ILGWU Local 132. Managers' Correspondence

Collection Number: 5780/076

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
ILGWU Local 132. Managers' Correspondence, 1949-1976
Collection Number:
5780/076
Creator:
Menist, Joel;
Eisenberg, Sam;
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU). Local 132;
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Quantity:
3.5 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Correspondence.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The collection consists of correspondence of Local 132's managers, meeting minutes, and the local publication.
Language:
Collection material in English

ILGWU ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

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.
ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

Local 132 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), also known as the Plastic, Moulders and Novelty Workers' Union, was chartered in 1917 and based in New York, New York.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The records consist primarily of two series of correspondence of Local 132's managers, Joel Menist and Sam Eisenberg, between 1954 and 1975. The correspondence details administrative matters within the local and contains replies to letters from members to the local office, communication with the Health and Welfare Benefits Department discussing contract agreements, and the ILGWU correspondence more or less includes memos and letters that went out from the International to the locals and departments.
Another component of the collection is correspondence with various firms and manufacturers the local dealt with. These are interesting in that they are not the normal garment shop, but instead plastic and parts manufacturers. There is information on the production of plastic as well as the shortage in the 1970s. The records offer another dimension to the garment industry by illustrating the wide range of work, companies, and productsparticularly plastics, molds and parts.
The final component of the collection includes minutes of Local 132's Executive Board and Health and Welfare Fund Board, as well as a few issues of the local's publication, Local 132 News.
SUBJECTS

Names:
Eisenberg, Sam
Menist, Joel
A.B.S. Manufacturing Co.
Beth Button Novelty Co.
E.P. Mueller & Engineering
Empire Records
Empire Zipper
Garrary Plastics
Gary Enterprises Inc.
Gibraltar Manufacturing Co.
Harrison Co. Inc.
I. Miller and Bro.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 132
John Rie Inc.
Lerner, Corwin & Young Inc.
Lyndas Jewelry Creation
Miller Brass Fitting
Miller Plastics, Inc.
Monarch Jewelry
Nasco Corp.
National Ribbon Co.
Pender Plastics Co.
Pilot Rubber Plastic Corp.
Plastic Products Manufacturers Association
Plas-Trix Co. Inc.
Rolling Eyes Manufacturing Co.
Silver Park Records Inc.
Thomas Manufacturing Corp.
Whitestone Harrison Corp.
Yorklyn Industries Inc.

Subjects:
Plastics workers--Labor unions--United States.
Plastics--Molding--United States.

Form and Genre Terms:
Correspondence.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

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 132. Managers' Correspondence #5780/076. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
RELATED MATERIALS

