ILGWU. Local 40 records
Collection Number: 5780/035
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU. Local 40 records, 1933-1977
Collection Number:
5780/035
Creator:
Local 40
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
(ILGWU).
Quantity:
3 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Minutes, reports, correspondence, newsletters.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives,
Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The collection contains the records of International Ladies' Garment
Workers' Union Local 40, Beltmakers Union. Includes minutes of the Executive Board, Membership,
Grievance Board, and Committee meetings. Also includes correspondence, agreements, election
files, financial reports, strike files, and issues of the local's publication, The Belt
Maker.
Language:
Collection material in English
Founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the
northeastern United States, the ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, 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. In
1995, the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) to form
the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE).
Having no union of their own for the first two decades of the twentieth century, beltmakers in
1918 appealed to the executive board of the Fancy Leather Goods Workers' Union to undertake an
organizing drive. Met with enthusiastic response, almost all beltmakers in New York soon joined
the union. These organized members demanded union recognition, a forty four hour week and a
thirty percent wage increase. A work stoppage in September 1918 forced employers to the
negotiating table. Unwilling to agree to a wage increase, a strike on September 3 brought the
belt industry to a standstill. An agreement was reached, but soon the large firms began moving
their factories outside of the city and of union control. Between 1919 and 1933, beltmakers in
New York were left without a union. By the 1930s, the belt industry saw significant increases in
workers and production, especially in the field of women's belts. In 1933, there began a series
of walkouts and meetings among workers with the intent to organize. A general strike of 900
workers took place on September 13, 1933 and the employers retaliated with hostility. With the
aid of the ILGWU, in 1934 there began a series of walkouts, one shop at a time. Employers began
signing collective agreements. While Beltmakers' Union Local 40 was chartered in 1934, it was
officially installed as a local of the ILGWU in February 1935.
The first half of the collection consists of various minutes. There are minutes of the
Executive Board, minutes of the Health and Welfare Committee, minutes of the Grievance Board,
and minutes of the Retirement Benefits Fund.
The earliest minutes of the Executive Board are handwritten. Later years contain reports from
the various committees as well as the manager's report and a report on the local's finances. The
Grievance Board minutes consist of cases that came before the Grievance Board, identified by
case number, date, individual grievant and a summary.
Posters announce early meetings of the beltmakers, before the union was chartered. Also in the
records are the first agreements with employers, election materials for the new local, and the
local's publication "The Belt Maker."
Local 40 produced numerous publications on benefits, plans, and shop conditions. There are
publications about the benefits of membership and introductory material for new members, a guide
to the union, information about union dues, and a constitution and by-laws. Most interesting are
the booklets on belts and belt making. There are diagrams illustrating the different styles of
belts and how to sew them. One can also find a booklet on the history of beltmakers and Local
40. Publications were printed both in English and Spanish.
Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 40.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry--United States.
Labor unions--Clothing workers--United States.
Clothing workers--United States.
Industrial relations--United States.
Form and Genre Terms:
Records.
Minutes.
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:
ILGWU. Local 40 records #5780/035. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library.
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1934-1936 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1937-1940 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1937-1940 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1941-1944 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | 1941-1944 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | 1944-1950 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | 1944-1950 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | 1951-1960 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | 1951-1960 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | 1961-1967 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | 1961-1967 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | 1939-1944 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | 1946-1955 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | 1956-1967 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | 1956-1967 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 | 1939-1941 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 | 1939-1941 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 | 1945-1956 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | 1953-1964 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | 1953-1964 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | 1959-1973 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 5 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 6 | 1964-1972 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 9 | 1935-1938 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 | 1933-1960 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 2 | 1933 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 3 | 1935-1939 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 4 | 1942-1947 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 5 | 1950 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 6 | 1934-1935 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 7 | 1937 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 8 | 1936-1937 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 9 | 1937 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 10 | 1938 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 11 | 1939 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 12 | 1940-1946 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 13 | 1947-1957 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 14 | 1958-1977 | |