ILGWU Union Health Center Records, 1910-1984
Collection Number: 5780/060

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


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
ILGWU Union Health Center Records, 1910-1984
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/060
Abstract:
Correspondence, annual reports, articles, financial statements, and other materials documenting the evolving role of the ILGWU Union Health Center.
Creator:
Union Health Center
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Quanitities:
7 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English, Italian, Yiddish

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

In 1913, the New York City locals of the ILGWU established the Union Health Center (UHC), under the direction of Dr. George Price of the Joint Board of Sanitary Control. Initially, the UHC offered physical exams, medical treatments, access to a dental clinic, and information about health and hygiene. For a period, the center operated through a cooperative plan, with patients paying a fee and the union subsidizing the rest of the cost of the visit. During the Depression, the cost of running the center was met by other means. This included getting other local unions in New York City, such as the electrical workers, metal workers, letter carriers, post office clerks, and pocketbook workers, to affiliate with the UHC, as well as winning an official endorsement from the Central Labor Union of New York. Beginning in the 1940s, New York City manufacturers agreed to contribute to a fund that would cover the cost of medical services provided to members at the UHC.
By the 1960s, the UHC offered comprehensive care to ILGWU members and their families, and over the years, the center's range of services expanded to include social and psychological services, eye exams, maternity care, and surgical consultation. The Union Health Center continues its work today at 275 Seventh Avenue, in New York City.

The records of the Union Health Center document the evolving role of the center. Included are general correspondence, meeting minutes of the UHC's medical board, annual reports on the UHC's activities to the General Executive Board, triennial reports to delegates at the ILGWU's international conventions, and related published materials. Much of this material is routine or administrative in nature.
In both collections that comprise the records of the Union Health Center, there are articles by such figures as George M. Price and Pauline Newman on union health centers in general and the ILGWU Center in particular. The publications of the Union Health Center primarily document the educational efforts of the center, providing information about the center, its services, and its activities. Also included are pamphlets about the ILGWU's health and welfare benefits program and publications from the Joint Board of Sanitary Control.
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 Union Health Center Records #5780/060. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Materials

Related Collections: 5780: ILGWU records 5780/171: ILGWU Union Health Center Publications

SUBJECTS

Names:
Newman, Pauline.
Price, George M. (George Moses), 1864-1942.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Union Health Center.
Subjects:
Clothing workers--Labor unions--New York (State)--New York.
Clothing workers--Health and hygiene--New York (State)--New York.
Clothing trade-- Employees--Medical care--New York (State)--New York.
Health promotion--New York (State)--New York.
Labor union members--Health and hygiene--New York (State)--New York.
Medical centers-- New York (State)--New York.
Medical centers--Administration.