Related Collections:
5780: ILGWU records
CONTAINER LIST

Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Folder 1 1969-1972
Box 1 Folder 2 1975
July - September, 1975
Box 1 Folder 3 1975
April - June, 1975
Box 1 Folder 4 1975
January - March, 1975
Box 1 Folder 5 1974
October - December, 1974
Box 1 Folder 6 1974
July - September, 1974
Box 1 Folder 7 1974
April - June, 1974
Box 1 Folder 8 1974
January - March, 1974
Box 1 Folder 9 1973
August - December, 1973
Box 1 Folder 10 1973
January - July, 1973
Box 1 Folder 11 1970-1972
Box 1 Folder 12 1974-1975
Box 1 Folder 13 1970
Box 1 Folder 14 1964-1967
Box 1 Folder 15 1969-1970
Box 1 Folder 16 1964-1972
Box 1 Folder 17 1969-1970
Box 1 Folder 18 1968
Box 1 Folder 19 1970-1972
Box 1 Folder 20 1966
Box 1 Folder 21 1961-1968
Resolutions 1968 Convention
Box 1 Folder 22 1968-1971
Box 1 Folder 23 1973
Box 1 Folder 24 1972
Box 1 Folder 25 1969
Box 1 Folder 26 1970
Box 1 Folder 27 1971
Box 1 Folder 28 1964-1973
Box 1 Folder 29 1972-1973
Blank and completed forms
Box 2 Folder 1 1968
Box 2 Folder 2 1959-1962
Box 2 Folder 3 1965-1970
Box 2 Folder 4 1974
Box 2 Folder 5 1971-1974
Box 2 Folder 6 1969-1973
Box 2 Folder 7 1971
Box 2 Folder 8 1960
Box 2 Folder 9 1973
Box 2 Folder 10 1967-1973
Box 2 Folder 11 1968-1970
Box 2 Folder 12 1962-1965
Box 2 Folder 13 1965-1968
Box 2 Folder 14 1960-1968
Box 2 Folder 15 1960-1973
Box 2 Folder 16 1962-1963
Box 2 Folder 17 1974
Box 2 Folder 18 1973-1974
Box 2 Folder 19 1972
Box 2 Folder 20 1970
Box 2 Folder 21 1969
Box 2 Folder 22 1973-1974
Box 2 Folder 23 1965-1973
Box 2 Folder 24 1967
Box 2 Folder 25 1961-1970
Box 2 Folder 26 1968
Box 2 Folder 27 1961-1969
Box 2 Folder 28 1960-1962
Box 2 Folder 29 1961-1965
Box 2 Folder 30 1963-1966
Box 2 Folder 31 1966
Box 2 Folder 32 1968-1969
Box 2 Folder 33 1961
Box 2 Folder 34 1961-1965
Box 2 Folder 35 1966-1968
Box 2 Folder 36 1968
Box 2 Folder 37 1964
Box 2 Folder 38 1962-1963
Box 2 Folder 39 1962-1963
Box 2 Folder 40 1965
Box 2 Folder 41 1962-1967
Box 2 Folder 42 1961
Box 2 Folder 43 1964-1970
Box 2 Folder 44 1963-1964
Box 3 Folder 1 1968
Box 3 Folder 2 1965
Box 3 Folder 3 1956-1969
Box 3 Folder 4 1961-1970
Box 3 Folder 5 1960
Box 3 Folder 6 1961
Box 3 Folder 7 1964
Box 3 Folder 8 1962
Box 3 Folder 9 1961
Box 3 Folder 10 1960-1966
Box 3 Folder 11 1961-1968
Box 3 Folder 12 1959-1968
Box 3 Folder 13 1954
Box 3 Folder 14 1961-1966
Box 3 Folder 15 1963-1965
Box 3 Folder 16 1961
Box 3 Folder 17 1964-1965
Box 3 Folder 18 1961-1964
Box 3 Folder 19 1963-1964
Box 3 Folder 20 1963-1964
Box 3 Folder 21 1962-1963
Box 3 Folder 22 1963-1964
Box 3 Folder 23 1962-1968
Box 3 Folder 24 1965
Box 3 Folder 25 1960-1969
Box 3 Folder 26 1966-1968
Box 3 Folder 27 1961-1963
Box 3 Folder 28 1961
Box 3 Folder 29 1960-1965
Box 3 Folder 30 1949-1968
Box 3 Folder 31 1961-1967
Box 3 Folder 32 1961-1962
Box 3 Folder 33 1961-1965
Box 3 Folder 34 1961-1966
Box 3 Folder 35 1961-1965
Box 3 Folder 36 1960-1965
Box 3 Folder 37 1961-1969
Box 3 Folder 38 1968-1969
Box 3 Folder 39 1964-1966
Box 3 Folder 40 1961-1964
Box 3 Folder 41 1961-1965
Box 3 Folder 42 1966
Box 3 Folder 43 1959-1965
Box 3 Folder 44 1961-1968
Box 3 Folder 45 1969
Box 3 Folder 46 1961-1969
Box 3 Folder 47 1964-1966
Box 3 Folder 48 1961-1969
Box 3 Folder 49 1961-1965
Box 3 Folder 50 1961-1969
Box 3 Folder 51 1964-1969
Box 3 Folder 52 1965-1966
Box 3 Folder 53 1961-1963
Box 3 Folder 54 1960-1966
Box 3 Folder 55 1963-1964
Box 3 Folder 56 1964-1966
Box 3 Folder 57 1961-1964
Box 3 Folder 58 1962
Box 3 Folder 59 1958-1964
Box 3 Folder 60 1967-1968
Box 3 Folder 61 1961-1962
Box 3 Folder 62 1959-1967
Box 3 Folder 63 1964-1970
Box 3 Folder 64 1961-1970
Box 3 Folder 65 1961-1965
Box 4 Folder 1 1965-1971
Box 4 Folder 2 1965-1973
Box 4 Folder 3 1957
May, 1957
Box 4 Folder 4 1973
April, 1973
Box 4 Folder 5 1973
June, 1973
Box 4 Folder 6 1973
July, 1973
Box 4 Folder 7 1976
May, 1976