ILGWU. Legal Department photographs

Collection Number: 5780/107 P

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

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
ILGWU. Legal Department photographs, 1967-1973
Collection Number:
5780/107 P
Creator:
Siems, Frederick Rolle, 1915- International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Quantity:
0.5 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Articles, reprints, pamphlets, correspondence, photographs.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection consists of photographs taken during the ILGWU strike against the Kellwood Company between 1967 and 1972. Included are images of meetings and rallies, as well as of the memorial service Eugene Hampton, an ILGWU member who was killed during the strike.
Language:
Collection material in English

ILGWU ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

Founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States, the ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, 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. In 1995, the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) to form the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE).
LEGAL DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

From very early on in its existence, the ILGWU had need for legal counsel, and this was handled in the union’s main offices in cooperation with hired attorneys. As the union grew and especially after the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, the union found cause to establish a Legal Department. The department provided general legal counsel to the union and its affiliates, worked to develop collective bargaining agreement terms, and represented the ILGWU in litigation and arbitration. After the formation of the Master Agreements Department in 1965, the responsibilities for developing CBA terms shifted to the new department.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The Legal Department records do not comprehensively document the ILGWU legal activities, instead focusing on specific cases or series of cases.
Two ILGWU cases are documented in the Legal Department records. The first case involved the Kellwood Corporation, and the second involved the Donnelly Garment Company. The records relating to the Kellwood case (5780/107, 5780/107 AV, 5780/107 P) include court documents, correspondence and memoranda, surveys of strikers, organizing leaflets and newsletters (from both the union and the company), Steve Honeyman's draft accounts of the strike, audio and transcripts of Honeyman's interviews with ILGWU members and staff, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other printed material. The Donnelly Garment Company's case against the ILGWU is documented primarily through transcripts of the case, legal briefs, and related court documents.
Records on series of cases are the most general and extensive of the Legal Department records. They include records on ILGWU cases in the U.S. courts (5780/081), records documenting cases before the National War Labor Board (5780/085), and records relating to a wide variety contract negotiations, arbitration proceedings, and courts cases (5780/063).
Researchers may find complementary material in the other parts of the ILGWU records, such as the papers of the international leadership, especially the papers of ILGWU presidents (Series IV); the records of local unions in instances where these affiliates were involved in litigation or arbitration (Series III); and the collective bargaining agreements (Series VI). Related collections at the Kheel Center include decisions of the Coat and Suit Industry's Impartial Chairman (6036/015) and decisions of the Dress Industry's Impartial Chairman (6036/017).
This collection consists of photographs taken during the ILGWU strike against the Kellwood Company between 1967 and 1972. Included are images of meetings and rallies, as well as of the memorial service Eugene Hampton. Hampton was an ILGWU member who was killed during the strike.
SUBJECTS

Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Legal Dept.

Subjects:
Women's clothing industry--United States.
Labor unions--Clothing workers--United States.
Clothing workers--United States.
Industrial relations--United States.

Form and Genre Terms:
Photographs.

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. Legal Department photographs #5780/107 P. Kheel Center for Labor- Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
RELATED MATERIALS

Related Collections:
5780: ILGWU records
5780/107: ILGWU. Legal Department records
5780/107 AV: ILGWU. Legal Department audio-visual materials
5780/081: ILGWU. Legal Department records
5780/063: ILGWU. Legal Department records
5780/162: ILGWU. Legal Department. Donnelly Garment Company v. ILGWU records
CONTAINER LIST

Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Folder 1
Box 1 Folder 2
Box 1 Folder 3
circa 1967
Box 1 Folder 4
Carpenter Hall, Little Rock, Arkansas
Box 1 Folder 5 1967-1973
Includes picket, strike headquarters, and meeting with Congressman Mills
Box 1 Folder 6 1972
Negatives
Box 1 Folder 7 1972
Box 1 Folder 8 1972
Box 1 Folder 9 1972
Box 1 Folder 10 1972-1973
Box 1 Folder 11