Mark Starr Papers, 1951
Collection Number: 5243
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Mark Starr Papers, 1951
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5243
Abstract:
The Union Education Survey which was compiled under the direction of Mark Starr was
sponsored through a grant made available by the Ford Foundation through the offices
of the Fund for Adult Education. The aim of the survey was to determine the various
paths that labor organizations had travelled and were considering for the future in
the establishment and maintenance of their programs of adult union education. The
scope of the study included those training and educational programs which were aimed
at increasing the union member's social awareness of both the union's organization
and, more broadly, of the general environment of the community-at-large. In light
of the modern trend toward the philosophy of the universality of the laboring man,
Starr was particularly interested in those programs or acitivities which were designed
to assist union members in acquiring this global outlook. The data for this survey
was collected via the responses to personal letters and wires sent by Starr and his
associates to various national unions, state federations and councils for the AFL
and CIO, colleges and universities known to be active in the area of labor education
and to the directors of a number of independent labor education organizations. A preliminary
report was submitted to the Fund For Adult Education on June 22, 1951 and the final
report was prepared for distribution in September 1951.
Creator:
Starr, Mark
Quanitities:
3 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
Mark Starr was born in Shoscombe, in Somersetshire, England; on April 27, I894, the
son of William and Susan (Padfield) Starr. After graduating from St. Julian's National
School in Shoscombe in 1907 he began work as a hod carrier. In 1908 he became a miner
and after seven years, in 1915, the Rhondda district of the South Wales Miners' Federation
awarded him a two year scholarship to the Labor College in London. After World War
I, the scholarship was renewed for an additional two years (1919-20).
Starr taught economics and social history to the miners of the South Wales Federation
during 1920-21 and then became the divisional organizer and lecturer for the British
National Council of Labor Colleges, a post he held until 1928. During this period,
he also taught
Esperanto which he had learned during World Was I and about which he has always been
enthusiastic - even to the extent of urging its use by the United Nations.
Starr came to the U.S. in 1928 to teach British labor history and economics at the
Brookwood Labor College, Katonah, New York. There he met another instructor, Helen
B. Norton of Kansas and married her on May 31, 1932. Starr remained at Brookwood as
an instructor until 1933 and was then appointed its extension director. Also, for
two summers during this period be taught at the Brynn Mawr Summer School for Women
Workers.
Starr left Brookwood in January 1935 to accept a challenging appointment as the director
of the recently formed Educational Department of the International Ladies Garment
Workers Union, New York.
In April 1943, Mark Starr became the center of a storm of controversy when his nomination
as New York City's first director of adult education was rejected. Starr was the only
one of a multitude of candidates to pass the rigorous examinations given by the board
of
superintendents in its long quest for an adult education director. However, due to
his lack, of a college degree (a predetermined requirement), and despite a strong
wave of protest in opposition to the Board's decision, the Board was adamant in their
refusal to
accept his nomination.
Soon after his rejection, he became a labor consultant for the Office of War Information
in London. In 1945, Starr again visited London in the capacity of an advisor to the
American delegation attending the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization conference UNESCO.
Mark Starr has always been active in the political arena. In 1924, in Wimbledon,
England, he ran unsuccessfully as the Labor Party candidate for Parliament. Again,
in his only other attempt at political office, he was defeated when he ran in 1946
as the Liberal Party candidate for Representative from the Fourth District, Queens,
of Greater New York.
In June 1946, President H. S. Truman appointed Starr as one of the thirty members
of the National Commission on Higher Education. Mark Starr has also been a Trustee
of Town Hall, the President of the League for Industrial Democracy, chairman of the
Queen's County (N.Y.) Liberal Party, a member of the Executive Board of the American
Adult Education Association, a member of the New York Adult Education Council, American
Labor Education Service, Public Affairs Committee, and the Council for Democracy.
He is also a member of the American Federation of Teachers of which he was a vice
president from 1940 to 1942 and is currently president of Local 189.
Mark Starr has been a prolific writer, publishing works in many journals and periodicals.
Among the books he has authored are: A Worker Looks at History (1917), -A Worker Looks
at Economics (1925), Trade Unionism Past and Future (1923), Lies and Hate in Education
(1928) Workers' Education in the United States (1941), Labor and the American Way(1952),
and Creeping Socialism vs. Limping Capitalism (1954).
John Chamberlain, the highly respected author and critic, has refered to Starr as
a "canny soft-spoken person who has a deep respect for other peoples rights to their
opinion. His teaching method is Socratic; if he disagrees with you he merely commends
to your attention some factors which he thinks you may have overlooked." According
to another source, Starr's "vices" are reported to be limited to "reading and clipping
newspapers and labor publications, drinking tea, and singing in a loud voice somewhere
between tenor and baritone."
