ROSENBLUM, FRANK

ROSENBLUM, FRANK (1887–1973), U.S. labor leader. Born in New York, Rosenblum moved with his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of cloth cutting and joined Local 110 of the United Garment Workers (ugw). In 1908 he settled in Chicago where, as a member of Cutters Local 61, he was active in organizing the clothing workers. During the 1910 general strike in the industry, Rosenblum was active as a strike leader, serving as secretary of the strike committee. The strike settlement, arrived at four months later, contained a provision for arbitration of disputes and an agreement not to discriminate against workers for union activities. In 1914, a split took place in the ugw and Rosenblum was elected vice president of one of the factions, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (acwa), and later director of its Western Organization Department.

During the 1930s, Rosenblum devoted his special organizing abilities to the new Committee for Industrial Organization. He served as a vice president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (cio) from 1940 until 1955, when it merged with the afl. In 1940, when acwa general-president Sidney *Hillman took up a position in a government agency, Rosenblum was elected general secretary-treasurer, a post which he held until his retirement in 1972.

Throughout his career, Rosenblum was active in the struggle for world peace. He was one of the first major U.S. labor leaders to speak out against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and was a founder of the Labor Leadership Assembly for Peace in 1967 and of Labor for Peace in June 1972, both formed with the aim of bringing the Vietnam-War to an end. In 1963, Rosenblum received the Clarence Darrow Humanitarian Award for services to the Chicago community. He was a staunch supporter of Israel and the *Histadrut.