The union's membership declined during the 1970s, in line with employment in the industry, and by 1979 was down to 25,000. It negotiated a merger with the independent Brotherhood of Shoe and Allied Craftsmen, the idea being that the resulting union would itself affiliate to the
Retail Clerks International Union. However, the unions could not agree on how power would be distributed in the new shoe section. Instead, in 1979, it merged into the
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union.[4]
^Reynolds, Lloyd G.; Killingsworth, Charles C. (1944). Trade Union Publications: The Official Journals, Convention Proceedings, and Constitutions of International Unions and Federations, 1850-1941. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.