Fondo F2275 - Men's Clothing Manufacturers Association of Ontario

The Men’s Clothing Manufacturers Association of Ontario was incorporated in 1919 under the name Associated Clothing Manufacturers. It underwent a number of name changes including the Associated Clothing Manufacturers of Toronto, the Associated Clothing Manufacturers of Toronto and Hamilton, and the Associated Clothing Manufacturers of Ontario. The Association was formed for the specific purpose of maintaining uniform and reputable working conditions in cooperation with the employees union, Amalgamated Clothing Workers and sought to further the interests of the clothing industry in Ontario and to adopt and take all such measures as may be calculated to that end, and for the consideration of and dealing with all matters pertaining generally to the clothing business in which members of the association may be directly or indirectly interested.

The position of the Association was not to discuss selling prices or sales policies or interfere in any way with open competition among its members but to act as a collective bargaining unit, or “non-profit labour management organization”, with the Union, covering wages, hours and working conditions with provision for dealing with grievances from either side promptly and amicably. The objectives laid out by the Association were: to form a common organization of individuals, partnerships, firms, joint stock companies, associations and corporations engaged in manufacturing men’s clothing and allied industries in the Province of Ontario; to foster and promote friendly relations between ambers of this industries; to promote the general welfare, progress and development of the clothing industry and the service thereof to the public; to promote the trade, commerce and interests of its members; to promote uniformity and certainty in the customs, practices, usages of the trade or industry and to reform abuses relative thereto; to settle differences submitted voluntarily and to foster friendly relations among its members; and to improve the relations between labour and its employers in the Men’s Clothing Industry.