Mendelsund, Henoch. Interview by E. Finn., 1978-1978
Collection Number: 6036/022
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Mendelsund, Henoch. Interview by E. Finn., 1978-1978
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
6036/022
Abstract:
This collection consists of audio recordings and a transcript of an interview with
Henoch Mendelsund shortly after his retirement from the ILGWU.
Creator:
Mendelsund, Henoch
Finn, E.
Quanitities:
0.56 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).
Henoch Mendelsund was born on March 26 (or 23), 1911. Active in the Jewish labor movement
in his native Poland, he worked as a mechanic and attended Warsaw University. Mendelsund
arrived in the U.S. in 1941 as one of 1,500 labor leaders and intellectuals rescued
from the Nazis through the efforts of the ILGWU and other groups under special visas
authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He joined the ILGWU as a machine operator,
and while working in the shop during the day, he attended the New School for Social
Research at night, earning a master's degree in economics and sociology.
In addition to his work in cloak shops, during the war, Mendelsund was a member of
the National Coat and Suit Recovery Board staff. Mendelsund held many positions during
his tenure with the ILGWU. In 1949, he became the secretary of Cloak Finishers' Local
9 and in 1953 became the assistant general manager of the New York Cloak Joint Board
under Isadore Nagler. After Nagler's death in September 1959, Mendelsund became general
manager, a post he held until 1973. He also served the union as a vice president,
and was the director of the International Relations Department from 1968-1980.
On April 2, 1973 Mendelsund's recommendation to provide initial funding for the establishment
of the ILGWU Archives was approved by the New York Cloak Joint Board. Mendelsund assumed
directorship of the newly created archives, and served as director until his retirement
on March 31, 1986. It was through Mendelsund's untiring efforts that led to the creation
of the archives, its professional and prosperous status, and its oral history program.
He died on September 22, 1994.
The International Relations Department of the ILGWU was concerned primarily with outreach
to foreign and international labor organizations, working conditions in foreign countries,
and international organizing activities. The department worked closely with international
relations units of national and international labor confederations, such as the Free
Trade Union Committee (FTUC) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
(ICFTU). The collection consists of an interview with Henoch Mendelsund by E. Finn
on August 30, 1978. Included is the typed transcript of the interview as well as the
audio cassette. From his position as director of the International Relations Department,
Mendelsund speaks of the union's early and continual interest in international affairs.
He states that an actual international department was not formed until 1946 with Jay
Lovestone serving as director until his departure to the AFL-CIO. While a department
existed intermittently, Mendelsund does not place an emphasis on a formal organizational
structure for the department as he feels the union was always involved in international
affairs from its early inception, with or without an actual department. Even in the
absence of a formal department, he illustrates that the union still had the Committee
on International Affairs at the conventions, participating in missions, sending people
to other countries, and collecting funds. Mendelsund discusses the lack of attention
paid to unions and their involvement with international affairs, labor in respect
to the State Department, and the role of labor attachs and representatives. Examined
in the interview is the function and responsibility of unions and labor in international
relations, as well as international affairs within the AFL-CIO. Mentioned are organizations
such as the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the Trade
Union Committee (TUC). Mendelsund concludes by discussing the place of labor in helping
to organize and support trade unions in developing countries as well as the union's
projects in Africa, including a trade school, medical equipment, and the generosity
of members donating funds for union development.
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
Mendelsund, Henoch. Interview by E. Finn. #6036/022. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Names:
Mendelsund, Henoch.
Finn, E.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union -- Archives.
CONTAINER LIST
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Henoch Mendelsund
|
1978 |
|
Scope and Contents
Interviewed by E. Finn on August 30, 1978. 54 pages.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Henoch Mendelsund
|
1978 |
|
Scope and Contents
Interviewed by E. Finn on August 30, 1978. Audio cassette tape 1 of 2.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Henoch Mendelsund
|
1978 |
|
Scope and Contents
Interviewed by E. Finn on August 30, 1978. Audio cassette tape 2 of 2.
|
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