Speech #890198269

In that historic strike those who eventually were the leaders in the creation of local 48 participated actively. There were problems howeverlanguage barriers impeded the work of organization. The exploitation of the immigrant was a routine matter of the day. The socalled pardone exploited these newcomers to America and the difficulty of reaching them was compounded by the fact that the meetings of the existing trade locals were conducted in a language unfamiliar to most if not all of the Italian garment workers. Attempts were made in the early days to satisfy the needs of these workers through the creation of an Italian advisory board to the joint board of cloakmakers.