Hourwich, Isaac A. Collection., 1897-1917
Collection Number: 6036/019
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Hourwich, Isaac A. Collection, 1897-1917
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
6036/019
Abstract:
This collection consists of photocopies of those portions of the Isaac Hourwich papers
at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research that relate to his work with the International
Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Creator:
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
Hourwich, Issac
Quanitities:
2.5 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).
Isaac A. Hourwich was born on April 27, 1860 in Russia to a middle-class family, which
afforded him the opportunity to attain an education. In response to his activity with
a revolutionary Socialist circle in St. Petersburg, Hourwich was imprisoned in Siberia.
After his release, he studied law, earning his legal degree and was admitted to the
Russian bar in 1887, wherein he practiced law in Minsk. During this time, Hourwich
maintained an involvement in radical political movements, and in 1890, fled Russia
leaving behind a wife and four children.
After immigrating to the United States and settling in New York, Hourwich found himself
involved with the Russian Workers Society for Self-Education (later the Russian Social
Democratic Society), which was composed mainly of Jewish immigrants from Minsk. Hourwich
divorced his first wife and remarried and had five children. He earned a Ph.D. in
economics from Columbia University where he was also a fellow from 1891-1892. Throughout
his career, Hourwich also served as a lecturer at the University of Chicago and George
Washington University. He continued to practice law, serving as the lawyer for the
United Brotherhood between 1897 and 1899. In New York City, Hourwich founded the first
party branch of the Social Democratic Party.
In 1900, Hourwich moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the U.S. government, including
as a statistician and expert on mining for the Census Bureau until 1913. Knowing little
Yiddish, Hourwich wrote essays in the Yiddish press about American politics and economics.
At this point, Hourwich returned briefly to Russia where he ran an unsuccessful campaign
for a seat in the second Duma in Minsk as a nominee for a new Democratic People's
Party.
In January of 1913, the ILGWU appointed Hourwich to the position of Chief Clerk of
the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Union. In his new post, Hourwich sought to reform the
Protocol of Peace, a system set up by Louis Brandeis to resolve conflicts in the garment
industry between workers and manufacturers without arbitration. His attempt to amend
the protocol bothered the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers' Association and put
him out of favor with the International office. While the union sought to force Hourwich
from his position, he instead decided to seek reappointment. A struggle emerged between
Hourwich and the workers and locals that supported him and the International. This
became known as the "Hourwich Affair" and concluded with Hourwich's resignation in
1914.
Hourwich visited the Soviet Union in 1922 and continued to remain current and informed
of the country's government and politics, yet opposed to the Soviet regime. In the
U.S., he maintained a commitment to Socialism and was involved with the Socialist
Democratic Party, but supported Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 and ran for Congress on
Roosevelt's Progressive Party ticket. He continued to write for Yiddish papers, regardless
of political affiliation. In 1917, Hourwich helped organize the American Jewish Congress
and became active in the Zionist movement. Hourwich died on July 9, 1924.
The collection consists solely of photocopies of original documents held at the archives
of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research located at the Center for Jewish History
in New York City. The collection "Papers of Isaac A. Hourwich (1860- 1924)" dates
from 1882-1924 and is identified as RG 587. The complete finding aid appears on the
Center for Jewish History website. Material that is reproduced for the Kheel Center
comes from Series II: Jewish Labor Movement, 1897-1919, and pertains to Hourwich's
involvement with the ILGWU and the garment industry. It includes minutes of meetings
and hearings, arbitration proceedings, reports, correspondence as it relates to the
ILGWU, Hourwich's tenure as Chief Clerk of the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Union, the
controversies and his resignation.
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
Hourwich, Isaac A. Collection. #6036/019. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation
and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections: 5780: ILGWU records
Names:
Hourwich, Isaac A. -- (Isaac Aaronovich), -- 1860-1924.
Yivo Institute for Jewish Research -- Archives.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union -- Archives.
