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William J. Mello, Lisa Phillips. A Renegade Union: Interracial Organizing and Labor Radicalism., The American Historical Review, Volume 118, Issue 5, December 2013, Page 1548, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/118.5.1548
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Lisa Phillips has written a first-rate account exploring the history of District 65 (originally Wholesale and Dry Good Workers, or WDGW). From the union's early days during the Depression in the 1930s, District 65 sought to navigate the complexities of American politics and provide a voice for low wage workers. Influenced by the radical politics of the Communist Party (CP), the union championed racial equality. District 65 union organizers concentrated their attention on workers in small shops in the distributive industries, later expanding to retail workers in larger department stores and industries in other states. 65ers focused their efforts on organizing workers in shops considered too small or insignificant by larger unions, such as the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA). Contrary to the dominant craft unionism of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), District 65 adopted a “catchall” organizing strategy while cultivating a left political culture, organizing social events and union neighborhood centers throughout New York's working-class communities.
