Local 1199 Executive Secretary Moe Foner Records, 1940-1972
Collection Number: 5206-S

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Local 1199 Executive Secretary Moe Foner Records, 1940-1972
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5206-S
Abstract:
Records of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees document the evolution of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store drugstore local, representing pharmacists and drug clerks in New York City, into an international union of non-professional and professional workers in voluntary and non-profit health institutions, including hospitals, clinics and nursing homes, as well as drugstores.
Creator:
Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)
RWDSU Local 1199 Drug and Hospital Employees Union
Foner, Moe
Quanitities:
5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English

Biographical / Historical

Between 1933 and 1957, 1199 functioned as a drugstore local with its membership growing to 5,000 workers employed in independent and chain drugstores throughout the New York metropolitan area. With its success in organizing workers in Montefiore Hospital in New York City, the union began a massive campaign to organize workers in voluntary and non-profit hospitals in the New York area, a large proportion of whom were black or Hispanic.
In 1973, the national union was established with locals in other states, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, South and North Carolina, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The union combined organizing efforts with civil rights organizations, in an effort to achieve mutual political goals. Throughout the period of these records, the union was led by Leon Davis (president of Local 1199 and of the national union) whose administration guided the union's political and social activities.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Conditions Governing Use

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Preferred Citation

Local 1199 Executive Secretary Moe Foner Records #5206-S. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Materials

Related Collections: 5206: Local 1199 Records 5206-G: Local 1199 Guild Division Records 5206: Local 1199 Records 5206: Local 1199 Records 5206-X: Local 1199 Clippings and News Releases 5457: Mark Lillian Collection of Roosevelt Hospital (NYC) vs. Local 1199, 1962 Representational Dispute Documents 5510: Local 1199 Records 5520m: "Building a Union in the Hospitals: the Organization of Local 1199 at Montefoire Hospital, 1948-1958" Manuscript 5525: Local 1199 Additional Files 5651: Local 1199 Additional Records 5768: Sidney Cahn Collection of League of Voluntary Hospitals & Homes of New York vs. Local 1199 Drug and Hospital Union Arbitration Files 5680 OH: Local 1199 Oral History Project 5854: Local 1199 Additional Records 5871: Local 1199 Additional Records 5929: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Records 5929 AV: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Audio-Visual Materials 5929 MB: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Memorabilia 5929 P: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Photographs 5933: Local 1199 Drug and Hospital Union News files 5933 P: Local 1199 Photograph Files 5938: Local 1199 Leon Davis Additional Papers 5945: Local 1199 Additional Records 5948: Local 1199 (Rochester, N.Y.) Records 5984 AV: Local 1199 Additional Videos 5984 AV: Local 1199 Additional Videos 6016: Local 1199 National Benefit and Pension Fund Records 6062: Paul Friedman Collection of National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, Local 1199 Miscellany 6069: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Additional Files 6084 G: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Women of Hope Poster Sets 6140: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project 6140 AV: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Audio Recordings 6140 P: Local 1199 Moe Foner Photographs 6169: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Files 6169 AV: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Audio-Visual Materials 6169 MB: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Memorabilia 6169 P: Local 1199 Bread and Roses Cultural Project Photographs 6209 AV: 1199SEIU Audio-Visual Materials 6209 PUBS: Local 1199 Publications 6281m: Local 1199 Biography files 6347: 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Records 6347 PUBS: 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Publications

SUBJECTS

Names:
Foner, Moe, 1915-
Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union.
National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. District 1199.
Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. Local 1199 Drug and Hospital Employees Union (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
Labor unions. Health facilities. United States.
Strikes and lockouts. Health facilities. United States.

