George M. Litsios, the American-born son of Greek immigrants, apprenticed as a fur worker at the age of 12 and remained in the industry until retirement in 1985. Greek Fur Workers Local 70 lost its autonomy to the Furriers Joint Council after a strike in 1938 bankrupted the union. Greek furriers comprised one of seven craft locals, the rest of them Yiddish-speaking, within the Council. Litsios was active with the Greek opposition slate, under various names including the Rank and File Committee for a Clean Union which eventually succeeded in electing him to the Executive Board in 1968. He later worked as an organizer for the Council at a time when New York's fur industry had been decimated by the exportation of jobs to offshore non-union shops.
From the guide to the George M. Litsios Papers, 1926-1980, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)
