Barbers, Beauticians and Allied Industries International Association

The Barbers, Beauticians and Allied Industries International Association (BBAIIA) was a labor union representing workers in the personal grooming industry in the United States and Canada.

The union was founded on December 5, 1887, as the Journeymen Barbers' International Union of America.^[1] Its original locals had previously formed part of the Knights of Labor. In 1888, it was charted by the American Federation of Labor. In 1924, the union began admitting women, but its constitution explicitly barred people of East Asian ethnicity from joining. By 1925, it had 50,282 members and had headquarters in Indianapolis.^[2]

In 1941, the union renamed itself as the Journeymen Barbers', Hairdressers' and Cosmetologists' International Union of America.^[3] It joined the new AFL-CIO in 1955, and was joined by the Barbers' and Beauty Culturists' Union of America in 1956. By 1957 it had 72,000 members,^[4] but this fell to 40,000 in 1980. That year, it merged into the United Food and Commercial Workers.^[5]