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Folder 1
General Correspondence
1927-1932
Box 1 Folder 2
General Correspondence
1933-1934
Box 1 Folder 3
General Correspondence
1935
Box 1 Folder 4
General Correspondence
1936
Box 1 Folder 5a
General Correspondence [folder 1 of 2]
1937
Box 1 Folder 5b
General Correspondence [folder 2 of 2]
1937
Box 1 Folder 6
General Correspondence
1938-1939
Box 1 Folder 7
General Correspondence
1940-1942
Box 1 Folder 8
General Correspondence
1943-1946
Box 1 Folder 9
General Correspondence
1947
Box 1 Folder 10
General Correspondence
1948
Box 1 Folder 11
General Correspondence
1949-1950
Box 1 Folder 12
General Correspondence
1951-1952
Box 1 Folder 13
General Correspondence
1953-1954
Box 1 Folder 14
General Correspondence
1955-1957
Box 1 Folder 15
General Correspondence
1958-1960
Box 1 Folder 16
General Correspondence
1961-1974
Box 2 Folder 1
Adopted Children, World War II
1948-1952
Box 2 Folder 2
Articles by Pauline Newman
1930-1939
Scope and Contents
Many are undated.
Box 2 Folder 3
Broadcasts
1938
Box 2 Folder 4
Finances [folder 1 of 3]
1945-1956
Scope and Contents
Budgets, fees, salaries for medical staff.
Box 2 Folder 5
Finances [folder 2 of 3]
1945-1956
Scope and Contents
Budgets, fees, salaries for medical staff.
Box 2 Folder 6
Finances [folder 3 of 3]
1945-1956
Scope and Contents
Budgets, fees, salaries for medical staff.
Box 2 Folder 7
Form letters
1928-1935
Box 2 Folder 8
Health Plans of Locals [folder 1 of 2]
1930-1959
Box 2 Folder 9
Health Plans of Locals [folder 2 of 2]
1930-1959
Box 2 Folder 10
History of the Union Health Center.
Box 3 Folder 1
Minutes of Medical Board meetings, reports and memos
1931-1936
Box 3 Folder 2
Minutes
1937-1939
Box 3 Folder 3
Minutes
1940-1943
Box 3 Folder 4
Minutes
1944-1946
Box 3 Folder 5
Minutes
1947-1950
Box 3 Folder 6
Minutes
1951-1960
Box 3 Folder 7
Minutes
1961-1977
Box 3 Folder 8
Newsletters
1926-1951
Box 3 Folder 9
Notes, personal memos.
Box 4 Folder 1
Office Employees' International Union, Local 153
1943-1946
Box 4 Folder 2
Office Employees' International Union, Local 153
1947-1948
Box 4 Folder 3
Office Employees' International Union, Local 153
1949-1951
Box 4 Folder 4
Office Employees' International Union, Local 153
1952-1956
Box 4 Folder 5
Price, George
1942
Box 4 Folder 6
Programs
1930-1949
Box 4 Folder 7
Starr, Mark
1936-1951
Box 4 Folder 8
A Study of the Health Protection Afforded Members of the ILGWU, by Francis T. Dover
1939
Scope and Contents
March 1939.
Box 4 Folder 9
Newspaper Clippings. [folder 1 of 3]
Box 4 Folder 10
Newspaper Clippings. [folder 2 of 3]
Box 4 Folder 11
Newspaper Clippings. [folder 3 of 3]
Box 5 Folder 1
Annual Report
1911
Scope and Contents
Oct. 1911.
Box 5 Folder 2
Annual Report
1912
Scope and Contents
Dec. 1912.
Box 5 Folder 3
Annual Report
1913
Scope and Contents
December 1913.
Box 5 Folder 4
Annual Report
1914
Scope and Contents
October 1914.
Box 5 Folder 5
Annual Report
1915
Scope and Contents
October 1915.
Box 5 Folder 6
Annual Report
1916
Scope and Contents
October 1916.
Box 5 Folder 7
Annual Report
1917
Scope and Contents
Seventh Year Work and Progress, October 1917.
Box 5 Folder 8
Annual Report
1917
Box 5 Folder 9
Annual Report
1921
Box 5 Folder 10
Annual Report
1922
Box 5 Folder 11
Annual Report
1923
Box 5 Folder 12
Annual Report
1924
Box 5 Folder 13
Report, Fifteenth Anniversary
1910-1925
Box 5 Folder 14
Annual Report
1926
Box 5 Folder 15
Annual Report
1930
Scope and Contents
From Medical and Dental Departments.
Box 6 Folder 1
Report, 21st Anniversary of the Union Health Center
1934
Box 6 Folder 2
Report of the Director
1934
Box 6 Folder 3
Report of the Director
1935
Box 6 Folder 4
Report of the Director
1936
Box 6 Folder 5
Report to the 23rd Convention
1937
Scope and Contents
May 1937.
Box 6 Folder 6
Report to the 24th Convention.
1913-1940
Box 6 Folder 7
Annual Report
1940
Box 6 Folder 8
Annual Report
1941
Box 6 Folder 9
Annual Report
1942
Box 6 Folder 10
Annual Report
1943
Box 6 Folder 11
Triennial Report
1944-1946
Box 6 Folder 12
Triennial Report
1947-1949
Box 7 Folder 1
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1948-1949
Box 7 Folder 2
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1950-1951
Box 7 Folder 3
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1954
Box 7 Folder 4
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1955
Box 7 Folder 5
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1956
Box 7 Folder 6
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1957
Box 7 Folder 7
