Guide to the ILGWU. Political/Legislative Department. Evelyn Dubrow papers

Founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States, the ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, political influence to become one of the most powerful forces in American organized labor by mid-century. Representing workers in the women's garment industry, the ILGWU worked to improve working and living conditions of its members through collective bargaining agreements, training programs, health care facilities, cooperative housing, educational opportunities, and other efforts. In 1995, the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) to form the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE).

Evelyn Dubrow was born in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1911. A graduate of New York University, Dubrow worked as a report for The Morning Call (Patterson, N.J.) and Secretary of the New Jersey organization of the American Newspaper Guild from 1943 to 1946, before becoming Educational Director for the Textile Workers Union of American in New Jersey. In 1949, she became New York state Director for Americans for Democratic Action. In 1956, she was named the ILGWU's chief lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Dubrow worked as Legislative Representative and Executive Secretary of the Political Department of the ILGWU, and continued her work after the union's merger with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers of America to create the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE). Dubrow died in Washington D.C., in 2006.

The Political Department of the ILGWU was founded in 1947, under the direction of Gus Tyler. Its primary function was to engage union members and their families in political issues at the local, state, and national levels. This engagement was achieved through conferences, publications, and other communications. Educational work was a hallmark of the department, as were the department's legislative monitoring, research activities, and organizing for electoral campaigns.

David Wells joined the Political Department in 1952, eventually becoming Assistant Director. In 1956, Evelyn Dubrow was named the ILGWU's chief lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and became a well-known fixture on Capitol Hill.

The Political Department records are constituted of two accessions of Evelyn Dubrow papers and one accession of records from the department. Included are correspondence and memoranda, reports of lobbying activities, subject files on states and ILGWU affiliates, receipts for campaign contributions, ephemera from political campaigns.

These records are complemented by one accession of the Gus Tyler papers (5780/088) that includes records relating to his work as founding director of the Political Department, in addition to some of his other activities relating to the union. An oral history interview with David Wells (6036/076), in which the former Assistant Director discusses his work with the Union and in New York City, also complements the records of the Political Department.

Taken together, these materials, the Political Department records, Evelyn Dubrow papers, Gus Tyler papers, and the David Wells interview, document a considerable range of the Political Department's work from its founding in 1948 to its merger with ACTWU in 1995.

This collection contains Evelyn Dubrow's correspondence, memoranda, and reports relating to her lobbying activities in Washington, D.C. Also included in this collection are letters and receipts documenting campaign contributions, alphabetical files on states, as well as files on local unions, joint boards, and regional departments. The records of the Political Department also contain ephemeral printed material relating to political campaigns, including pamphlets, posters, and fliers.