Makers Oficial Journal. At this meeting; the UCMNY affiliated with the CMIUA and was designated Local 144; its president was Samuel Gompers, and the financial secretary was Adolph Strasser.

Strasser and Gompers were inextricably linked to the CMIUA for a number of years. Strasser served as the Union's president from 1877 to 1891. His first term began during one of America's worst depression; in 1887 the CMIUA had only seventeen locals, an all-time low, and many cigar makers were out of work. In that same year, Local 144 in New York successfully struck for shorter hours and higher wages; cigar makers utilized the strike method before, in 1851 in Baltimore, but it had not been successful for the laborers. In 1881 under Strasser's administration, all cigar packers, selectors, strippers, bunch breakers and rollers were made eligible for membership in the CMIUA at the option of the local. Local 144 also produced Samuel Gompers who, in 1875, was appointed an international organizer for the union, and in 1886, became a vice-president.

The CMIUA played significant role in the formation of the American Federation of Labor. In August 1881, Gompers, Strasser and several other CMIUA delegates met with representatives from other trade unions in Terre Haute, Indiana, to discuss the possibility of uniting into a single union. In November 1881, they met in Pittsburgh and formed the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States of America and Canada. It held five annual conventions. In 1886 I t merged with the American Federation of Labor, and Gompers was elected President.

In 1891 George W. Perkins was elected president of the CMIUA, a post he would hold until 1927. During his tenure, the union experienced unprecedented growth and faced some of its greatest challenges. In 1916, the union recorded its highest membership, 53,000 workers, which represented approximately one-half of all cigar workers. During the era of reform, Perkins led his unions in the fight against child labor and convict contract labor. He also fought for sick and death benefits, which were awarded at the union's thirteenth convention, and for group insurance, which was added in 1913. Perkins also campaigned for cleaner working conditions, as he felt a sanitary atmosphere would lower the occurrence of tuberculosis, the leading cause of death among cigar-makers in the late nineteenth century.

One of the chief issues faced by Perkins and all subsequent presidents was automation in the cigar-making plants, which was introduced around 1900. Labor's basic guideline had always been allowed by automation. The cigar makers were somewhat successful in the early years of the twentieth century in keeping automation from usurping labor; however, they gradually lost the battle. In 1920 there were approximately 125,000 cigar workers in the industry with about 67,000 belonging to the CMIUA. Bu 1963 there were only 30,000 workers and only 10,000 CMIUA members, with half of those being women. Conversely, production had increased twofold, with 4 billion cigars produced in 1920 and 8 billion in 1963.

After 1920 CMIUA's membership gradually declined and the focus of the industry steadily drifted from the northern industrial cities to the South, where cheap labor was plentiful. The industry also became more and more dependent on Cuban tobacco and benefits were reduced. The union's sick and out-of-work benefits were discontinued in 1928; death benefits were terminated in 1933, leaving only the strike benefit. As the union's size dwindled, the question of amalgamation of the CMIUA with the Tobacco Workers International Union arose. After several years of discussion, a joint convention of the two international unions was held at Philadelphia in September 1948. The meeting was addressed by President William Green of the American Federation of Labor and I. M. Ornburn, former president of the CMIUA. In separate sessions, it was decided to forego amalgamation but to continue to study the matter.

In 1964 the CMIUA celebrated their 100th anniversary, but the union was on the decline. Increasing automation, the ambargo of Cuban tobacco and consumer preference for cigarettes all combined to weaken the union. The Cigar Maker's Official Journal was discontinued in 1972. By 1974 the total membership had shrunk to approximately 2,500 and the union decided to affiliate with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union.

From the guide to the Archives of the Cigar Makers' International Union, 1856-1974, 1930-1974, (Historical Manuscripts)