ILGWU Local 22 Education Department Records
Collection Number: 5780/057
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU Local 22 Education
Department Records, 1930-1979
Collection Number:
5780/057
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment
Workers' Union (ILGWU). Local 22;
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Quantity:
2 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Clippings, correspondence, newsletters,
photographs, speeches.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The records of the Education Department of Local 22 consist
of correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletters, programs, photographs, and
speeches documenting the activities of the Department from the 1930s to the 1970s.
In addition to documentating the Department's activities, there is material on the
local's political involvement with the Liberal Party of New York State and some
items about aid to the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. There are also
some materials dealing with international labor cooperation, civil rights, and
communism in the U.S. Correspondents include Joseph Mazur and Saby
Nehama.
Language:
Collection material in English
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.
The Education Department of Local 22 was developed to further the educational and
cultural development of the Local's membership. It routinely sponsored lectures and
courses on a variety of labor and other topics; it also offered musical and dramatic
performances on a regular basis, either for or featuring its membership.
Local 22 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), also known as
the Dressmakers' Union, was chartered in December 1920 and based in New York City.
The dress industry formed its own Joint Board in 1921 composed of Local 22
Dressmakers, Local 25 Waistmakers, Local 58 Waist Buttonhole Makers, Local 60 Waist
and Dress Pressers, Local 66 Bonnaz Embroidery Workers, Local 89 Italian Waist and
Dressmakers, and the waist and dress branch of Cutters' Local 10. A general work
stoppage in February 1923 in the dress industry won the union a 40 hour week and 10
percent wage increase, as well as a large gain of new members. During the summer of
1923, after years of discussion and deliberation, the two dress locals, Local 23 and
22 were consolidated. The dressmakers from Local 23 transferred to Local 22 and
subsequently Local 22 joined the New York Cloakmakers' Joint Board. Soon, the Dress
and Waist Joint Board became unnecessary and was dissolved. Local 25 Waistmakers
were left without an affiliated organization and in October 1924 merged with the
Dressmakers' Union, Local 22.
By the end of 1926, the Communists had gained control of the dress organization in
New York City and the union barely existed. In February 4, 1930, 25,000 dressmakers
walked out of the shops. The strike was called to reorganize dressmakers and finally
abolish the Communist influence in the industry. On April 8, 1930 the General
Executive Board decided to separate the dressmakers from the Cloakmakers' Joint
Board. In 1931, Charles Zimmerman formed a committee to rebuild Local 22. He was
elected to executive board of Local 22 in 1932, and elected manager-secretary in
1933. Another walkout in all dress shops, both union and non-union on August 16,
1933 brought the dress industry to a halt.
Zimmerman left Local 22 in 1958 to become manager of the Dress Joint Board. Israel
Breslow succeeded him as manager of Local 22 from 1958 until his retirement in 1975.
By 1975, the New York Dress Joint Board completed restructuring of affiliate locals,
and Locals 60-60A, 159, and 38 were merged into existing Locals 22 and 89. Local 22
gained jurisdiction over all dressmakers in Manhattan. In the 1980s, more locals
were dissolved and members transferred to Local 22, but by 1984, Local 22 saw
restructuring as well. Changes in the garment industry necessitated the dissolution
of the Joint Board and Local 22 into the new Local 89-22-1.
The records of the Education Department of Local 22 are made up of correspondence,
newspaper clippings, newsletters, programs, photographs and speeches documenting the
activities of the department from the 1930s to the 1970s. The newsletters, pamphlets
and brochures detail the multitude of events and activities organized by the
Education Department. The calendars in the collection show with daily listings, and
illustrate the wide range of offerings with recreation such as concerts and gym
classes, tap dancing and art workshops, and education with classes in English,
citizenship, public speaking, trade unionism, social labor and legislation.
The Education Department held dances and festivals, often specific to the many ethnic
groups in the union, and organized excursions such as boat cruises, outings to Unity
House, trips to Puerto Rico, and a tour of Spain, North Africa and Portugal. There
are also records of Club 22, which was comprised of the women members of Local 22.
Club 22 planned activities such as dances and holiday parties, and brought in
speakers and held lectures. The collection contains programs, fliers and
correspondence detailing the events put on by the club for each calendar year.
