ILGWU. Local 89 minutes,, 1919-1968.
Collection Number: 5780/064

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


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
ILGWU. Local 89 minutes, 1919-1968.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/064
Abstract:
This collection contains records of International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Local 64, the Italian Dressmakers' Union of New York City. Materials include meeting minutes.
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 89 (New York, N.Y.)
Quanitities:
4 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English and Italian.

Biographical / Historical

The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was founded in New York City in 1900 by mostly Socialist immigrant workers who sought to unite the various crafts in the growing women's garment industry. The union soon reflected changes in the sector and rapidly organized thousands of unskilled and semi-skilled women, mostly Jewish and Italian young immigrants. Exemplifying the "new unionism," the ILGWU led two of the most widespread and best-known industrial strikes of the early Twentieth Century: the shirtwaist makers' strike of 1909 in New York City and the cloak makers' strike of 1910 in Chicago. The union also tried to adapt to the fragmented and unstable nature of the industry. It adopted the "protocol of peace," a system of industrial relations that attempted to ensure stability and limit strikes and production disruption by providing for an arbitration system to resolve disputes.
The ILGWU exemplified the European-style social unionism of its founding members. They pursued bread and butter issues but provided educational opportunities, benefits, and social programs to union members as well. In 1919, the ILGWU became the first American union to negotiate an unemployment compensation fund that was contributed to by its employers. The ILGWU also pioneered in the establishment of an extremely progressive health care program for its members which included not only regional Union Health Centers but also a resort for union workers, known as Unity House. The Union also had an imaginative and pioneering Education Department which not only trained workers in traditional union techniques, but provided courses in citizenship and the English language.
David Dubinsky, an immigrant from Belarus who came to the US in 1911, provided strong leadership that led to unprecedented growth in the union during his presidency from 1932 to 1966. He led the union through successful internal anti-communist struggles, built on the ascendancy of industrial unionism by encouraging the formation of the Committee for Industrial Organization, and helped the union become an important political force in New York City and state politics, and in the national Democratic Party and Liberal Party as well.
In the period following the Second World War, the union suffered a decline in membership as manufacturers avoided unionization and took advantage of less expensive labor by moving shops from the urban centers in the northeast to the south, and later abroad. The ethnic and racial character of the ILGWU also changed as European immigrants were supplanted by Asians, Latin Americans, African- Americans, and immigrants from the Caribbean.
In July 1995 the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) at a joint convention, forming UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees). At the time the new union had a membership of about 250,000 in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Biographical / Historical

Local 89 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), also known as the Italian Dressmakers' Union, was based in New York, New York.

This collection contains records of International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Local 64, the Italian Dressmakers' Union of New York City. Materials include meeting minutes.
The ILGWU Records, except for publications and materials produced for publication, are restricted. Materials created prior to twenty years from the current date are open to researchers only with prior written permission from the Director of the Kheel Center; materials created during the past twenty-years are closed; the minutes of the General Executive Board are closed. For more information contact the Kheel Center.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Preferred Citation

ILGWU. Local 89 minutes. 5780/064. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.

Related Materials

5780. ILGWU records
5780/023. ILGWU. Local 89. Luigi Antonini correspondence
5780/024. ILGWU. Local 89 records
5780/213. ILGWU. Local 89-22-1 records

