Guide to ACTWU's Southern Regional Joint Board Records, 1989-1997
Collection Number: 5619/011
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Cornell University Library
Title:
ACTWU's Southern Regional Joint Board Records, 1989-1997
Collection Number:
5619/011
Creator:
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union
Quantity:
0.5 linear feet
Forms of Material:
News clippings.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection consists of newspaper clippings and press releases collected by the Southern Regional Joint Board of the
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union.
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
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union --Archives.
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE)--Archives
UNITE HERE (Organization) --Archives
Subjects:
Clothing industry--New York (State)--New York
Clothing industry--United States.
Clothing workers--Labor unions--New York (State)--New York
Clothing workers--Labor unions--United States.
Textile industry--New York (State)--New York
Textile industry--United States.
Textile workers--Labor unions--New York (State)--New York
Textile workers--Labor unions--United States.
Form and Genre Terms:
Files
Records
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 Southern Regional Joint Board Records #5619/011. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell
University Library.
This collection is arranged alphabetically.
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Cannon. Clippings.
|
1991 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Cannon Pension. Clippings.
|
1991 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Clippings Packet. 1st Copy.
|
1991-1994 |
First Copy
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Cone and Chipman. Clippings.
|
1991-1995 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Cone. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Draft. Clippings.
|
1996 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Cone Mills. Action. Clippings.
|
1991 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 7 |
First Contract Settlements. Clippings.
|
1991-1997 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Health-Tex. Clippings.
|
1991 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Highland Yarn. Clippings.
|
1992-1994 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Lichtenberg Ratification Release. Clippings.
|
1989-1992 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Lichtenberg Settlement Press. Clippings.
|
1990-1992 |
Clippings
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Plant Reopenings. Clippings, Masters, and First Copies.
|
1991-1993 |
Clippings, Masters and First Copies
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Plant Re-Opening Story. Clippings.
|
1991-1993 |
Clippings
|