Guide to ACTWU's Rieve-Pollock Foundation Records, 1935-1996
Collection Number: 5619/008
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Cornell University Library
Title:
ACTWU's Rieve-Pollock Foundation Records, 1935-1996
Collection Number:
5619/008
Creator:
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union. Rieve-Pollock Foundation
Textile Workers' Union of America. Rieve-Pollock Foundation
Textile Workers' Union of America. Rieve-Pollock Foundation
Quantity:
4.3 linear feet
Forms of Material:
Correspondence, reports, publications.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection consists of correspondence, reports, minutes of directors' meetings, and files from the Rieve-Pollack Foundation.
The bulk of the collection dates from the years 1935-1996. Some of the records, however are from as early as 1926 and as
late as 1999, thus a few of the records are
from the UNITE era.
Language:
Collection material in English
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 and Textile Workers' Union
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union --Archives
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America --Archives
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Rieve-Pollock Foundation--Archives
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union --Archives
Textile Workers' Union of America --Archives
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees --Archives
UNITE HERE (Organization) --Archives
Subjects:
Textile industry--New York (State)--New York
Textile workers--Labor unions--New York (State)--New York
Clothing trade--New York (State)--New York
Clothing workers--Labor unions--New York (State)--New York
Form and Genre Terms:
Records
Correspondence
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:
ACTWU's Rieve-Pollock Foundation Records, #5619/008. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell
University Library.
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
9/7/89 Rieve-Pollock
|
1989 |
September 7, 1989.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Rieve-Pollock
|
1977-1995 |
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Rieve-Pollock
|
1993-1996 |
Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Larry Rogin
|
1991 |
Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Rieve-Pollock Finances
|
1993-1994 |
Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Moses Finley
|
1986-1992 |
Box 1 | Folder 7 |
UNITE Monica Russo
|
1996 |
Box 1 | Folder 8 |
ACTOR N. Miami Beach
|
1983 |
Box 1 | Folder 9 |
The Honor of Labor Exhibit-Scalamandre Silk Mill Report
|
1985 |
Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Local 1733 Sol Stetin Administrator
|
1993 |
Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Ed Katz
|
1981-1989 |
Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Textile History
|
1937-1991 |
Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation
|
1935-1996 |
Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Uprising of 1934 [1934 Strike]
|
1934 |
Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Southern Labor Management Dinner- 2/6/82
|
1982 |
February 6, 1982.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Knitwear Workers 36th Conference
|
1982 |
Box 1 | Folder 17 |
1979 Program from Waldorf Astoria
|
1979 |
Box 1 | Folder 18 |
Rieve-Pollock 10th Anniversary
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 19 |
Pictures
|
1980-1989 |
Box 1 | Folder 20 |
Sol Stetin Remarks. 50th Anniversary TWUA
|
1989 |
September 7, 1989.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 21 |
Midwest Conference 6/5/82
|
1982 |
June 5, 1982.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 22 |
Sol Stetin- Miscellaneous Honors
|
1982-1993 |
Box 1 | Folder 23 |
Miscellaneous Papers
|
1949-1992 |
Box 1 | Folder 24 |
Uprising of 1934 [1934 Strike]
|
1934 |
Box 1 | Folder 25 |
Sol Stetin. Citizen of Patterson
|
1948-1949 |
Box 1 | Folder 26 |
Sol Stetin. Speeches, Addresses
|
1982-1989 |
Box 1 | Folder 27 |
Rieve-Pollock. Miscellaneous Correspondence
|
1976-1994 |
Box 1 | Folder 28 |
Joseph L. Hueter
|
1987 |
Box 1 | Folder 29 |
Retiree Programs
|
1976 |
Box 1 | Folder 30 |
Press Stories
|
1956-1993 |
Box 1 | Folder 31 |
ACTWU/UNITE Biographies
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 32 |
Union Scholarships
|
1995 |
Box 1 | Folder 33 |
Botto House Labor Museum
|
1992 |
Box 1 | Folder 34 |
Rieve-Pollock Newsletter
|
1999 |
Box 1 | Folder 35 |
Rieve-Pollock Corporate Records
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 36 |
Book #1 Final Report, Cumulative Index, Barkin, Benet, Boggs
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 37 |
Book #2 Cook, Fiester, Gordon, Hueter
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 38 |
Book #3 Perkel, Rogin, Rogin & Fiester, Schaufenbil, Tibbets
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 39 |
Book #4 Stetin, Swaity, Todd, Williams, Watson
|
|
Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Deep South L-M Dinner
|
1982 |
Friday, February 6, 1982. Atlanta Georgia
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 2 |
New England Region Luncheon
|
1982 |
Saturday, April 17, 1982-Boston
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Greater Toronto Joint Board-Annual Dinner and Meeting
|
1982 |
March 27, 1982.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Quin State Dinner in Honor of Sol Stetin
|
1982 |
Saturday, May 22, 1982. Philadelphia
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Southwest Ontario Joint Board
|
1982 |
Saturday, April 24,1982-Ontario
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 6 |
“Why Sol Stetin Stepped Down” Nation
|
1977 |
December 10, 1977.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Smithsonian Institute Speech
|
|
November 16, 199?
