ILGWU. Constitutions and dues books, 1893-1992.
Collection Number: 5780/072
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
ILGWU. Constitutions and dues books, 1893-1992.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/072
Abstract:
Contains constitutions, dues books, membership and strike cards of the ILGWU and some
of its predecessor unions.
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Quanitities:
1 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and Yiddish
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.
Contains constitutions, dues books, membership and strike cards of the ILGWU and some
of its predecessor unions.
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.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
ILGWU. Constitutions and dues books. 5780/072. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation
and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.
5780. ILGWU Records
5780/080. ILGWU. Convention records
5780/080mf. ILGWU. Convention records. Microfilm
5780/193 PUBS. ILGWU. Convention publications
Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union --Constitutions
Subjects:
Labor unions--Clothing workers--United States--History.
Labor unions--Clothing workers--New York (State)--New York--History.
Wages--Clothing workers--United States--History.
Wages--Clothing workers--New York (State)--New York--History.
CONTAINER LIST
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Constitution of the Joint Board of the Cloak, Suit, Skirt and Reefer Makers' Union
of NY and Vicinity
|
1926 |
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Membership Cards
|
1893-1935 |
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Strike Cards
|
1930-1935 |
Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Complaints and Control Cards, Local 25
|
1933-1973 |
Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Constitution of the ILGWU [Folder 1 of 3]
|
1970-1990 |
Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Constitution of the ILGWU [Folder 2 of 3]
|
1970-1990 |
Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Constitution of the ILGWU [Folder 3 of 3]
|
1970-1990 |
Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Constitution of the ILGWU
|
1960-1969 |
Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Constitution of the ILGWU
|
1950-1959 |
Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Constitution and By-Laws of the ILGWU
|
1940-1949 |
Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Constitution and By-Laws of the ILGWU
|
1930-1939 |
Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Constitution and By-Laws of ILGWU
|
1920-1929 |
Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Constitution and By-Laws of the ILGWU
|
1890-1910 |
Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Miscellaneous Constitutions
|
1900-1970 |
Scope and Contents
Yiddish
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Miscellaneous Constitutions
|
1900-1970 |
Scope and Contents
Italian
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Constitution and By-Laws
|
1977 |
Scope and Contents
Spanish
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 17 |
Local 23-25 Wage and Hour Record Books
|
|
Scope and Contents
English, Spanish and Chinese
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 18 |
Due and Receipt Books
|
1901-1916 |