Murder in the Garment District

As my entire family has worked and owned businesses in the garment district since the 30s, I found this history to be fascinating. I have heard some stories from family members and this book nicely fleshes out the history of this time. I recommend it.

As a New Yorker the Garment District is legendary it was fun interesting to read about its history .Reads like a mystery with all the blood& guts Highly recommend #netgalley#newpress

David Witwer and Catherine Rios: Murder in the Garment District: The grip of organized crime and the decline of labor in the United States. 2020. The New Press

The authors provide a deep probe into the economic and political forces that affected the influence of labor unions through the 1950s. Although events later in the century are noted, the focus is on activities in the garment industry between 1930 and 1960. Best coverage is during the 1950s and might be approached after reading “The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s” Simon & Schuster, 2019 by William I. Hitchcock. Hitchcock emphasizes the impact of Cold War politics on a broad range of matters, including labor unrest. Witwer and Rios provide a broader and richer examination of that unrest. Readers will encounter politicians (e.g., Barry Goldwater and Robert F. Kennedy), union leaders (e.g., Walter Reuther, George Meany, Jimmy Hoffa), mobsters (an abundance!), and local members of unions to flush out the many levels of conflict that affected the growth and suppression of union activity. The role of the press is explored, as well as examination of police and criminal court activities. Relying on an extensive array of source materials and images of key figures, the authors provide a text well worth exploring. An interest in labor unions is not required and anyone willing to gain insight to the political dynamics during the middle third of the century will be rewarded. Additional analyses of issues that would link the text to current day labor matters would have enhanced the authors’ commentary.

Meticulously researched and well written. I learned a lot of history reading about the political and Mafia forces that greatly influenced labor unions at the height of their usefulness and popularity. Corruption was as rampant during the timeframe discussed in the narrative as it is now. Well worth the time I took to read about the history of labor unions.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.