ACWA's Sidney Hillman Scrapbooks, 1910-1964
Collection Number: 5619/003
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Cornell University Library
Title:
ACWA's Sidney Hillman Scrapbooks, 1910-1964
Collection Number:
5619/003
Creator:
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
Quantity:
18 linear feet
Forms of Material:
Photograph albums, Scrapbooks, News clippings.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection consists of photograph albums and scrapbooks documenting strikes, organizing campaigns, and
biographies of Sidney Hillman and Jacob Potofsky.
Language:
Collection material in English and Yiddish
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, the most significant union representing workers in the men's clothing industry,
was founded in
New York City in 1914 as a breakaway movement from the United Garment Workers. Radical and immigrant workers in the tailors’
and cutters’ locals
were the core of the seceding group, which advocated industrial unionism and economic strikes in opposition to the UGW’s
craft organization, which
they saw as conservative and timid. Their diverging views had come to the fore during the historic 1910 dispute at the
Chicago firm Hart, Schaffner,
and Marx. The opposition called the strike against the UGW leadership’s advice, and reached a path-breaking agreement
with management that established
an arbitration system to settle disputes.
Members flocked to the new union. Around 50,000 strong at its founding, by 1920 the ACWA counted about 170,000 members. Initially
composed mostly
of immigrants of Jewish European descent with Socialist leanings, the ACWA quickly welcomed members of a great number
of nationalities and diverse
backgrounds. Like in other garment unions, most workers and many members were women, but the leadership was predominantly
male, a situation that
did not change for many decades. Early on the union adopted a centralized administrative structure combined with industrial
unionism, with the joint
boards’ by-laws having precedence over those of locals.
Espousing a philosophy perhaps brought over by its early immigrant socialist members, the Amalgamated went beyond bread and
butter issues and adopted
a distinctive form of social unionism that was largely absent in the American labor movement. Starting in the 1920s, it
provided educational
opportunities and recreational facilities for its members, as well as services such as an insurance plan, banks offering
personal loans at low
interest rates, low-cost housing cooperatives, medical clinics, and even union-owned restaurants.
Sidney Hillman was the first president of the new union and the most important officer in its history. He applied his experience
as bargaining
representative in Chicago to the whole industry. Under his leadership the union made significant strides in securing better
wages and working
conditions for its members, and at the same time it consolidated gains and provided stability to the industry through
the widespread adoption
of the arbitration system tested at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx. Hillman paid close attention to industry issues, such as
production, pricing,
and marketing. In order to help management meet the competition of non-union firms, the union conducted studies of efficiency,
work methods,
and factory costs. Letters to the official publication of the union, Advance, document the controversy that ensued within
the union over what
was perceived to be collaboration with management.
Hillman also understood the importance of labor’s involvement in national affairs and political action. In the 1920s the ACWA
sent delegates to
the Conference for Progressive Political Action and to the Farmer-labor party conventions. Although many members and officers
were Socialists,
the union stopped short of officially endorsing the party. Communist attempts at gaining influence within the union were
firmly curbed. Hillman’s
participation in national affairs and politics became prominent during the New Deal, when he became a close advisor to
Franklin D. Roosevelt on
labor and economic issues. He also served on the board of the National Recovery Administration. Later, during World War
II, he helped establish
the Labor’s Non Partisan League. He was also named associate director of the Office of Production Management, which assisted
in mobilizing the
nation's resources for the war effort. Hillman’s prestige perhaps reflected the healthy condition of his union, which
by the end of the conflict
was strong and stable.
During the post World War II period the union faced a number of significant challenges. Membership continued to grow (peaking
at 395,000 in 1968),
but the union’s political influence and visibility in national affairs declined. In their never ending pursuit of lower
production costs, many firms
relocated to the South, forcing the union to engage in large organizing efforts. Simultaneously, signs began to appear
of changes that would lead to
the almost complete demise of the domestic apparel industry and, ultimately, to the erosion of union membership. Foreign
imports of cheap clothing
goods steadily grew in the 1950s and 1960s, and mushroomed in the following two decades, plunging employment in the apparel
sector into a steady
decline. Union efforts to stem the tide included Buy American campaigns and extensive lobbying in Congress, but they were
to no avail. In 1976,
the ACWA merged with the Textile Workers of America to become the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. Despite
successful and much
publicized nationwide actions such as the Farah boycott and the J.P. Stevens corporate campaign, the woes threatening
the union’s existence
continued unabated. The fate of the domestic industry was sealed in the late 1970s and the 1980s by the flight of firms
chasing tax breaks and
cheap labor abroad. By 1995, when ACTWU voted to merge with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, their combined
membership was 350,000.
The new Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE!) seemed poised to infuse new life in a troubled
union.
Names:
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
Hillman, Sidney, 1887-1946
Potofsky, Jacob, 1892-1979
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union --Archives
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America --Archives
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union --Archives
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees --Archives
UNITE HERE (Organization) --Archives
Subjects:
Textile workers--Labor unions--New York (State)
Clothing workers--Labor unions--New York (State)
Form and Genre Terms:
Scrapbooks
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:
ACWA's Sidney Hillman Scrapbooks #5619/003. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University
Library.
Related collections:
5619: Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
5619/005: ACWA's Bessie Hillman Papers
5619/010: ACWA's Jacob Potofsky Records from the President's Office
And all other 5619 collections.
