ILGWU Kitty Goldstein Memorabilia, 1891-1950
Collection Number: 5780/197 MB

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


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
ILGWU Kitty Goldstein Memorabilia, 1891-1950
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/197 MB
Abstract:
This collection consists of photographs, Constitution and Receipt book for ILGWU, Local 23, and Kattie Goldstein's birth certificate (born Chelio Leea Golstain (Chaya Leah Goldstein)). Items are brittle.
Creator:
Goldstein, Katie
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Quanitities:
0.33 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English, Yiddish

Biographical / Historical

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.

This collection consists of photographs, Constitution and Receipt book for ILGWU, Local 23, and Kattie Goldstein's birth certificate (born Chelio Leea Golstain (Chaya Leah Goldstein)). Items are brittle.
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

ILGWU Kitty Goldstein Memorabilia #5780/197 MB. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Materials

Related Collections: 5780: ILGWU records

SUBJECTS

Names:
Goldstein, Kattie
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 23-25 (New York, N.Y.)

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Folder 1
Birth certificate for Chelio Lea Golstain (Chaya Leah Goldstein) whose name was later Americanized to Katie Goldstein.
1891
Scope and Contents
Born to Haim Strul Golstain and Estera Golstain at no.35 Strada Husului in the City of Vaslui, Vaslui County, Romania, on 25 April 1891. The certificate was issued on 26 April 1891. The certificate measures 8" by 13" and has one vertical and numerous horizontal creases. There are cellophane tape repairs applied to the back and the edges are very torn and frayed. This item is very brittle.
Box 1 Folder 1a
Photocopy of birth certificate.
1891
Box 1 Folder 2
Constitution and Receipt Book for ILGWU Local 23, Ledger no. 14011. Union dues book for Katie Goldstein, age 18, initiated on 13 April, 1913. $15 initiation fee paid.
1913-1915
Scope and Contents
With the exception of the data page and payment stamps this book in in Yiddish. This book measures 5.5" by 3.5" and is 64 pages long. The main portion of the book has separated from the covers. The pages are in good condition.
Box 1 Folder 3
Photograph of Katie Goldstein
1950
Scope and Contents
3.5" by 6", black and white, circa 1950.