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Box 27 Folder 1
Adelphi Hospital.
1969
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence and press releases from union staff and others regarding the 1969 strike/lock-out at Brooklyn's Adelphi Hospital. Contains statement by Coretta Scott King. Contains telegram and statement by Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. Contains statement by New York State Assemblyman Seymour Posner. Contains Preliminary Injunction against Leon Davis and 1199 granted by NYS Supreme Court Judge Charles J. Beckinella.
Box 27 Folder 1.1
Adelphi Hospital. Newspaper clippings.
1940-1969
Scope and Contents
Contains clippings from various newspapers regarding the 1969 strike/lock-out at Brooklyn's Adelphi Hospital. Contains clippings regarding the granting of union representation at Adelphi Hospital in 1940.
Box 27 Folder 1a
Awards.
1959
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence and press releases regarding Moe Foner's winning the 1958 American Public Relations Association's Sliver Anvil Award.
Box 27 Folder 2
Baltimore, Md. - Clippings.
1969
Scope and Contents
Contains clippings from various newspapers regarding the organization of hospital workers in Baltimore, especially Johns Hopkins. Clippings contain references to support provided by Coretta Scott King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Walter Reuther, and Mary Moultrie.
Box 27 Folder 3
Davis, Angela - Correspondence.
1971-1972
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence and press releases regarding the Angela Davis Legal Defense Fund. Correspondents include Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Ossie Davis, Adele Kanter, and Marvel Cooke.
Box 27 Folder 4
Durham, N.C. - Clippings.
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Contains clippings from various newspapers regarding the organization of hospital workers in Duke Hospital, Durham, N.C.
Box 27 Folder 5
Editor - Correspondence.
1958-1963
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence regarding "1199 Drug News," mostly from the ALF-CIO offices. Correspondents include Ralph Bellamy, Leo Perlis, Oscar Jager, Edgar B. Nixon, Stuart P. Brock, and Saul Miller.
Box 28 Folder 1
Exhibitions - "Andrews, Benny and Mary Ellen Andrews." Mary Ellen Andrews: Photographs" exhibit at Gallery 1199.
1972
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, invitations, and exhibit catalog regarding the "People: Benny Andrews: Works on Paper;
Box 28 Folder 2
Exhibitions - "Dobkin."
1971-1972
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, invitations, clippings, exhibit catalog, and other material regarding the opening exhibit, Alexander Dobkin's "War and Peace: Paintings, Drawings, and Lithographs," at Gallery 1199. Contains exhibit photographs. Contains exhibit guest register.
Box 28 Folder 3
Exhibitions - "Max Ginsburg."
1972
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, invitations, clippings, exhibit catalog, and other material from two Max Ginsberg exhibits. "Recent Paintings" at the Harbor Gallery in 1969, and "Max Ginsberg" at Gallery 1199 in 1972. Contains a 1970 issue of American Artist magazine featuring an article on Max Ginsberg.
Box 28 Folder 4
Exhibitions - "Members."
1971
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, clippings, invitations, exhibit catalog, and other material regarding the "Paintings, Sculpture, Photographs by Members of 1199" exhibit at Gallery 1199. Exhibit featured work by forty-one union members, or relatives of union members.
Box 28 Folder 5
Exhibitions - "Refreigier."
1972
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, invitations, exhibit catalog, and other material regarding the Anton Refreigier "Peace, War, and the Freedom Struggle" exhibit at Gallery 1199. Contains exhibit guest register for both the Anton Refreigier exhibit and the Max Ginsberg exhibit.
Box 28 Folder 6
Exhibitions - "Studio Museum."
1971
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, invitations, exhibit catalog, and other material regarding the "Harlem Artists, '71: an Exhibition of Paintings" exhibit at Gallery 1199. Exhibit featured work by eleven artists from the Studio Museum, Harlem. Contains exhibit register.
Box 28 Folder 7