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 8 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation. General
|
1981-1993 |
Box 2 | Folder 9 |
Sol Stetin-Bergen Record. J.P. Stevens
|
1979 |
August 9, 1979.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 10 |
Post Merger Material
|
1937-1995 |
Box 2 | Folder 11 |
Sol Stetin. Biography
|
1968-1986 |
Box 2 | Folder 12 |
Mike Stetson
|
1979-1981 |
Box 2 | Folder 13 |
Sol Stetin Banquet
|
1979 |
October 13, 1979. Miscellaneous Correspondence
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 14 |
Sol Stetin
|
1979 |
October 16, 1979. Banquet, Letters of Congratulation
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 15 |
Sol Stetin. Personal Correspondence
|
1978 |
Box 2 | Folder 16 |
William Patterson College of New Jersey
|
1979 |
July 16, 1979.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 17 |
Great Falls Development Corporation. General
|
1976-1978 |
Box 2 | Folder 18 |
TWUA Publications
|
1946-1947 |
Box 2 | Folder 19 |
Chronology of Textile Workers Union of America
|
1934-1976 |
Box 2 | Folder 20 |
Rubenstein Data
|
1945-1977 |
Box 2 | Folder 21 |
Jack Rubenstein
|
1935-1977 |
Box 2 | Folder 22 |
NO Label
|
1926-1972 |
Box 2 | Folder 23 |
Rubenstein Data
|
1946-1976 |
Box 2 | Folder 24 |
Rubenstein Files from Dyers Federation [folder 1 of 3]
|
1935-1989 |
Box 2 | Folder 25 |
Rubenstein Files from Dyers Federation [folder 2 of 3]
|
1934-1938 |
Box 2 | Folder 26 |
Rubenstein Files from Dyers Federation [folder 3 of 3]
|
1935-1989 |
Box 2 |
Official Seal of the Rieve-Pollock Foundation
|
||
Box 2 |
1934 Textile Strike, An Introduction to a Proposed Film Producer Vera Rony
|
||
Video
|
|||
Box 2 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation-10th Anniversary Conference
|
1986 | |
October 26, 1986. Video
|
|||
Box 2 |
TWUA Organizing Campaign in South (Late 40’s or Early 50’s) and TWUA Convention
|
||
Video
|
|||
Box 2 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Conference-Gaithersburg, MD Tape 1
|
1989 | |
November 18, 1989. Video
|
|||
Box 2 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Conference-Gaithersburg, MD Tape 2
|
1989 | |
November 18, 1989. Video
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 1 |
Directors Meeting
|
1978 |
March 20, 1978.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 2 |
Directors Meeting
|
1979 |
February 8, 1972.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 3 |
Directors Meeting
|
1980 |
January 29, 1980.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 4 |
Directors Meeting
|
1980 |
June 3, 1980.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 5 |
Directors Meeting
|
1980 |
November 6, 1980.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 6 |
Directors Meeting
|
1981 |
April 1, 1981.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 7 |
Directors Meeting
|
1981 |
August 14, 1981.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 8 |
Directors Meeting
|
1982 |
April 13, 1982.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 9 |
Directors Meeting
|
1982 |
June 24, 1982.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 10 |
Directors Meeting
|
1983 |
June 28, 1983.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 11 |
Directors Meeting
|
1984 |
July 25, 1984.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 12 |
Directors Meeting
|
1985 |
June 7, 1985.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 13 |
Directors Meeting
|
1985 |
December 18, 1985.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 14 |
Directors Meeting
|
1986 |
July 17, 1986.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 15 |
Directors Meeting
|
1987 |
March 24, 1987.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 16 |
Directors Meeting
|
1988 |
March 29, 1988.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 17 |
Directors Meeting
|
1989 |
May 19, 1989.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 18 |
Directors Meeting
|
1989 |
June 20, 1989.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 19 |
Directors Meeting
|
1990 |
January 9, 1990.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 20 |
Directors Meeting
|
1990 |
May 21, 1990.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 21 |
Directors Meeting
|
1990 |
July 23, 1990.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 22 |
Directors Meeting
