Hundreds of thousands had once been employed in the garment industry in America. Unions had helped to establish a middle class. It seemed that everyone we knew was responsible for making a different part of the  clothing  worn by all of America.
My grandfather continued to work as a pocket maker and  was also the shop steward at Howard Clothes- he represented local 25, the overcoat makers, and fought against “piecework”. His son Murray was a fitter and  became a vice president of his union. His son-in-law, Norman, was a lapel maker, and son-in-law, Joe, a cutter. My grandmother’s widowed sister, Yetta, went back to work on the assembly line, where she struggled with the onslaught of garments that came  her way for finishing. Except for one summer, when Lillian and Norman’s son Len unloaded dryers in a factory laundry, none of the grandchildren would spend life working in a factory.
Many years later, at Empire State College, Murray’s son Donnie taught labor history to members of the Electrician’s Union. (With the demise of labor unions, the garment industry in America was history.)