ILGWU Local 48 Records, 1926-1977
Collection Number: 5780/040

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
ILGWU Local 48 Records, 1926-1977
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/040
Abstract:
The collection contains records of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Local 48, Italian Cloakmakers Union, including minutes of membership and Executive Board meetings, files on elections, notes, and correspondence.
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU). Local 48
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Quanitities:
2.5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English, Italian

Biographical / Historical

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.

Biographical / Historical

Local 48 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), also known as the Italian Cloakmakers' Union, was chartered by members of Local 1 and Local 35 in 1916 and based in New York, New York. As membership and industry declined in the 1970s, the local became Local 48 United Coat, Suit and Allied Garment Workers' Union of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island (coat and suit workers in all crafts in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island), and later Local 48 Coat, Suit, Dress, Rainwear and Allied Workers Union of North Brooklyn. In late 1981, the Joint Board approved a measure to dissolve Local 48, and Local 89 was renamed Local 89-48 to honor the historic significance of the Italian cloakmakers.

Much of the collection is composed of minutes of the Executive Board. There are also minutes of the Membership meetings. All of the meeting minutes are in Italian.
Material appearing in English includes cases before the Appeal Committee, notes and correspondence. There is substantial information on local elections, including lists of candidates for upcoming elections, nominations, and rejection notices to candidates informing them they are not qualified to run. The Examination and Objection Committee was to consider the qualifications of officers who were 65 and candidates in upcoming elections to determine their health and if they could perform their job.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Conditions Governing Use

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Preferred Citation

ILGWU Local 48 Records #5780/040. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Materials

Related Collections: 5780: ILGWU records 5780/041: ILGWU New York Cloak Joint Board Payroll Analysis 5780/040 mf: ILGWU Local 48 Executive Board Minutes on Microfilm 6036/102 P: Fabio Schettini ILGWU Photographs 6036/102 MB: Fabio Schettini ILGWU Memorabilia 6036/102m: Fabio Schettini ILGWU Files 6036/102 PUBS: Fabio Schettini ILGWU Publications

SUBJECTS

Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 48 (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
Labor unions--Clothing workers--New York (State)--New York.
Clothing workers -- United States
Clothing workers--New York (State)--New York.
Industrial relations -- United States
Industrial relations--New York (State)--New York.

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Folder 1
Cases
1960-1963
Box 1 Folder 2
Certificates
Box 1 Folder 3
Dinner in Honor of Molisani
1951-1956
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 4
Elections
1940-1942
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 5
Elections
1944
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 6
Elections
1947
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 7
Election- Examination and Objection Committee
1950
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 8
Election- Examination and Objection Committee
1953
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 9
Italian Labor Center
1926-1944
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 10
Monteodorisio
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 11
Trip to Italy
1949
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 12
Local 48 Notes and Correspondence [folder 1 of 2]
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 1 Folder 13
Local 48 Notes and Correspondence [folder 2 of 2]
Scope and Contents
English and Italian
Box 2 Folder 1
Fourth Section Minutes
1932-1940
Box 2 Folder 2
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 3]
1932-1937
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 3
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 3]
1932-1937
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 4
Executive Board Minutes [folder 3 of 3]
1932-1937
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 5
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 2]
1939-1941
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 6
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 2]
1939-1941
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 7
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 3]
1941-1945
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 8
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 3]
1941-1945
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 9
Executive Board Minutes [folder 3 of 3]
1941-1945
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 10
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 2]
1947-1950
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 11
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 2]
1947-1950
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 12
Misc. Administrative Documents [Italian]
Box 2 Folder 13
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 2]
1950-1952
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 14
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 2]
1950-1952
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 15
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 3]
1953-1956
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 16
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 3]
1953-1956
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 17
Executive Board Minutes [folder 3 of 3]
1953-1956
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 18
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 2]
1956-1959
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 19
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 2]
1956-1959
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 2 Folder 20
Primo Distretto Sessione
1929-1936
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 1
Membership Minutes [folder 1 of 2]
1956-1959
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 2
Membership Minutes [folder 2 of 2]
1956-1959
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 3
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 4]
1959-1962
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 4
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 4]
1959-1962
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 5
Executive Board Minutes [folder 3 of 4]
1959-1962
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 6
Executive Board Minutes [folder 4 of 4]
1959-1962
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 7
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 3]
1962-1965
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 8
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 3]
1962-1965
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 9
Executive Board Minutes [folder 3 of 3]
1962-1965
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 10
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 3]
1965-1968
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 11
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 3]
1965-1968
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 12
Executive Board Minutes [folder 3 of 3]
1965-1968
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 13
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 2]
1968-1971
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 14
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 2]
1968-1971
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 15
Executive Board Minutes [folder 1 of 2]
1973-1977
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 16
Executive Board Minutes [folder 2 of 2]
1973-1977
Scope and Contents
Italian
Box 3 Folder 17
Executive Board Minutes and Membership
1971-1974