Exhibitions - "Where We At."
1972
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, invitations, and other material regarding the "The Black Woman: Genesis of a New Nation" exhibit at Gallery 1199. Exhibit feature work by fourteen artist from "Where We At" Black Women Artist's Group.
Box 29 Folder 1
I Am Somebody. Correspondence.
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence regarding the production of a short, half-hour, documentary film on the Charleston, S.C., hospital strike.
Box 29 Folder 1a
I Am Somebody. Purchase Orders.
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Contains purchase orders pertaining to the production of a short, half-hour, documentary film on the Charleston, S.C., hospital strike.
Box 29 Folder 1b
I Am Somebody. Bills and Receipts.
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Contains bills and receipts pertaining to the production of a short, half-hour, documentary film on the Charleston, S.C., hospital strike.
Box 29 Folder 2
Health Care Conference [folder 1 of 3]
1972
Scope and Contents
Contains draft minutes of the 20May1972 conference. Contains text of Leon Davis's 19May1972 speech. Contains July 1972 issue of "1199 News" with report on conference.
Box 29 Folder 3
Health Care Conference [folder 2 of 3]
1972
Scope and Contents
Correspondence. Contains correspondence regarding the 20May1972 conference.
Box 29 Folder 4
Health Care Conference [folder 3 of 3]
1972
Scope and Contents
Workshop Materials. Contains recorders' notes for various workshops, as well as other material pertaining to the 20May1972 conference.
Box 29 Folder 5
Health Care Conference. Literature.
1971
Scope and Contents
Contains reading material from the 12Jun1971 conference. Includes "Statement of Leon J. Davis," "Statement of Leonard Woodcock," keynote speech by John L. S. Holloman, David Mechanic paper "Inequality, Health Status, and the Delivery of Health Services in the United States, along with other material.
Box 30 Folder 1
Legislation
1965
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, statements, and draft bills for legislation regarding the rights of working people. Correspondents include A. Philip Randolph; Harry Van Arsdale; Jay Kramer; William H. Booth; John V. Lindsay; Jay Rubin; Nelson A. Rockefeller; George K. Wyman; Leon J. Davis; U.S. Senators Jacob K. Javits, Robert F. Kennedy; U.S. Congressmen Joseph P. Addabo, John S. Rooney, Paul A. Fino, James H. Scheuer, Herbert Tenzer, Leonard Farbstein, Jacob H. Gilbert, Eugene J. Keogh, William F. Ryan, Jonathan B. Bingham, Benjamin S. Rosenthal; NYS Senator Max B. Berking; NYS Assemblymen Martin Psaty, Moses Weinstein, Ivan Warner, George L. Ingalls, Aileen B. Ryan, Shirley Chisholm, Harold L. Fisher, and Anthony J. Travia.
Box 30 Folder 2
Legislation
1966
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, statements, and draft bills for legislation regarding the rights of working people. Correspondents include Harry Van Arsdale; William H. Bowe; Morris Iushewitz; Leon J. Davis; U.S. Senator Thomas A. Laverne; U.S. Congressmen Joseph P. Addabo, John S. Rooney, Paul A. Fino, James H. Scheuer, Leonard Farbstein, Jacob H. Gilbert, Eugene J. Keogh, William F. Ryan, Jonathan B. Bingham, Benjamin S. Rosenthal, James J. Delaney, Seymour Halpern, Adam C. Powell, Theodore R. Kupferman, John M. Murphy, Hugh L. Carey, Abraham J. Multer, Edna F. Kelly, Emanuel Celler, Jenalee D. Nivens; NYS Assemblymen Seymour Posner, Frank G. Rossetti.
Box 30 Folder 3
Legislation
1969
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, statements, and draft bills for legislation regarding the rights of working people. Correspondents include Harry Van Arsdale; William H. Bowe; Morris Iushewitz; Nelson A. Rockefeller; Robert R. Douglass; Stephen A. Hopkins; Victor Borella; Henry E. Manning; Leon J. Davis; U.S. Senators Thomas A. Laverne, Jacob. K. Javits.
Box 30 Folder 4
Legislation
1972
Scope and Contents
Contains correspondence, statements, and draft bills for legislation regarding the rights of working people. Correspondents include Lewis L. Levine; Theodore Weiss; Edward Margulies; Stephen A. Hopkins; Leon J. Davis; NYS Senators John J. Marchi, Tarky Lombardi, Leon E. Giuffreda, Thomas A. Laverne; NYS Assemblymen Stanley Steingut, Alexander Chananau, Martin Ginsberg, Chester J. Straub.
