The Milwaukee County Industrial Union Council was formed in 1938 and affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in accordance with the terms of the charter granted by the CIO. Its objectives, according to its constitution, were to "protect, maintain and advance the interests of all working people in its territory, to extend unionism on the basis of industrial organization, to secure and enforce legislation in the interests of the working people, to promote recognition and acceptance of collective bargaining in industry, and to increase public understanding of the labor movement."
