ILGWU Local 23-25 Records

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.

Locals 23 and 25 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), as well as the local resulting from their merger, local 23-25, also known as the Blouse, Skirt, and Sportswear Workers' Union, were based in New York, New York. Local 23 was chartered in 1903; Local 25 was chartered in 1905. Locals 23 and 25 merged and changed their name to 23-25 officially on November 27, 1963.

The first portion of the collection is composed of minutesnot just for Local 23-25, but for its predecessor locals. Early minutes dating back to the 1930s are available for both Local 23 and Local 25. The early minutes are bound and handwritten. Later years include minutes not just for the Executive Board, but also the Membership, Finance, and Grievance Committees, as well as the Health Plans and Skirt and Sportswear Retirement Fund. Meetings for Local 23-25 do not occur until after the merger in 1963. There are also financial documents and ledgers for the Sick Benefit and Health and Welfare Funds and General.

The bulk of the records document the local's activities in the 1970s through the 1990s, and includes files of Edgar Romney (Manager), May Chen (Assistant Director of Local 23-25 Education Program and Assistant Director of the ILGWU Immigration Project), and Susan Cowell (Assistant to the Manager and later, Vice- President). May Chen's files include substantial material on the local's Worker-Family Education Program, and document Chen's organizing with the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the Asian Labor Committee.

Information on the local can be found in "Local 23-25 Three Year Report," the Report to the General Executive Board (GEB), which provides a synopsis of the locals' yearly activities, Local 23-25 press releases, the digest of newspaper articles from the Chinatown Press, and speeches and remarks by Edgar Romney.

There is additional material on CLUW (Coalition of Labor Union Women) and the members of Local 23-25 that composed the Chinese Committee (see also 5780/095). The local had an active Education Department reflected through the material on English language classes (ESL), sewing classes and citizenship classes aimed at the immigrant members of the local.

Topics with substantial research potential in the collection include the day care center. Members of Local 23-25 worked together to open the Garment Industry Day Care Center in Chinatown for the working mothers of the union. It was the first public-private industrial day care in New York City created through a cooperative effort of Local 23-25 the Greater Blouse, Skirt and Undergarment Association, and the Agency for Child Development of the City of New York.

The collection documents the struggle between the members of Local 23-25 and the contractors in Chinatown. The contractors were unwilling to negotiate a new contract with the union and resulted in 15,000 members of Local 23-25 converging for a rally in Chinatown on June 24, 1982 to garner support for a new contract with chants of "we are one." A second rally held in Columbus Park on July 15, 1982 attracted another 15,000 union members, Chinese garment workers and supporters. The large assembly marched through Chinatown and set up pickets at the unsigned shops and within a few hours, all employers had signed the new agreement. The collection contains information from the local documenting their struggle with the contract negotiations. Items of particular importance include: "Local 23-25 Three Year Report, 1980-1982," newsletters and pamphlets, Local 23-25 Executive Board meeting minutes, and especially press clippings and articles that document the entirety of the dispute from the early contract negotiations to the strike, from a wide range of press sources including Pei Mei News, Sino Daily Express, The United Journal, The World Journal, Women's Wear Daily, New York Post, China Post and China Daily News.

Local 23-25 was very actively involved in immigration matters confronting the immigration members of the union. The Immigration Project was established by ILGWU Local 23-25 on November 19, 1982 to meet the legal challenges confronting the many of its thousands of foreign born members. The project aimed to offer comprehensive immigration legal service at no cost to union members beginning November 22, 1982 and was the first of its kind for a labor union. The Immigration Project counseled members on their rights, processed petitions for adjustment status for permanent residence, provided representation at deportation hearings, processed applications for citizenship, developed and disseminated educational and informational material on immigrant rights. It included all members and retirees of Local 23-25 were eligible, as well as their spouses and dependent children. The project assembled a staff of lawyers, paralegals, social workers, and a multilingual staff that included Spanish and Chinese speakers. They offered English language classes and conducted courses in English and U. S. history and government. In 1987, the Immigration Project was the only union selected as a "Qualified Designated Entity." With the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, the Immigration Project expanded to meet the needs of the undocumented members of the entire union. At no cost, union members were offered free immigration counseling and legal representation. The staff sought to inform the members and employers of the new law and the services that were now provided. Informational leaflets and local news stories to educated the membership across the country and meetings and radio programs. The collection contains many of the records of the Immigration Project, information on legalization, immigration forms and instructions, citizenship and ESL classes offered by the local, and publicity and press.

Related Collections:
5780: ILGWU records
5780/059 P: ILGWU Local 23-25 Photographs
5780/059 PUBS: ILGWU Local 23-25 Publications
5780/095: ILGWU Local 23-25 Records
5780/095 G: ILGWU Local 23-25 Graphics
5780/042: ILGWU Local 25 Publication "L'Operaia"
5780/139 mf: ILGWU Local 25 Publication "L'Operaia" on Microfilm
5780/071: ILGWU Local 25 Publication "The Message"