|
1990 |
August 22, 1990.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 23 |
Directors Meeting
|
1991 |
May 20, 1991.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 24 |
Directors Meeting
|
1991 |
August 26, 1991.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 25 |
Directors Meeting
|
1991 |
November 26, 1991.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 26 |
Directors Meeting. Cancelled
|
1993 |
April 23, 1993.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 27 |
Directors Meeting
|
1996 |
February 15, 1996.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 28 |
Directors Meeting
|
1997 |
January 29, 1997.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 29 |
1934 General Strike Conference-Philadelphia, PA
|
1984 |
November 10, 1984.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 30 |
10th Anniversary Celebration-Washington, DC
|
1986 |
October 25-26, 1986.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 31 |
Conference-Gaithersburg, MD
|
1988 |
November 19, 1988.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 32 |
Conference-NY, NY 9/30/90
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 33 |
Conference-Gaithersburg, MD
|
1993 |
November 13-14, 1993.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 34 |
American Woolen Mills (Vermont Project)
|
1990-1993 |
Box 3 | Folder 35 |
Cooleemee Historical Society Project (Harold Foster Papers)
|
1989-1992 |
Box 3 | Folder 36 |
Darlington Project
|
1980 |
Box 3 | Folder 37 |
NYS Labor History Association-Labor Landmarks Map/Poster Project
|
1995 |
Box 3 | Folder 38 |
Operation Dixie History Project
|
1984-1989 |
Box 3 | Folder 39 |
1928 New Bedford-Fall River Strike Project
|
1989-1995 |
Box 3 | Folder 40 |
Scalamandre Silks Photo Project
|
1982-1989 |
Box 3 | Folder 41 |
JP Stevens History Project (James Hodges)
|
1986-1992 |
Box 3 | Folder 42 |
Textile Song Project (Joe Glazer)-Textile Voices, Songs from the Mill
|
1984-1995 |
Box 3 | Folder 43 |
George Waldrep Research Project
|
1993-1996 |
Box 3 | Folder 44 |
New England Textile Industry-William Hartford
|
1991-1996 |
Box 3 | Folder 45 |
Sol Barkin Book Purchase
|
1993-1994 |
Box 3 | Folder 46 |
Hoyman Book Donation
|
1986-1991 |
Box 3 | Folder 47 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation
|
1976-1977 |
Box 3 | Folder 48 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation
|
1978 |
Box 3 | Folder 49 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation
|
1979 |
Box 3 | Folder 50 |
Barbara Kopple’s American Dream Film
|
1991-1992 |
Box 3 | Folder 51 |
Honea Path Memorial Fund
|
1994-1995 |
Box 3 | Folder 52 |
Michelle Brattain PhD Dissertation
|
1994 |
Box 3 | Folder 53 |
“Southern Exposure” Article on JP Stevens
|
1993-1994 |
Box 3 | Folder 54 |
TWUA Presidents Room-99 University Place
|
1981 |
Box 3 | Folder 55 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Programs
|
1976-1982 |
Box 3 | Folder 56 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Slide Show-“Our Lives, Our Rights”
|
1978-1979 |
Box 3 | Folder 57 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Organizational Records-Procedures
|
1976-1983 |
Box 3 | Folder 58 |
Bob Bussel Grant Request
|
1995 |
Box 3 | Folder 59 |
N.E.H Grant Proposal for TWUA History
|
1982 |
Box 3 | Folder 60 |
TWUA History Grant Applications
|
1982 |
Box 4 | Folder 1 |
TWUA History (Daniel)
|
1946-1999 |
Box 4 | Folder 2 |
Botto House American Labor Museum
|
1982-1996 |
Box 4 | Folder 3 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Retiree Newsletter
|
1996-1997 |
Box 4 | Folder 4 |
1934 Textile Strike Project-Vera Rony-1977-1987
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 5 |
“Uprising of ‘34” 1934 Strike Film (Vera Rony) [folder 1 of 2]
|
1982-1996 |
Box 4 | Folder 6 |
1934 Strike Film (Vera Rony)
|
1990-1995 |
Box 4 | Folder 7 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation–William Du Chessi Scholarship Fund
|
1979-1989 |
Box 4 | Folder 8 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation-William Du Chessi Scholarship Fund
|
1990-1997 |
Box 4 | Folder 9 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Finances
|
1977-1984 |
Box 4 | Folder 10 |
Rieve-Pollock Foundation Finances
|
1977-1997 |
Box 4 | Folder 11 |
Reports to Government Agencies Tax Forms 990 EZ & Exemption Form
|
1978-1995 |
Box 5 | Folder 1 |
Oversize-Original Charters
|