CONTAINER LIST
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Official documents
|
1897-1914 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: papers of incorporation of the Independent Childrens' Jacket Makers Union
of New York, 1897; papers of incorporation of the Federated Hebrew Trade Unions of
Greater New York, 1897; contract and promisory notes of the United Hebrew Brotherhood
of Cloakmakers Local 1, 1898-1899; letter of Jacob Shinbrot (Yiddish), incomplete,
1914; RG #587, folder 26
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Minutes of the Session of the Joint Board of the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Makers' Unions
of New York
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
February 1, 1913, typed, 59 pgs.; RG #587, folder 27
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Minutes of the Board of Grievances
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: Cloak, Suit and Skirt Industry, January 27, 1913, typed, 26 pgs.; Stenographic
minutes of the Joint Board of the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and the
Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association, July 8, 1913, 2 pgs.
(missing); RG #587, folder 28
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Complaints before the Board of Grievances
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: Operator No. 3 against S. Marcus, 18 pgs.; Presser Gordon against Jaffe
and Katz, 16 pgs.; In the matter of the dispute between Jaffe and Katz and the Employees
of the Cloth Operating Department, 13 pgs. RG #587, folder 29
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 1 of 6]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 1; RG #587, folder 30
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 2 of 6]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 1; RG #587, folder 30
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 3 of 6]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 1; RG #587, folder 30
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 4 of 6]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 1; RG #587,folder 30
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 5 of 6]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 1; RG #587, folder 30
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 6 of 6]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 1; RG #587, folder 30
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 1 of 5]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 2; RG #587, folder 31
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 2 of 5]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 2; RG #587, folder 31
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 3 of 5]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 2; RG #587, folder 31
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 4 of 5]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 2; RG #587, folder 31
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Arbitration Proceedings between the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York and
the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association [folder 5 of 5]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 3-6, 1913, 2 volumes, typed, 1500 pgs., volume 2; RG #587, folder 31
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Report of a special meeting of the Board of Grievances
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
August 13, 1913, typed, 87 pgs.; RG #587, folder 32
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Report on Board of Grievances matters and recommendations
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
Exhibit E, September 10, 1913; RG #587, folder 33
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 8 |
Minutes of the Board of Grievances
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
In the matter of B. Schnall, September 5, 1913, typed, 73 pgs.; RG #587, folder 34
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 1 |
Regular Meeting of the Board of Grievances
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: report on the Schnall Case, September 3, 1913, typed, 106 pgs.; decision
in the Schnall Case. October 1, 1913, typed, 2 pgs.; letter of Hourwich to Meyer London,
1913; RG #587, folder 35
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 2 |
Cloak and Suit Arbitration
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
October 4, 1913, 12 pgs.; RG #587, folder 37
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 3 |
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Arbitrators with representatives of the Shirt
and Cloak Makers' Unions of New York and with the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers'
Association [folder 1 of 3]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
October 12-13, 1913, 392 pgs.; RG #587, folder 38
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 4 |
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Arbitrators with representatives of the Shirt
and Cloak Makers' Unions of New York and with the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers'
Association [folder 2 of 3]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
October 12-13, 1913, 392 pgs.; RG #587, folder 38
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 5 |
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Arbitrators with representatives of the Shirt
and Cloak Makers' Unions of New York and with the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers'
Association [folder 3 of 3]
|
1913 |
|
Scope and Contents
October 12-13, 1913, 392 pgs.; RG #587, folder 38
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 6 |
Hourwich and Abraham Bisno
|
1913-1914 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: minutes of the meeting of the Court of Honor, convened to consider charges
against Hourwich by Bisno, March 7, 1914, 16 pgs.; 2 letters of Hourwich to Bisno,
June 14 and July 21, 1913; RG #587, folder 39
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 7 |
Materials relating to the garment workers' unions [folder 1 of 2]
|
1912-1914 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: especially the Joint Board of the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Union, including
