ILGWU Library Listing of Selected Material, 0000-2999
Collection Number: 5780/140
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
ILGWU Library Listing of Selected Material, 0000-2999
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/140
Abstract:
This collection consists of photocopied catalog cards of materials transferred from
the ILGWU library to the Kheel Center.
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Quanitities:
0.33 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor
unions in the United States founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing
about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States. It was one of the
first U.S. Unions to have a membership consisting of mostly females, and it played
a key role in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s. The union is generally referred
to as the "ILGWU" or the "ILG". The ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size,
and 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. The ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated
Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1995 to form the Union of Needle trades, Industrial
and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant
Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. The two
unions that formed UNITE in 1995 represented only 250,000 workers between them, down
from the ILGWU's peak membership of 450,000 in 1969.
The ILGWU maintained an extensive library of publications on labor history and industrial
and labor relations, to support the union's work on behalf of its members and the
ladies' garment industry. It is unclear whether the ILGWU library represented in this
collection was managed by the Research Department, which maintained extensive holdings,
or by another department in the International's general office.
This collection consists of photocopied catalog cards of materials transferred from
the ILGWU library to the Kheel Center, representing more than 700 volumes. These volumes
included monographs on the history of the labor movement in the United States and
elsewhere, government documents on the women's garment manufacturing industry, and
analyses of federal codes, industry wages, and international labor organizations.
Also included were publications on the ILGWU, and the union's departments and affiliates.
The library catalog cards include basic bibliographic information. Many of the volumes
represented by the cards are now available in the Catherwood Library or in publications
collections of the ILGWU records.
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
ILGWU Library Listing of Selected Material #5780/140. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Names:
Krupat, Kitty.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry -- United States
Clothing workers--Labor unions--United States.
Clothing workers -- United States
Industrial relations -- United States
CONTAINER LIST
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Container
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Description
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Date
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| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Boxes 1-35; Call numbers ACF UNE19 - NFV IR2
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Scope and Contents
Photocopies of library card catalog shelf list cards
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| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Boxes 36-73; Call numbers NFV 794 C5 - NZL S5
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Scope and Contents
Photocopies of library card catalog shelf list cards
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