Morris Sigman

Born in Akkerman (then in Bessarabia Province of the Russian Empire), Morris Sigman spent his youth working as a lumberjack before moving to London in 1902.

As the union leadership battled internally, the manufacturers hired gangsters to break the long 1926 general strike on the part of a New York local led by Communist Party members.

The agreement followed up with a reform of the ILGWU's internal governance system, which gave proportional influence to locals based on the sizes of their memberships, despite the left-wing of the union growing increasingly stronger.

"[3] Sigman also attributed the decreasing union standards in New York to not be from ILGWU officials, but instead a result of general industrial depression complicated by Communists.

In addition, Sigman alleged that it was the duty of the New York Joint Board, which his opponents control, to improve conditions, secure the jobs for workers and protect union standards.

Morris Sigman's preference toward the right-wing within the ILGWU led David Dubinsky to suggest in 1928 that the union bring back Benjamin Schlesinger.

Sigman's tenure as president of the ILGWU was a tempestuous one in which the union faced a long and bitter internal struggle with Communist members for control of the organization.

But Sigman's term was also marked by some significant accomplishments, including a reform effort that made possible substantial union contributions to the restructuring of the garment industry.