 Originally formed as the National Union of Seamen of America in 1892 in Chicago, Illinois, the organization was a federation of independent unions, including the Sailors' Union of the Pacific, the Lake Seamen's Union, the Atlantic Coast Seamen's Union, and the Seamen's and Firemen's Union of the Gulf Coast.Formed by maritime labor representatives from America's Pacific, Great Lakes and Gulf Coast regions In 1893, the ISU affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, in 1893 and in took the name International Seamen's Union of America in 1895.In 1895, the Maguire Act was passed