ILGWU. Abraham Rosenberg, Memoirs of a Cloak Maker,, 1883-1910.
Collection Number: 5780/159
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
ILGWU. Abraham Rosenberg, Memoirs of a Cloak Maker, 1883-1910.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/159
Abstract:
This collection contains a bound volume of photocopies of a cloakmaker's memoirs.
The memoirs were translated by Yetta Horn.
Creator:
Rosenberg,
Quanitities:
0.5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was founded in New York City in 1900
by mostly Socialist immigrant workers who sought to unite the various crafts in the
growing women's garment industry. The union soon reflected changes in the sector and
rapidly organized thousands of unskilled and semi-skilled women, mostly Jewish and
Italian young immigrants. Exemplifying the "new unionism," the ILGWU led two of the
most widespread and best-known industrial strikes of the early Twentieth Century:
the shirtwaist makers' strike of 1909 in New York City and the cloak makers' strike
of 1910 in Chicago. The union also tried to adapt to the fragmented and unstable nature
of the industry. It adopted the "protocol of peace," a system of industrial relations
that attempted to ensure stability and limit strikes and production disruption by
providing for an arbitration system to resolve disputes.
The ILGWU exemplified the European-style social unionism of its founding members.
They pursued bread and butter issues but provided educational opportunities, benefits,
and social programs to union members as well. In 1919, the ILGWU became the first
American union to negotiate an unemployment compensation fund that was contributed
to by its employers. The ILGWU also pioneered in the establishment of an extremely
progressive health care program for its members which included not only regional Union
Health Centers but also a resort for union workers, known as Unity House. The Union
also had an imaginative and pioneering Education Department which not only trained
workers in traditional union techniques, but provided courses in citizenship and the
English language.
David Dubinsky, an immigrant from Belarus who came to the US in 1911, provided strong
leadership that led to unprecedented growth in the union during his presidency from
1932 to 1966. He led the union through successful internal anti-communist struggles,
built on the ascendancy of industrial unionism by encouraging the formation of the
Committee for Industrial Organization, and helped the union become an important political
force in New York City and state politics, and in the national Democratic Party and
Liberal Party as well.
In the period following the Second World War, the union suffered a decline in membership
as manufacturers avoided unionization and took advantage of less expensive labor by
moving shops from the urban centers in the northeast to the south, and later abroad.
The ethnic and racial character of the ILGWU also changed as European immigrants were
supplanted by Asians, Latin Americans, African- Americans, and immigrants from the
Caribbean.
In July 1995 the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union
(ACTWU) at a joint convention, forming UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and
Textile Employees). At the time the new union had a membership of about 250,000 in
the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Abraham Rosenberg arrived in the United States from Russia in 1883. He served as President
of the ILGWU from 1908 to 1914, and later worked as an organizer with the union.
This collection contains a bound volume of photocopies of a cloakmaker's memoirs.
The memoirs were translated by Yetta Horn.
The ILGWU Records, except for publications and materials produced for publication,
are restricted. Materials created prior to twenty years from the current date are
open to researchers only with prior written permission from the Director of the Kheel
Center; materials created during the past twenty-years are closed; the minutes of
the General Executive Board are closed. For more information contact the Kheel Center.
Use photocopy of original or microfilm copy (5780/159 mf).
INFORMATION FOR USERS
ILGWU. Abraham Rosenberg, Memoirs of a Cloak Maker. 5780/159. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.
5780. ILGWU records
5780/159 mf. ILGWU. Abraham Rosenberg, Memoirs of a Cloak Maker. Microfilm
5780/167. ILGWU. Unpublished union histories
Names:
Rosenberg, Abraham
Rosenberg, Abraham
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry -- United States
Clothing trade -- Labor unions -- United States
Clothing workers -- United States
Industrial relations -- United States
CONTAINER LIST
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Memoirs of a Cloakmaker, 1883-1910. Use Copy.
|
1995 |
Scope and Contents
Photocopy on acid-free paper.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Memoirs of a Cloakmaker, 1883-1910. Original Copy.
|
1940 |