The Shoe Workers' Protective Union (SWPU) was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing workers involved in making footwear in the United States. The union was founded in 1899, when the

Boot and Shoe Workers' Union A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

's Haverhill, Massachusetts branch split away. In 1917, it absorbed several small unions and thereafter opened admission to all workers in the industry. In 1924, it was joined by the United Shoe Workers of America union. Over the following years, it gradually absorbed the Amalgamated Shoe Workers of America union, one city at a time. By 1926, the union had 16,000 members. In 1933, the union merged with the National Shoe Workers' Association, the Shoe and Leather Workers' Industrial Union, and some local unions, to form the United Shoe and Leather Workers' Union (USLWU). However, a substantial minority of the union disagreed with the merger and continued as the SWPU. In 1937, this merged with the USLWU, to form the United Shoe Workers of America.{{cite book , last1=Zahavi , first1=Gerald , title=Workers, Managers, and Welfare Capitalism , date=1988 , publisher=University of Illinois Press , location=Urbana , isbn=0252014448 , page=153–154

References

Defunct trade unions in the United States Footwear industry trade unions Trade unions established in 1899 Trade unions disestablished in 1937