materials on the "Hourwich Affair"; correspondence, memoranda, resolutions, manuscripts
pages, and an article (English, Yiddish); RG #587, folder 40
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 8 |
Materials relating to the garment workers' unions [folder 2 of 2]
|
1912-1914 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: especially the Joint Board of the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Union, including
materials on the "Hourwich Affair"; correspondence, memoranda, resolutions, manuscripts
pages, and an article (English, Yiddish); RG #587, folder 40
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 1 |
Correspondence
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Regarding the Manufacturers' Association's demand for Hourwich's resignation, including
Hourwich's resignation itself; RG #587, folder 44
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 2 |
United States Commission on Industrial Relations [folder 1 of 4]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: telegram from Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, Commissioner, to Hourwich; discussion
on the question of differences between the manufacturers and workers in the Cloak,
Suit, Waist Industry, January 15-17, 1914, stenographic report, typed, 3 volumes,
506 pgs.; RG #587, folder 45
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 3 |
United States Commission on Industrial Relations [folder 2 of 4]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: telegram from Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, Commissioner, to Hourwich; discussion
on the question of differences between the manufacturers and workers in the Cloak,
Suit, Waist Industry, January 15-17, 1914, stenographic report, typed, 3 volumes,
506 pgs.; RG #587, folder 45
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 4 |
United States Commission on Industrial Relations [folder 3 of 4]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: telegram from Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, Commissioner, to Hourwich; discussion
on the question of differences between the manufacturers and workers in the Cloak,
Suit, Waist Industry, January 15-17, 1914, stenographic report, typed, 3 volumes,
506 pgs.; RG #587, folder 45
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 5 |
United States Commission on Industrial Relations [folder 4 of 4]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: telegram from Mrs. J. Borden Harriman, Commissioner, to Hourwich; discussion
on the question of differences between the manufacturers and workers in the Cloak,
Suit, Waist Industry, January 15-17, 1914, stenographic report, typed, 3 volumes,
506 pgs.; RG #587, folder 45
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 6 |
Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Arbitrators
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Selected by the representatives of the Cloak and Skirt Makers' Unions of New York,
and the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association, January 18,
23, and 24, 1914, stenographic report, typed, 2 volumes, 87 pgs.; RG #587, folder
46
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 7 |
Board of Arbitration
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: memorandum presented to the Board of Arbitration pertaining to wage increases,
typed, 31 pgs.; loose pages from minutes of arbitration proceedings; letter on pricemaking
from Williams, Impartial Chairman to Hillman and Lezinsky, Chief Clerks of the Cloakmakers'
Protocol; letter from the union committee appointed to the Arbitration Board, to the
Joint Board; RG #587, folder 47
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 8 |
Council of Conciliation in the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Terms of settlement of the controversy, correspondence, briefs, pamphlets, clippings
(English, Yiddish); Report and recommendations, July 23, 1915, typed, 6 pgs.; RG #587,
folder 48
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 9 |
Controversy between Cloak Operators' Union Local 1 and the ILGWU [folder 1 of 2]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Terms of settlement of the controversy, correspondence, briefs, pamphlets, clippings
(English, Yiddish); Report and recommendations, July 23, 1915, typed, 6 pgs.; RG #587,
folder 49
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 10 |
Controversy between Cloak Operators' Union Local 1 and the ILGWU [folder 2 of 2]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Terms of settlement of the controversy, correspondence, briefs, pamphlets, clippings
(English, Yiddish); Report and recommendations, July 23, 1915, typed, 6 pgs.; RG #587,
folder 50
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 11 |
Cloak Operators' Union, Local 1
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
4 statements by a certified public accountant for an audit of the local, typed, 23
pgs.; RG #587, folder 56
|
|||
| Box 5 | Folder 1 |
Articles [folder 1 of 3]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: articles about the Protocol of Peace by Hourwich in The New Review, June
15 and July 15, 1915; articles by Ab. Baroff and Isadore Epstein in The Ladies' Garment
Worker, June 1913; issues of The Ladies' Garment Worker, July and October, 1913 and
January and March, 1914; RG #587, folder 58
|
|||
| Box 5 | Folder 2 |
Articles [folder 2 of 3]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: articles about the Protocol of Peace by Hourwich in The New Review, June
15 and July 15, 1915; articles by Ab. Baroff and Isadore Epstein in The Ladies' Garment
Worker, June 1913; issues of The Ladies' Garment Worker, July and October, 1913 and
January and March, 1914; RG #587, folder 58
|
|||
| Box 5 | Folder 3 |
Articles [folder 3 of 3]
|
|
|
Scope and Contents
Includes: articles about the Protocol of Peace by Hourwich in The New Review, June
15 and July 15, 1915; articles by Ab. Baroff and Isadore Epstein in The Ladies' Garment
Worker, June 1913; issues of The Ladies' Garment Worker, July and October, 1913 and
January and March, 1914; RG #587, folder 58
|
|||