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1958
Box 7 Folder 8
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1959
Box 7 Folder 9
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1960
Box 7 Folder 10
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1961-1962
Box 7 Folder 11
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1963
Box 7 Folder 12
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1964
Box 7 Folder 13
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1965
Box 7 Folder 14
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1966
Box 7 Folder 15
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1967
Box 8 Folder 1
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1968
Box 8 Folder 2
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1969-1970
Box 8 Folder 3
Report of the UHC Committee of the G.E.B.
1975
Box 8 Folder 4
Report, UHC financial statement
1960
Box 8 Folder 5
Report, UHC financial statement
1961
Box 8 Folder 6
Report, UHC financial statement
1962
Box 8 Folder 7
Report, UHC financial statement
1963
Box 8 Folder 8
Report, UHC financial statement
1964
Box 9 Folder 1
Report, UHC financial statement
1965
Box 9 Folder 2
Report, UHC financial statement
1966
Box 9 Folder 3
Report, UHC financial statement
1967
Box 9 Folder 4
Report, UHC financial statement
1968
Box 9 Folder 5
Report, UHC financial statement
1969
Box 10 Folder 1
Report, monthly departmental activities of the UHC
1951-1960
Box 10 Folder 2
Are Labor's Health Centers A Threat to Doctors?
1954
Scope and Contents
Reprint, Medical Economics, Inc. October 1954.
Box 10 Folder 3
Union Benefits, Medical and Other Benefits in Labor Organizations. By George M. Price
1918
Scope and Contents
Presented to the ILGWU Convention May 1918.
Box 10 Folder 4
Bulletins. Joint Board of Sanitary Control in the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Industry, no.1-4
1911
Box 10 Folder 5
Bulletins. Joint Board of Sanitary Control, no.5-6
1912
Box 10 Folder 6
Bulletins. Joint Board of Sanitary Control, no.7-10
1913
Box 10 Folder 7
Bulletin of the Joint Board of Sanitary Control.
1914
Scope and Contents
May 1914.
Box 10 Folder 8
Manufacturers' Bulletin of the Joint Board of Sanitary Control.
1914
Scope and Contents
September 1914.
Box 10 Folder 9
Workers' Bulletin of the Joint Board of Sanitary Control
1914
Scope and Contents
vol. 1 no. 3, September 1914.
Box 10 Folder 10
Bulletins. Workers' Health Bulletin
1915
Scope and Contents
English, Yiddish, Italian
Box 10 Folder 11
Bulletins. Joint Board of Sanitary Control
1915
Box 10 Folder 12
Bulletins. Joint Board of Sanitary Control
1919-1920
Scope and Contents
vol. 1, no. 1, August 1919. vol. 1, no. 2, September 1919. vol. 1, no. 3, October 1919. vol. 2, no. 4, January 1920.
Box 10 Folder 13
Ceremonies and Inspection of Facilities Marking the Completion of the Expansion Program
1949
Scope and Contents
February 19, 1949.
Box 10 Folder 14
Cleveland Health Center.
1951
Scope and Contents
Official opening Nov. 17, 1951.
Box 10 Folder 15
The Union Dental Clinic
1918
Box 10 Folder 16
Dental Department, 10th Anniversary
1917-1927
Scope and Contents
May 1917-27.
Box 10 Folder 17
Dental Department report
1931
Scope and Contents
Includes pamphlet (n.d.).
Box 10 Folder 18
Department for Social Welfare, New York City. Report on Union Health Center
1935-1940
Box 10 Folder 19
Education and Social Service Department
1935-1964
Scope and Contents
Reports.
Box 10 Folder 20
Fee Schedule, Union Health Center
1969
Box 11 Folder 1
Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of the Union Health Center
1964
Scope and Contents
Programs, plans, lists.
Box 11 Folder 2
Fire Hazards in Factory Buildings
1915
Scope and Contents
December 1915.
Box 11 Folder 3
Fire Hazards in Factory Buildings
1923
Box 11 Folder 4
Fire Protection. Manufacturers' Bulletin
1915
Scope and Contents
Issued by the Jt. Board. of Sanitary Control, March 1915.
Box 11 Folder 5
Four Hundred Prescriptions per Day Filled by A Labor Union", by Peter Kamitchis.
1949
Scope and Contents
Reprint from American Druggist, November 1949.
Box 11 Folder 6
Graphic Report of the Health Programs of ILGWU Locals
1940
Box 11 Folder 7
Health Center News.
1926-1932
Box 11 Folder 8
Health News
1931
Scope and Contents
Published by the New York State Department of Health, July 1931.
Box 11 Folder 9
Health Services, dedicated to the delegates, Golden Jubilee Convention
1950
Box 11 Folder 10
History in the Making, by Max Meyer
1948
Scope and Contents
Address before the Eighth Annual Congress on Industrial Health of the AMA.
