ILGWU Local 35 Records
Collection Number: 5780/031
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU Local 35 Records, 1927-1977
Collection Number:
5780/031
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment
Workers' Union (ILGWU). Local 35;
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Quantity:
3 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Records, minutes, speeches .
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The records of Local 35 includes minutes of Executive Board
and Health and Welfare Fund meetings, speeches and reports of Manager Morris Kovler,
as well as some correspondence and financial data.
Language:
Collection material in English, Yiddish, Chinese
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor
unions in the United States founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing
about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States. It was one of the
first U.S. Unions to have a membership consisting of mostly females, and it played a
key role in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s. The union is generally
referred to as the "ILGWU" or the "ILG". The ILGWU grew in geographical scope,
membership size, and 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. The
ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1995 to form
the Union of Needle trades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged
with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a
new union known as UNITE HERE. The two unions that formed UNITE in 1995 represented
only 250,000 workers between them, down from the ILGWU's peak membership of 450,000
in 1969.
Local 35 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), also known as
the Coat, Suit, Sportswear and Allied Garment Pressers Union, was chartered in 1903
and based in New York, New York.
The records of Local 35 are delineated into four series. The first series consists
primarily of speeches. The speeches range in topic and type of address, from
upcoming elections, nominations, union business, the industry, and often given at
local meetings. They are typed out for reading and include edits. They were most
likely given by Morris Kovler, who was elected manager of Local 35 in 1957.
The second series contains reports to the membership. These documents include
information on new styles and fabric for the upcoming season, as well as patterns.
There is general correspondence as well as financial information such as income and
expenditures, and lists of shops that had given raises.
The third series consists of the bound minute books from the Executive Board
meetings. The majority of these are in handwritten Yiddish. The final series is
composed of a single minute book of the Health and Welfare Fund of Local 35. The
first half of the minutes are in Yiddish, while later years appear in English.
Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Local 35 (New York, N.Y.)
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry--United States.
Women's clothing industry--New York (State)--New
York.
Clothing workers--Labor unions--United States.
Clothing workers--Labor unions--New York
(State)--New York.
Clothing trade--United States.
Clothing trade--New York (State)--New York.
Industrial relations--United States.
Industrial relations--New York (State)--New York.
Form and Genre Terms:
Records.
Minutes.
Speeches.
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:
ILGWU Local 35 Records #5780/031. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation
and Archives, Cornell University Library.
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1976 | |
|
Contains material in Chinese
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1975 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1976 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1973 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | 1972 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | 1971 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | 1969-1970 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | 1968 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | 1967 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | 1966 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | 1965 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | 1964 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | 1964 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 | 1963 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 | 1962 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 | 1961 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | 1958-1959 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | 1958 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 | 1958 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 | 1957 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 | 1927-1928 | |
|
Yiddish
|
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| Box 3 | Folder 2 | 1928-1931 | |
|
Yiddish
|
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| Box 3 | Folder 3 | 1931-1934 | |
|
Yiddish
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 4 | 1934-1936 | |
|
Yiddish
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 5 | 1936-1939 | |
|
Yiddish
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 6 | 1939-1943 | |
|
Yiddish
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 7 | 1943-1949 | |
|
Yiddish
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 8 | 1949-1955 | |
|
Yiddish
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 1 | 1955-1962 | |
|
Yiddish
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 2 | 1962-1972 | |
|
Yiddish and English
|
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| Box 4 | Folder 3 | 1972-1977 | |
|
English
|
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| Box 4 | Folder 4 | 1942-1977 | |
|
Yiddish and English
|
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