Morris Sigman, former president of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union, diedsuddenly of heart disease at his home here yesterday. Mr. Sigman was 51 years old.
Mr. Sigman was one of the leading figures in the development of the Jewish labor movement in this country, having played a prominent part in the organization of the Jewish needle workers in trade unions. He came to America in 1903 and started his career as a presser in East Side sweat shops. After a few years he became active in the Cloakmakers’ Union and in 1910 he was one of the leaders of the cloakmakers’ strike, being chairman of the picketing committee.After occupying various important offices in the Cloakmakers’ Union, Mr. Sigman became president of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union, which includes the cloakmakers. For six years he was president of the I. L. G. W. U. During that time he was the storm center of the fight between “rights” and “lefts”, or Socialists and Communists, for the control of the Union. He sided with the “rights” and finally succeeded in having the Communist element ousted from the Union. In 1928 he resigned as president of the Union, retiring to his farm in Iowa.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
