David Dubinsky was a pivotal figure in the history of the US labor movement. President of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union for over thirty years, Dubinsky turned the union from a struggling financial entity to one with assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Under his guidance, the union took on issues such as the provision of health insurance, severance pay, retirement benefits, and a 35-hour work week. He also worked to abolish the sweatshops that were ubiquitous in the industry.