Hillman, Sidney (1887-1946), an American labor leader, was the guiding spirit of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. He became the first president of the union in 1914. Under Hillman’s leadership, the clothing workers union pioneered in constructive union-management relations. In addition, the union led in developing health and welfare programs and unemployment insurance, and it founded two banks and an insurance company.
Hillman helped found the Committee for Industrial Organization in 1935. When the committee became the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1938, he was one of the vice presidents. In 1943, he became chairman of the CIO Political Action Committee.
Hillman held posts on the National Industrial Recovery Board (1934), National Defense Advisory Council (1940), and in the Office of Production Management during World War II. He was born on March 23, 1887, in Zagare, Lithuania. He moved to the United States when he was 20 years old. He died on July 10, 1946.
