Italian-American Labor Council

Italian-American labor leaders formed the Italian-American Labor Council (IALC) on December 20, 1941, ten days after Mussolini declared war on the United States. In the short-term, the IALC was to serve as a viable anti-fascist movement in America, and counter American suspicions that Italian-Americans were sympathetic to Mussolini. The larger goal of the IALC was to bring fellow Italian-Americans into the burgeoning labor movement.

During World War II, the IALC lobbied for the repeal of the Enemy Alien Act, raised funds for the Italian resistance movement, and facilitated the settlement of Italian refugees. By 1943, a rift developed within the IALC. Those who refused to work with Communists remained within the IALC; those who were willing to work with the Communists organized the Free Italy Labor Council. The factions reunited in 1958.

After 1945, the IALC organized clothing drives and fundraising events for war-ravaged Italy. Serving as a bridge between the Italian labor movement, the AFL and the State Department, the IALC helped to form the Italian "Free Labor Movement" which opposed Communist-oriented labor organizations. Since the post-war period, the IALC has developed travel exchanges between labor leaders of both countries and established ties between the labor movements of both nations.

From the description of Records, 1941-1996 (bulk 1970-1990). (New York University). WorldCat record id: 477250443

On December 20, 1941, the Italian-American Labor Council (IALC) was formed in direct response to Mussolini's declaration of war against the United States, which had occurred ten days earlier. Although the IALC was formed in direct response to Fascism, its roots illustrate the dramatic narrative of the Italian-Americans and their rise within the organized labor movement.

Since the nineteenth century, through persistent political exertion, Italian-American labor leaders have transformed the initially disunited groups of Italian-American workers into a united force within organized labor. Such leaders as Salvatore Ninfo, Arturo Giovannitti, Carlo Tresca, and Joseph Catalanotti, who would later become founding members of the IALC, orchestrated these early efforts. From 1913 to 1919, for example, the Italian-Americans in the garment trades in New York City developed three powerful locals: Local 63 (Italian Coatmakers) of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) headed by Augusto Bellanca, and Locals 48 (Italian Coatmakers) and 89 (Italian Dressmakers) of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), led respectively by Eduardo Molisani and Luigi Antonini. Antonini would later become the pivotal force behind the founding of the IALC.

Antonini's rise to the top of the Italian-American labor movement did not occur overnight. In 1934, he became the ILGWU's first vice-president under president David Dubinsky. Dubinsky, who was Treasurer of the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC), encouraged Antonini to take up the cause of the Italian trade unionists and form the IALC. The IALC and the JLC have continued to act as fraternal allies, coordinating activities and sharing resources. By 1940, Local 89 had 33,500 members and could stake a claim as one of the largest union locals in the United States. During this period, Antonini utilized weekly broadcasts entitled Voce della Locale 89 (Voice of Local 89) along with the Italian-language edition of the ILGWU's newspaper, Giustizia, to extend his influence among Italian-American workers. Antonini's sway over the Local 89 membership remained the source of his power and placed him at the top of Italian-American labor leadership at the outbreak of World War II.

On December 10, 1941, three days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Mussolini declared war on the United States. Italian-Americans were shocked. They now had to face the reality that their country of origin was at war with their adopted homeland. Adding to this emotional burden, they also faced an uncertain future because the newly instituted Enemy Alien Act threatened to restrict and possibly imprison those individuals who were not citizens. In response to these circumstances, the IALC leadership met for the first time on December 20, 1941. They chose as their slogan, "America's Victory is Italy's Freedom." At the end of its first year, the IALC could claim affiliates with a membership of 300,000 workers.

The first act of the IALC was to lobby successfully, on behalf of Italian-Americans, against the implementation of the Enemy Alien Act of 1942, which designated all German, Italian and Japanese nationals as enemy aliens. Italian-Americans found themselves facing the possibility of a massive evacuation from the east and west coasts of the United States to confinement in the Mid-West. In order to emphasize Italian-American loyalty to America, the IALC organized a "Freedom Rally" at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 1942. Twenty-two thousand people attended this assembly.

The IALC also engaged in practical political lobbying. The IALC was the first organization to put forward a proposal for the "exoneration of Italians from the category of Enemy Alien." In late spring 1942, Antonini went to Washington, D.C. and met with FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General Francis Biddle. Through Antonini's collaborative efforts with Biddle, Italian-Americans were completely exempted from the Enemy Alien category. For his efforts in removing the enemy alien stigma from 600,000 Italian-Americans, Attorney General Biddle, in 1943, became the first recipient of the IALC's Four Freedoms Award. This citation was created to honor "meritorious services rendered to the cause of liberty among the people throughout the world." During this period, the IALC also raised funds for the Italian resistance movement and facilitated the settlement of Italian refugees.

In 1943, a deep political division formed within the IALC. One faction included those individuals who refused to work with the Communists. This group formed the American Committee for Italian Democracy and remained a part of the IALC. The second bloc covered those workers who accepted the Communists. This camp organized the Free Italy Labor Council. These factions reunited in 1958.

In the years after the Second World War, the IALC organized clothing drives and fundraising events for a war-ravaged Italy. In the 1950s, it also played an instrumental role in forming the "Free Labor Movement" that opposed the Italian Communists and Communist-orientated labor organizations. They have continued to act as interpreters of Italian politics for United States governmental officials and have also served as communicators of American labor policy to Italian trade unionists. The organization has organized official delegations, educational missions and good-will tours to Italy, and has regularly hosted visits from Italian political, labor and cultural leaders. The IALC has served as a bridge between the Italian and U.S. labor movements, as the voice of labor in the Italian-American community, and as a sponsor of philanthropic, cultural and political interchange between the two countries.

From the guide to the Italian-American Labor Council Records, 1941-1996, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)