ILGWU Management Engineering Department Records
Collection Number: 5780/118
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU Management Engineering
Department Records, 1941-1982
Collection Number:
5780/118
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment
Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Quantity:
1.5 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Records (documents).
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection consists of records of the
Management-Engineering Department of the International Ladies' Garment Workers'
Union. Materials include files on clothing and textile manufacturers.
Language:
Collection material in English
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.
Created in 1941, the Management Engineering Department was charged with assisting in
the improvement of manufacturing techniques and operating methods, as well as
providing information on "fair rate pieces," monitoring manufacturing techniques,
and providing trainings to workers on efficient operations. Improvements to
techniques and methods were made by first observing the ways that operations in the
manufacturing of women's garments were executed, and then making recommendations to
create efficiencies. The Management-Engineering Department collected information,
produced these time and motion studies, and used both to help determine piece rates
and develop worker training.
William Gomberg, who had previous worked as a collective bargaining agent with the
ILGWU, served as the department's first director 1956. Gomberg eventually became a
professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, thus his papers are
housed at the University of Pennsylvania's University Archives and Records Center:
http://www.archives.upenn.edu/faids/upt/upt50/gombergwm.html
The records of the Management Engineering Department range from its founding in 1941
to 1980. Included are reports on operations at in specific shops and industries,
reports to the General Executive Board about the department's activities, and
related materials.
The department's records are not extensive, and do not provide particularly strong
documentation of the Management Engineering Department's work. Researchers
interested in more information about the Management Engineering Department and its
activities may consult reports to the ILGWU international conventions.
Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Management-Engineering Dept.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry--United States.
Clothing workers--Labor unions--United States.
Clothing workers--United States.
Industrial relations--United States.
Form and Genre Terms:
Records (documents)
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 Management Engineering Department Records #5780/118. Kheel Center for
Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1979 | |
Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1980 | |
Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1979 | |
Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1980 | |
Box 1 | Folder 5 | 1979-1980 | |
Box 1 | Folder 6 | 1979 | |
Box 1 | Folder 7 | 1980 | |
Box 1 | Folder 8 | 1961 | |
Box 1 | Folder 9 | 1977 | |
Box 1 | Folder 10 | 1978 | |
Box 1 | Folder 11 | 1974 | |
Box 1 | Folder 12 | 1977 | |
Box 1 | Folder 13 | 1977 | |
Box 1 | Folder 14 | 1969 | |
Box 1 | Folder 15 | 1955 | |
July 1, 1955
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 16 | 1963-1982 | |
Box 1 | Folder 17 | 1963-1980 | |
Box 1 | Folder 18 | 1963-1980 | |
Box 1 | Folder 19 | 1963-1980 | |
Box 1 | Folder 20 | 1974-1975 | |
Box 1 | Folder 21 | 1977 | |
May 9, 1977
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 22 | 1977-1978 | |
Box 1 | Folder 23 | 1977 | |
Box 2 | Folder 1 | 1977 | |
Box 2 | Folder 2 | 1969 | |
Box 2 | Folder 3 | 1975 | |
Box 2 | Folder 4 | 1965 | |
Box 2 | Folder 5 | 1941 | |
Box 2 | Folder 6 | 1946 | |
Box 2 | Folder 7 | 1942 | |
Box 2 | Folder 8 | 1942 | |
Box 2 | Folder 9 | 1942 | |
Box 2 | Folder 10 | 1941 | |
Box 2 | Folder 11 | 1942 | |
March 9, 1942
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 12 | 1941 | |
Box 2 | Folder 13 | 1941 | |
Box 2 | Folder 14 | 1941 | |
Box 2 | Folder 15 | 1942 | |
Box 2 | Folder 16 | 1942 | |
Box 2 | Folder 17 | 1941 | |
Box 2 | Folder 18 | 1941 | |
Box 2 | Folder 19 | 1942 | |
September 18, 1942
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 20 | 1942 | |
Box 2 | Folder 21 | 1942 | |
June 22, 1942
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 22 | 1942 | |
July 14, 1942
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 23 | 1945 | |
Box 2 | Folder 24 | 1958-1976 | |
Box 2 | Folder 25 | 1943 |