5619: Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
5619/005: ACWA's Bessie Hillman Papers
5619/010: ACWA's Jacob Potofsky Records from the President's Office
And all other 5619 collections.
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 22 |
Federation of Jewish Charities
|
1941 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 1.
|
|||
Box 23 |
Dinner for David Drechsler
|
1947 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 2.
|
|||
Box 24 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1947-1948 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 3.
|
|||
Box 25 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1949 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 4.
|
|||
Box 26 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1950 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 5.
|
|||
Box 27 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1950-1951 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 6.
|
|||
Box 28 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1951-9153 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 7.
|
|||
Box 29 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1954-1958 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 8.
|
|||
Box 30 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1957-1959 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 9.
|
|||
Box 31 |
Latin American Committee, CIO
|
1946-1954 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 10.
|
|||
Box 32 |
Silver Jubilee
|
1940 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 11.
|
|||
Box 33 |
15th Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1946 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 12. May 6-10, 1946. Atlantic City, NJ
|
|||
Box 34 |
16th Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1948 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 13. May 10-15, 1948. Atlantic City, NJ
|
|||
Box 35 |
17th Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1950 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 14. May 15, 1950. Cleveland, OH
|
|||
Box 36 |
18th Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1952 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 15. May 12-16, 1952. Atlantic City, NJ
|
|||
Box 37 |
19th Biennial Convention, 40th Anniversary, ACWA
|
1954 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 16. May 10-14, 1954. Atlantic City, NJ
|
|||
Box 38 |
20th Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1956 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 17. May 21-25, 1956,. Washington, DC
|
|||
Box 39 |
21st Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1958 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 18. May 12-16, 1958. Atlantic City, NJ
|
|||
Box 40 |
22nd Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1960 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 19. May 30-June 3, 1960. Bal Harbour, FL
|
|||
Box 41 |
23rd Biennial Convention, ACWA
|
1962 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 20. May 14-16, 1962. Atlantic City, NJ
|
|||
Box 42 |
30th Anniversary, Pennsylvania Joint Board. Honoring David Monas, August 24, 1963.
|
1963 | |
Photo Album, Vol. 21.
|
|||
Box 43 |
Chicago strike
|
1915 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 22.
|
|||
Box 44 |
ACWA clippings
|
1920-1921 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 23.
|
|||
Box 45 |
ACWA clippings
|
1921 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 24.
|
|||
Box 46 |
St. Louis strike
|
1933 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 31.
|
|||
Box 47 |
Leo Wolman
|
1914-1933 | |
Scrapbook, no number
|
|||
Box 48 |
Baltimore strike
|
1932 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 29.
|
|||
Box 49 |
Baltimore strike
|
1932 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 30.
|
|||
Box 50 |
Jacob S. Potofsky
|
1940-1945 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 35.
|
|||
Box 51 |
American Labor Party, ALP
|
1936-1944 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 38.
|
|||
Box 52 |
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
|
1936-1938 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 33. English and Yiddish
|
|||
Box 53 |
Partners in Progress. Report of the International Advisory Board, March 1951
|
1951 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 49. A Sampling of Press and Radio Reaction
|
|||
Box 54 |
Press Book 1: General Magazines and Labor Press
|
1964 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 50.
|
|||
Box 55 |
Press Book 2: Newspapers
|
1964 | |
Scrapbook, Vol. 51.
|
|||
Box 56 |
Sidney Hillman: With Love and Devotion
|
1910-1921 | |
Red Book. Vol. 1. English and Yiddish
|
|||
Box 57 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1921-1924 | |
Red Book. Vol. 2. English and Yiddish
|
|||
Box 58 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1924-1928 | |
Red Book. Vol. 3. English and Yiddish
|
|||
Box 59 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1929-1932 | |
Red Book. Vol. 4. English and Yiddish
|
|||
Box 60 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1933-1935 | |
Red Book. Vol. 5.
|
|||
Box 61 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1936-1937 | |
Red Book. Vol. 6.
|
|||
Box 62 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1938-1939 | |
Red Book. Vol. 7.
|
|||
Box 63 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1940-1941 | |
Red Book. Vol. 8.
|
|||
Box 64 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1942-1943 | |
Red Book. Vol. 9.
|
|||
Box 65 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1944 | |
Red Book. Vol. 10: Part 1.
|
|||
Box 66 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1944 | |
Red Book. Vol. 10: Part 2.
|
|||
Box 67 |
Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1945-1946 | |
Red Book. Vol. 11.
|
|||
Box 68 |
In Memory of Sidney Hillman: The Statesman of the New Industrial Order
|
1946 | |
Red Book. Vol. 12.
|
|||
Box 69 |
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America: The Record from the Press
|
1946-1950 | |
Red Book. Vol. 13.
|
|||
Box 70 |
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America: The Record from the Press
|
1951-1952 | |
Red Book. Vol. 14.
|
|||
Box 71 |
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America: The Record from the Press
|
1953-1954 | |
Red Book. Vol. 15.
|
|||
Box 72 |
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America: The Record from the Press
|
1955-1956 | |
Red Book. Vol. 16.
|
|||
Box 73 |
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America: The Record from the Press
|
1957-1958 | |
Red Book. Vol. 17.
|
|||
Box 74 |
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America
|
1959-1961 | |
AMSL. Scrapbook.
|
|||
Box 75 |
ACWA clippings
|
1934-1936 | |
Scrapbook. Vol. 32.
|