Within the local there was the Dressmakers Liberal Party Club formed in reaction to
the passage of the Taft-Hartley bill to organize dressmakers for effective action on
the political field. The group held meetings to discuss campaigns, candidates, and
current politics that could affect dressmakers, and the records include membership
lists, correspondence, and information about meetings.
The second series of the collection contains the correspondence of Saby Nehama.
Nehama was the secretary of the Dressmakers Liberal Party, a Business Agent for
Local 22, and worked in the Education Department.
Names:
Mazur, Joseph.
Nehama, Saby.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Local 22 (New York, N.Y.).Education Dept.
Liberal Party of New York State.
Subjects:
Civil rights--United States.
Communism--United States.
International labor activities.
Labor unions and education--New York (State)--New
York.
Working class--Education--New York (State)--New
York.
Geographic Subjects:
New York (State)--Politics and
government--1865-1950.
New York (State)--Politics and government--1951-
.
Spain--History-- Civil War, 1936-1939.
Form and Genre Terms:
Clippings
Correspondence
Newsletters
Photographs
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 22 Education Department Records #5780/057. Kheel Center for
Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections:
5780/014: ILGWU Local 22, Charles S. Zimmerman Papers
5780/014 P: ILGWU Local 22, Charles S. Zimmerman Photographs
5780/015: ILGWU Local 22 Records
5780/036: ILGWU Local 22 Minutes
5780/057 P: ILGWU Local 22 Education Department Photographs
5780/067: ILGWU Local 22 Israel Breslow Papers
5780/014: ILGWU Local 22, Charles S. Zimmerman Papers
5780/014 P: ILGWU Local 22, Charles S. Zimmerman Photographs
5780/015: ILGWU Local 22 Records
5780/036: ILGWU Local 22 Minutes
5780/057 P: ILGWU Local 22 Education Department Photographs
5780/067: ILGWU Local 22 Israel Breslow Papers
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1963 | |
Robert Kennedy letter w. enclosed report on the progress in the field of
civil rights.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1948-1957 | |
Announcements, programs, printed material and related correspondence.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1958-1963 | |
Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1962 | |
Includes undated material.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 5 | 1946-1951 | |
Box 1 | Folder 6 | 1948-1973 | |
Box 1 | Folder 7 | 1950 | |
Newspaper clippings.
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 8 | 1962-1963 | |
Box 1 | Folder 9 | 1948-1950 | |
Incl. text of conversation between James B. Carey (CIO) and Giuseppe Di
Vittorio (Italian Confederation of Labor).
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 10 | 1933-1979 | |
Announcements and programs.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 1 | ||
Local newsletter.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 2 | 1961-1971 | |
Report 1962. Financial data, 1961,1971.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 3 | 1936-1957 | |
Box 2 | Folder 4 | 1949-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 5 | 1949-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 6 | 1949-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 7 | 1949-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 8 | 1950-1966 | |
Wilson Line Contracts.
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 9 | 1975 | |
Thesis for B.A. Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass. 1975, 116
pp.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 1 | 1940 | |
Box 3 | Folder 2 | 1952-1971 | |
General.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 3 | 1947-1960 | |
Call to meetings.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 4 | 1947-1960 | |
Call to meetings.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 5 | 1961-1970 | |
District lists
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 6 | 1951-1963 | |
Membership lists
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 1 | 1948-1961 | |
Box 4 | Folder 2 | 1965-1974 | |
Box 4 | Folder 3 | 1934-1959 | |
Box 4 | Folder 4 | 1964 | |
Croton-on-Hudson. June 1964.
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 5 | 1937 | |
Trade Union Relief for Spain.
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 6 | 1930 | |
Incl. Left-wing material during the 1930's.
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 7 | 1950-1959 | |
Box 4 | Folder 8 | 1949-1957 | |
Box 4 | Folder 9 | 1949-1968 | |
Box 4 | Folder 10 | 1954-1957 | |
9/1/54-7/3/57. Correspondence during leave of absence in Spain &
Mexico.
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 11 | 1962-1969 | |
Corres. w. trade unions in Central & South America.
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 12 | 1937-1952 | |
Letters from Spanish Republican militiamen who came to U.S. for aid.
Subsequent letters from these visitors.
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 13 | 1955-1968 | |
Box 5 | |||
Box 6 |