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
Mark Starr Papers #5243. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives,
Cornell University Library.
Names:
Starr, Mark
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees
UNITE HERE (Organization)
CONTAINER LIST
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Auto-AFL
|
1949-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Auto-CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
United Auto Workers, CIO
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
United Auto Workers, CIO
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
United Auto Workers, CIO
|
1948 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Building Service, AFL, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Clothing, CIO Amalgamated Clothing Workers, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Communication, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Electrical Workers, AFL, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
ILGWU, 1948-1951
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Gloves - AFL. 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Machinists, AFL, 1950
|
1950 |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Maritime, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Mint Cutters and Butchers, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Newspaper, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 |
Oil, CIO
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 18 |
Packinghouse, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 |
Paperworkers, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 |
Pulp, Sulphite + Paper Mill Workers, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 |
Railroad Trainmen, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 22 |
United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum, + Plastic Workers of America, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 23 |
Shoe Workers, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 24 |
State, county, AFL, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 25 |
Steel, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 26 |
Teachers, AFL, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 27 |
Textile Workers Union of America, CIO, 1948-1951
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 28 |
Textile Workers Union of America, 1948-1951
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 |
Transport Service, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 30 |
Upholsterers, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 31 |
Utilities, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 32 |
Angsburg College, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 33 |
VC - Berkeley, 1947-1954
|
1947-1954 |
| Box 1 | Folder 34 |
VCLA, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 |
Chicago, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 36 |
Chicago, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 37 |
Harvard, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 38 |
Illinois, 1949-1950
|
1949-1950 |
| Box 1 | Folder 39 |
Indiana, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 40 |
Iowa State, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 41 |
Iowa, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 42 |
Kansas, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Minnesota, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 |
NYS School of Industrial + Labor Relations, Cornell, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Penn State, 1947-1951 [1 of 2]
|
1947-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Penn State, 1947-1951 [2 of 2]
|
1947-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Rhode Island University, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Roosevelt College, 1949-1951
|
1949-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Rutgers, 1950-1952 [1 of 2]
|
1950-1952 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 |
Rutgers 1950-1952 [2 of 2]
|
1950-1952 |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 |
University of Toledo, 1948-1951
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 |
West Virginia State College, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 11 |
Wisconsin, 1951-1952
|
1951-1952 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 |
Workers Education Bureau, AFL, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 |
CIO Evaluation and Research, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 14 |
CIO Community Services Committee, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 15 |
California, AFL, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 16 |
Kentucky, AFL, 1948-1951
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 17 |
Massachusetts, AFL, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 18 |
Minnesota, AFL, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 19 |
New Jersey, AFL, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 20 |
Wisconsin, AFL, 1949-1951
|
1949-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 21 |
Wisconsin, AFL, 1949-1951 [2 of 2]
|
1949-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 22 |
Illinois CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 23 |
Chicago Industrial Union Council, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 24 |
Michigan, CIO, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 25 |
Minnesota, CIO, 1950
|
1950 |
| Box 2 | Folder 26 |
New Jersey, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 27 |
Ohio, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 28 |
Virginia, CIO, 1947-1951
|
1947-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 29 |
Wisconsin, CIO, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 30 |
American Friends Service Committee, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 31 |
American Labor Education Service, 1946-1951 [1 of 4]
|
1946-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 32 |
ALFS, 1946-1951 [2 of 4]
|
1946-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 33 |
ALES, 1946-1951
|
1946-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 34 |
ALES, 1946-1951 [4 of 4]
|
1946-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 35 |
ALES, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 |
Highlander Folk School, 1946-1951 [1 of 3]
|
1946-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 2 |
Highlander, 1946-1951 [2 of 3]
|
1946-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 3 |
Highlander, 1946-1951 [3 of 3]
|
1946-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 4 |
Hudson Store Labor School, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 5 |
Philadelphia Board of Education + LEA, 1948-1951
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 6 |
WTVL, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 7 |
Rand School, 1936-1951
|
1936-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 8 |
Caroline Ware, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 9 |
Progress reports, ideas to Flutcher, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 10 |
Special appeals, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 11 |
General Documents ised, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 12 |
Sources of information, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 13 |
Farms Letters, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 14 |
Union Survey correspondence, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 15 |
Educational program summaries, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 16 |
International, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 17 |
Related fields, 1950-1951
|
1950-1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 18 |
Public Relations including schools, 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 19 |
Appendix, lists, etc. 1951
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 20 |
Final Report to Fund for Adult Education, 1951 [1 of 2]
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 21 |
Final Report 1951 [2 of 2]
|
1951 |
| Box 3 | Folder 22 |
Ideas for the Second Report 1951
|
1951 |