SUBJECTS

Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 89 (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
Series I. Committee minutes, 1919-1971
Box 1 Folder 1
Advisory Board. Main District and Branch Offices Minutes.
1934-1935
Scope and Contents
May 1934 - December 1935
Box 1 Folder 2
Appeal Committee.
1934-1941
Scope and Contents
June 1934 - December 1941
Box 1 Folder 3
District Membership Meeting. Main Office.
1934-1935
Scope and Contents
August 1934 - June 1935
Box 1 Folder 4
General Council Minutes
1937-1942
Scope and Contents
1. April 23, 1937 - March 25, 1942
Box 1 Folder 5
General Council Minutes
1942-1959
Scope and Contents
2. May 29, 1942 - April 22, 1959
Box 1 Folder 6
General Membership Meeting of Main and Branch Offices.
1927-1935
Box 1 Folder 7
IDWU Summer Colony, Inc. Board of Directors Minutes.
1920-1923
Scope and Contents
October 14, 1920 - April 30, 1923
Box 1 Folder 8
Main District Minutes
1936-1956
Scope and Contents
1. January 6, 1936 - October 18, 1956
Box 1 Folder 9
Main District Minutes
1968-1971
Scope and Contents
2. 1968 - 1971
Box 1 Folder 10
Meeting of Standing Committees.
1919-1923
Scope and Contents
December 1, 1919 - April 30, 1923
Box 1 Folder 11
Membership Meeting Minutes.
1919-1923
Scope and Contents
November 26, 1919 - April 23, 1923
Series II. Executive board minutes, 1919-1974
Box 2 Folder 1
Executive Board. Minutes.
1919-1923
Scope and Contents
December 1, 1919 - April 30, 1923
Box 2 Folder 2
Executive Board. Minutes.
1927-1932
Scope and Contents
May 1927 - April 1932
Box 2 Folder 3
Executive Board. Minutes.
1932-1935
Scope and Contents
May 1932 - December 1935
Box 2 Folder 4
Executive Board. Minutes.
1936-1937
Scope and Contents
January 3, 1936 - March 19, 1937
Box 2 Folder 5
Executive Board. Minutes.
1937-1938
Scope and Contents
April 22, 1937 - December 16, 1938
Box 2 Folder 6
Executive Board. Minutes.
1939-1940
Scope and Contents
January 1939 - December 1940
Box 2 Folder 7
Executive Board. Minutes.
1941-1943
Scope and Contents
January 3, 1941 - December 17, 1943
Box 2 Folder 8
Executive Board. Minutes.
1944-1944
Scope and Contents
January 7, 1944 - December 19, 1944
Box 2 Folder 9
Executive Board. Minutes.
1945-1946
Scope and Contents
January 12, 1945 - December 27, 1946
Box 2 Folder 10
Executive Board. Minutes.
1947-1948
Scope and Contents
January 17, 1947 - December 17, 1948
Box 3 Folder 1
Executive Board. Minutes.
1949-1950
Scope and Contents
January 14, 1949 - December 8, 1950
Box 3 Folder 2
Executive Board. Minutes.
1951-1952
Scope and Contents
January 5, 1951 - December 19, 1952
Box 3 Folder 3
Executive Board. Minutes.
1953-1954
Scope and Contents
February 1, 1953 - December 17, 1954
Box 3 Folder 4
Executive Board. Minutes.
1955-1956
Scope and Contents
January 14, 1955 - December 28, 1956
Box 3 Folder 5
Executive Board. Minutes.
1957-1959
Scope and Contents
February 8, 1957 - March 6, 1959
Box 3 Folder 6
Executive Board. Minutes.
1959-1962
Scope and Contents
March 21, 1959 - March 23, 1962
Box 3 Folder 7
Executive Board. Minutes.
1962-1965
Scope and Contents
March 31, 1962 - February 19, 1965
Box 3 Folder 8
Executive Board. Minutes.
1965-1968
Scope and Contents
March 10, 1965 - February 27, 1968
Box 3 Folder 9
Executive Board. Minutes.
1968-1971
Scope and Contents
March 8, 1968 - February 2, 1971
Box 3 Folder 10
Executive Board. Minutes.
1971-1974
Scope and Contents
February 23, 1971 - January 8, 1974
Series III. Finance committee, 1923-1973
Box 4 Folder 1
Executive Board Finance Committee Minutes.
1923-1924
Scope and Contents
May 1, 1923 - April 30, 1924
Box 4 Folder 2
Finance Committee
1927-1937
Scope and Contents
1. March 16, 1927 - December 7, 1937
Box 4 Folder 3
Finance Committee
1938-1942
Scope and Contents
2. January 1938 - April 1942
Box 4 Folder 4
Finance Committee
1942-1952
Scope and Contents
3. May 25, 1942 - March 5, 1952
Box 4 Folder 5
Finance Committee
1952-1961
Scope and Contents
4. May 19, 1952 - December 4, 1961
Box 4 Folder 6
Finance Committee
1962-1972
Scope and Contents
5. January 8, 1962 - December 5, 1972
Box 4 Folder 7
Finance Committee Minutes.
1973
Scope and Contents
January 2, 1973
Series IV. Relief and Emergency Welfare Fund Committee, 1945-1968
Box 4 Folder 8
Relief and Emergency Welfare Fund Committee Minutes
1945-1951
Scope and Contents
1. January 6, 1945 - December 20, 1951
Box 4 Folder 9
Emergency Welfare Fund Committee Minutes
1952-1956
Scope and Contents
2. March 3, 1952 - December 5, 1956
Box 4 Folder 10
Emergency Welfare Fund Committee Minutes
1957-1962
Scope and Contents
3. February 13, 1957 - February 5, 1962
Box 4 Folder 11
Emergency Welfare Fund Administrative Committee.
1962-1968
Scope and Contents
April 27, 1962 - February 1, 1968