Box 30 Folder 5
Legislation
1965-1967
Scope and Contents
Unemployment Insurance Bill. Hospital Workers. Contains correspondence and statements for legislation regarding unemployment insurance. Correspondents include Leon J. Davis, Nelson A. Rockefeller; Robert R. Douglass; Max Greenberg; Max Steinboch; U.S. Senators Jacob K. Javits, Robert F. Kennedy; U.S. Congressmen Eugene J. Keogh, Hugh L. Carey, James J. Delaney, Edna F. Kelly, Paul A. Fino, Theodore R. Kupferman, William F. Ryan; NYS Senator William Thopmson; NYS Assemblymen Frank G. Rossetti, Shirley Chisholm, Ivan Warner, and Anthony J. Travia
Box 30 Folder 6
King, Martin Luther, Jr. [folder 1 of 3]
1968-1972
Box 30 Folder 7
King, Martin Luther, Jr. [folder 2 of 3]
1968-1972
Box 30 Folder 8
King, Martin Luther, Jr. [folder 3 of 3]
1968-1972
Box 30 Folder 9
Dr. King's statements on 1199
1968-1972
Box 31 Folder 1
Like A Beautiful Child
Box 31 Folder 2
Like A Beautiful Child
Box 31 Folder 3
Like A Beautiful Child
Box 31 Folder 4
Like A Beautiful Child
Box 31 Folder 5
Lopez, Luis
1971-1972
Scope and Contents
Correspondence
Box 32 Folder 1
Negotiations
1970-1972
Box 32 Folder 2
Negotiations
Box 32 Folder 3
Negotiations
Box 33 Folder 1
Press Releases and Publicity
1964-1969
Box 33 Folder 2
Press Releases and Publicity
Box 33 Folder 3
Pittsburgh, Pa. [folder 1 of 6]
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, Lists, Clippings, Organizing Campaign
Box 33 Folder 4
Pittsburgh, Pa. [folder 2 of 6]
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, Lists, Clippings, Organizing Campaign
Box 33 Folder 5
Pittsburgh, Pa. [folder 3 of 6]
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, Lists, Clippings, Organizing Campaign
Box 33 Folder 6
Pittsburgh, Pa. [folder 4 of 6]
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, Lists, Clippings, Organizing Campaign
Box 33 Folder 7
Pittsburgh, Pa. [folder 5 of 6]
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, Lists, Clippings, Organizing Campaign
Box 33 Folder 8
Pittsburgh, Pa. [folder 6 of 6]
1969-1970
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, Lists, Clippings, Organizing Campaign
Box 34 Folder 1
Poems "Talking With My Feet"
Box 34 Folder 2
Political Action [folder 1 of 7]
1964-1972
Scope and Contents
Endorsements, Bella Abzug, McGovern
Box 34 Folder 3
Political Action [folder 2 of 7]
1964-1972
Scope and Contents
Endorsements, Bella Abzug, McGovern
Box 34 Folder 4
Political Action [folder 3 of 7]
1964-1972
Scope and Contents
Endorsements, Bella Abzug, McGovern
Box 34 Folder 5
Political Action [folder 4 of 7]
1964-1972
Scope and Contents
Endorsements, Bella Abzug, McGovern
Box 34 Folder 6
Political Action [folder 5 of 7]
1964-1972
Scope and Contents
Endorsements, Bella Abzug, McGovern
Box 34 Folder 7
Political Action [folder 6 of 7]
1964-1972
Scope and Contents
Endorsements, Bella Abzug, McGovern
Box 34 Folder 8
Political Action [folder 7 of 7]
1964-1972
Scope and Contents
Endorsements, Bella Abzug, McGovern
Box 34 Folder 9
Public Affairs Director
1962-1963
Box 35 Folder 1
Registration for Election
1964
Box 35 Folder 2
Strike Issues of Magazines
Box 35 Folder 3
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 4
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 5
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 6
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 7
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 8
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 9
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 10
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 11
Warsaw Ghetto
Scope and Contents
Photos and Cards
Box 35 Folder 12
Wechsler, James
1971-1972
Scope and Contents
Correspondence
Box 36 Folder 1
Miscellaneous
Scope and Contents
Leaflets, Brochures, Publications, Posters, Guest Book
Box 36 Folder 2
Miscellaneous
Scope and Contents
Leaflets, Brochures, Publications, Posters, Guest Book
Box 36 Folder 3
Miscellaneous
Scope and Contents
Leaflets, Brochures, Publications, Posters, Guest Book
Box 36 Folder 4
Miscellaneous
Scope and Contents
Leaflets, Brochures, Publications, Posters, Guest Book
Box 36 Folder 5
Miscellaneous
Scope and Contents
Leaflets, Brochures, Publications, Posters, Guest Book