Box 11 Folder 11
If I am not for Myself, Who will be for Me? By George M. Price
1914
Scope and Contents
May 1914.
Box 11 Folder 13
Justice, reprints (re Union Health Center,)
1943-1946
Box 11 Folder 14
Labor laws re women workers
1920-1939
Scope and Contents
Articles, unpublished, manuscripts.
Box 11 Folder 15
Laundry Minimum Wage Board
1937-1938
Box 11 Folder 16
Local Health Plans
1951
Box 11 Folder 17
Manual for the Medical Staff
1960
Box 11 Folder 18
Medal for a Union, Fifty Years of the Union Health Center
1914-1964
Box 11 Folder 19
Menu Fourth Anniversary of the Foundation of the Jt. Board. of Sanitary Control.
1914
Scope and Contents
Oct. 1914.
Box 11 Folder 20
Minutes (reports of), luncheon meetings
1969-1970
Box 11 Folder 21
Miscellaneous documents.
Box 11 Folder 22
Miscellaneous documents.
Box 11 Folder 23
Newsletter, Bulletin for the Medical Staff
1950-1951
Box 12 Folder 1
Price, George M., articles. [folder 1 of 4]
Box 12 Folder 2
Price, George M., articles. [folder 2 of 4]
Box 12 Folder 3
Price, George M., articles. [folder 3 of 4]
Box 12 Folder 4
Price, George M., articles. [folder 4 of 4]
Box 12 Folder 5
Price, George M., biographical material.
Scope and Contents
Some correspondence. w. Leo Price.
Box 12 Folder 6
Price, Leo, articles.
Box 12 Folder 7
Questions and Answers, by Pauline Newman.
1940
Scope and Contents
Issued by the Education of the Union Health Center.
Box 12 Folder 8
Reports of the Union Health Center
1944-1945
Box 12 Folder 9
Sanitary Conditions in the Shops of the Dress and Waist Industry.
1913
Scope and Contents
Report by the Joint Board of Sanitary; Control. May 1913.
Box 12 Folder 10
Sanitorium Association Report to the 14th Convention
1918
Box 12 Folder 11
Seating and Posture. An inquiry made by the Jt. Board. of Sanitary Control into the conditions in the women's garment trades.
1923
Box 12 Folder 12
Security on the March. Health and welfare services of the ILGWU.
1954
Box 12 Folder 13
Sick Benefits to Dressmakers' Union Local 22. Report on the medical administration of.
1935
Box 12 Folder 14
Sick Benefits. Recommendations for claimants. (n.d.)
Box 12 Folder 15
Survey of the Union Health Center, by Henry B. Makeover, M.D.
1952
Box 12 Folder 16
A Survey of the Union Health Centers.
1958
Scope and Contents
Published by the American Medical Association.
Box 12 Folder 17
Union Health Center of the ILGWU.
1953
Scope and Contents
Reprint from Industrial Medicine and Surgery, Oct 1953
Box 12 Folder 18
The Union Health Center of the ILGWU. By Pauline Newman.
Scope and Contents
6 pp.
Box 12 Folder 19
The Union Health Center of the ILGWU.
1954
Scope and Contents
Extract from Public Health Service publication no. 329, Management Health Medical Programs.
Box 12 Folder 20
The Union Health Center. Health Department of Organized Labor, report.
1930
Box 13 Folder 1
The Union Health Center. Health Department of Organized Labor, report
1913-1931
Box 13 Folder 2
The Union Health Center. Health Department of Organized Labor, report
1913-1934
Box 13 Folder 3
The Union Health Center, Its Growth and Success. By Pauline Newman. Industrial Bulletin
1952
Scope and Contents
September 1952.
Box 13 Folder 4
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
1967
Scope and Contents
Attended by Pauline Newman.
Box 13 Folder 5
You and the Union Health Center. (n.d.)
Box 13 Folder 6
Your Union Health Center. Information Bulletin
1956
Box 13 Folder 7
Nurses Guild. Audits, correspondence., minutes, rules, regulations.
1954-1968
Box 14 Folder 1
21st Annual Report of the Union Health Center
1964
Box 14 Folder 2
Annual Report of the Union Health Center
1984
Box 14 Folder 3
Annual Report of the Union Health Center
1983
Box 14 Folder 4
Interim Report of the Union Health Center
1944-1945
Box 14 Folder 5
Report of the Union Health Center Committee of the General Executive Board
1946
Scope and Contents
June
Box 14 Folder 6
Union Health Center Board Meetings
1949
Scope and Contents
May 4, July 26, November 2
Box 14 Folder 7
Union Health Center Committee Reports
1951-1953
Box 14 Folder 8
Union Health Center Committee Report
1970
Box 14 Folder 9
Union Health Center Committee Report
1971
Box 14 Folder 10
Union Health Center Committee Report
1972
Box 14 Folder 11
Union Health Center Committee Report
1979
Box 14 Folder 12
Union Health Center Budget
1949-1951
Box 14 Folder 13
Union Health Center Formulary
1954
Box 14 Folder 14
Union Health Center pamphlets
Box 14 Folder 15
Los Angeles Union Health Center
1954
Scope and Contents
Report of Organization and Operation