James J. Murphy Papers
Collection Number: 5260
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
James J. Murphy Papers, 1893-1919
Collection Number:
5260
Creator:
Murphy, James J.
Quantity:
1 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Handbills, memorabilia, scrapbooks, testimonies .
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Consist of scrapbooks of materials relating to the International Typographical Union (ITU) and to Murphy's service on the
Shorter Work Day Committee of ITU Local 6.
Language:
Collection material in English
James J. Murphy was born in New York city in 1860. He attended the College of the City of New York for a brief period, but
left to become a printer. In 1883 he joined Local 6, and in 1885 married Miss Abbe Pogarty, daughter of a long time member
of Local 6 and a compositor herself. His brother, the Reverend William G. Murphy, attended the American College in Rome,
where he was made vice-rector in 1903.
Murphy served as vice president of Local Six from 1891 to 1893 and as president from 1893 to 1896. In 1896 a resolution of
the international called for the institution of the nine hour day in book and job shops, and created a committee of five
to lead the Union toward this goal. Murphy was named chairman of this Shorter Work Week Committee. The New York Typothetae
signed an agreement in December
of 1887, which provided for a nine-and-a-half hour day and a nine hour day on Saturday as of January 1, 1898.
Continued agitation by Murphy and his committee led the United Typothetae to call a general meeting of printing trades unions
in October 1898 at Syracuse. An agreement was signed with the Int'l Typographical Union, the International Printing
Pressmen and Assistants Union and the International Brotherhood of Bookbinders. The nine and a half hour day was to be
instituted on November 21, 1898 and the nine hour day was to become standard in book and job shops on November 21, 1899.
In 1902 the International began working for a reduction of working hours to eight each day, leaving "eight for recreation
and improvement of mind, eight for eating and sleeping." A resolution approved by the 1904 convention demanded that the
eight hour day become standard in all book and job shops on January 1, 1906. Strikes against the Typothetae were stopped
by court injunction and the union finally settled for a forty-eight-hour week with a half day on Saturday.
Murphy was then re-elected as President of Local Six and served until 1908. In 1908 he passed the New York State Civil Service
examination for
Supervising Factory Inspector. He was demoted to-Factory Inspector in 1916, because of a shortage of funds, but was reinstated
in 1919 and held the position until he died on June 10, 1922.
While the association of typographical workers in a particular shop as chapels for mutual benefit is almost as old as printing
itself, modern trade unions did not occur until the late 1840's. In January of 1850 the New York Printers Union was
founded, with Horace Greeley, editor of the Tribune, as president. In Kay of 1852 representatives of the New York union
met with members of other typographical unions to found the National Typographical Union which was renamed the International
Typographical Union in 1869. The New York Printers' Union received a charter from the National Typographical Union as
Typographical Union #6.
In 1862 Local Six began pressing for a shorter work day, which led to the formation of the New York Typothetae, an organization
of "Master Printers," designed to counteract the growing strength of the union. In 1887, a similar demand by the
International Union brought about the association of the Typothetae in several cities into the United Typothetae of America.
This organization continued to block the International's efforts to reduce working hours in the book and job shops
until 1897, although the use of labor saving machinery made the eight hour, six day week standard in newspaper shops.
Consist of scrapbooks of materials relating to the International Typographical Union (ITU) and to Murphy's service on the
Shorter Work Day Committee of ITU Local 6. The materials in this collection consist of four scrapbooks which contain
clippings, handbills, membership cards, postcards and other souvenirs regarding Murphy and the activities of the ITU (1893-1919);
and a souvenir book testimonial of the members of the International Typographical Union to its Shorter Work Day
Committee presented at the 1899 convention of the ITU.
Names:
Murphy, James J., 1860-1922.
International Typographical Union of North America. Local 6 (New York, N.Y.)
International Typographical Union of North America. Shorter Work Day Committee.
International Typographical union of North America. Shorter Work Week Committee.
New York Typothetae
Subjects:
Eight-hour movement.
Hours of labor--United States.
Weekly rest-day--United States.
Printers.
Trade-unions. Printing industry. United States.
Form and Genre Terms:
Handbills.
Memorabilia.
Scrapbooks.
Testimonies.
Access Restrictions:
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Restrictions on Use:
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.
Cite As:
James J. Murphy Papers #5260. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
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Container
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Description
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| Box 1 | Folder 1 | |
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Clippings handbills, and other material on Murphy and Local #6 from the period 1893-1908 ca., in approximate chronological
order.
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| Box 1 | Folder 2 | |
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Clippings handbills, and other material on Murphy and Local #6 from the period 1907-1919 ca., in approximate chronological
order.
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| Box 1 | Folder 3 | |
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Postcards and souvenirs of a trip from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, by way of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Portland, San Francisco,
Los Angeles, Colorado Springs and Chicago, August to November 1915.
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| Box 1 | Folder 4 | |
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Itinerary and souvenirs of a "Cook's Tour" of Washington, Richmond, and Old Point Comfort in Virginia, 15-20 January 1917.
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