United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America
The United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America (URW) was a labor union representing workers involved in manufacturing using specific materials in the United States and Canada.The union was founded in 1935[1] as the United Rubber Workers of America and was chartered by the American Federation of Labor (AFL) on September 12.It aligned itself with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and as a result, was suspended by the AFL in 1936 and expelled in 1938.In 1937, it was chartered by the CIO, and by 1953, it had grown to become the federation's sixth-largest affiliate, with 190,000 members.[2][3][4] In 1955, the URW affiliated to the new AFL-CIO, and by 1980, its membership had increased slightly, to 199,990.