Governor's Advisory Commission. Cloak, Suit & Skirt Industry., 1924- 1928
Collection Number: 6036/009
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Governor's Advisory Commission. Cloak, Suit & Skirt Industry., 1924- 1928
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
6036/009
Abstract:
This collection consists of reports and hearing transcripts of the Governor's Advisory
Commission for the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry.
Creator:
Governor's Advisory Commission for the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Industry
Quanitities:
1.5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
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).
Beginning in March 1924, the ILGWU and the Joint Board of Cloak and Dressmakers' Union
began negotiations with the Merchants' Ladies' Garment Association (jobbers), the
Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association (manufacturers), and the
American Cloak and Suit Manufacturers' Association (sub-manufacturers). When no agreement
could be reached by June 1924, New York Governor Alfred E. Smith appointed a Special
Advisory Commission consisting of George Gordon Battle (Chairman), Herbert Lehman,
Arthur Wolf, Lindsay Rogers, and Bernard Schientag (State Industrial Commissioner).
Representing the union and associations were Morris Hillquit (ILGWU), Samuel Blumberg
(Merchants' Ladies' Garment Association) and William Klein (Cloak and Suit Manufacturers'
Protective Association). Public hearings took place between June 17 and June 25, and
on June 27, recommendations were submitted. Accepted by the union, sub-manufacturers,
and manufacturers, the jobbers refused until July 7, 1924 when the Merchants' Association
agreed to the terms of the Governors' Commission.
In an effort to bring about much needed change in the industry, the ILGWU led by President
Morris Sigman, sought reform in the New York suit and cloak trade. On behalf of the
workers, the union devised to restructure the industry through the requirement of
union shops, sanitary conditions, unemployment insurance, regulation of the work week,
and guidelines for investigating disputes. In March 1924, the ILGWU began negotiations
for a new agreement with predominantly the Merchant Ladies' Garment Association (jobbers),
but also the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association (manufacturers)
and the American Cloak and Suit Manufacturers' Association (sub-manufacturers). No
agreement had been reached as of June 1924, and the union proposed to submit the issues
to arbitration. With negotiations stalled, Governor Alfred E. Smith appointed a Special
Advisory Commission consisting of George Gordon Battle, Bernard L. Shientag, Herbert
H. Lehman, Arthur D. Wolf, and Lindsay Rogers to hold hearings and work out a basis
for an agreement.
The collection contains material from the Governor's Advisory Commission during its
investigation. Included are bound books containing the various and official reports
that were created during and for the investigation. There are the briefs, the memorandum
on behalf of the union as well as the Industrial Council, transcripts of the hearings
and meetings, supplementary recommendations, and the final recommendations on May
20, 1926. Of particular interest is the extensive research done in the course of the
investigation that provides a comprehensive assessment of the garment industry at
that time. The reports comprise historical information, the current status of the
industry, points of contention between the groups involved, the demands of reform
from the union, many employment and earning statistics, wage and wage scale tables
and garment output and price charts.
For supplemental information, see collection 5780/161 Cloak Joint Board Governor's
Advisory Commission on the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry which contains the first
hearing on June 17, 1924 of the Special Commission to study the situation in the Cloak
and Suit Industry and be able to offer recommendations to avert any impending strike.
The hearings are in bound volumes and include June 17-19, 1924; June 20-23, 1924;
June 24-July 11, 1924; July 15-August 1, 1924; August 12-October 2, 1924; and January
2-April 15, 1925.
The Hearings continue into 1925, and additionally, there is the final Report of the
Investigation from March 10, 1925. There are also additional reports that were created
as the result of the investigation including "Wages and Wage Scales, 1925," Final
Recommendations from May 1926, the Meeting of the Special Mediation Commission in
the New York Cloak and Suit Industry from March 6, 1926 (same individuals involved).
Also, additional material can be found in collection 5780/165 Governor Smith's Hearings
and Arbitration Files which contains the typed transcripts from the hearings of the
Special Commission appointed by Governor Smith to investigate and arbitrate the existing
differences between the ILGWU and the associations of manufacturers and jobbers. Taking
place at the office of the State Labor Department in New York City, the records contain
hearings that date between July 15, 1924 and October 27, 1924. In the form of questions
and answers between the Special Commission and the representatives of the ILGWU and
manufacturers' associations, discussion focuses on the role of designers within manufacturing,
conditions in the industry, the responsibility of jobbers and sub-manufacturers, and
salary and wages.
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
Governor's Advisory Commission. Cloak, Suit & Skirt Industry. #6036/009. Kheel Center
for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections: 5780: ILGWU records 5780/161: ILGWU. New York Cloak Joint Board. Advisory Commission on the Cloak, Suit,
and Skirt Industry in New York records 5780/006: ILGWU. Morris Sigman correspondence 5780/165: ILGWU. Governor Smith's Hearings and Arbitration with Various Associations
records
Names:
Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association (New York, N.Y.)
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
New York (State). Governor's Advisory Commission, Cloak, Suit and Skirt Industry,
New York City
Subjects:
Clothing workers -- Labor unions -- New York (State) -- New York
CONTAINER LIST
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Container
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Description
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Date
|
|
|
Series I. Reports, 1924-1928
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Bound volume
|
1924-1926 |
|
Scope and Contents
Contains: Original demands by the union on the Protective Association, 1924; Decisions
and research of Governor's Commission, 1926-1926; Briefs and replying briefs, 1925-1926;
Report of final conference with union before the strike, 1926; Arbitration in the
matter of union and American Association, 1926.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Report of an Investigation
|
1925 |
|
Scope and Contents
Copy 1
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Report of an Investigation
|
1925 |
|
Scope and Contents
Copy 2
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Bound volume
|
1925-1926 |
|
Scope and Contents
Contains: Report of an Investigation, 1925; Employment and Earnings of Workers, 1925;
Memorandum in behalf of the union; Supplmentary recommentations, 1925; Wages and Wage
Scales, 1925; Final recommendations, 1926.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Blumberg's statements
|
1924 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Briefs and memoranda
|
1924-1926 |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Supplementary report
|
1925 |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Employment and Earnings of Workers
|
1925 |
|
Scope and Contents
3 copies
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Wages and Wage Scales
|
1925 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Final recommendations
|
1926 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 |
Returns of Merchandise
|
1928 |
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Series II. Hearings, 1924-1926
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 1 |
Commission hearings
|
1924 |
|
Scope and Contents
June 18, 1924.
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|||
| Box 3 | Folder 2 |
Commission hearings
|
1924 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 1, 1924.
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| Box 3 | Folder 3 |
Commission hearings
|
1924 |
|
Scope and Contents
October 27, 1924.
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| Box 3 | Folder 4 |
Commission hearings
|
1926 |
|
Scope and Contents
March 7, 1926.
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