ILGWU Western Massachusetts District Records
Collection Number: 5780/120
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU Western Massachusetts
District Records, 1937-1972
Collection Number:
5780/120
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment
Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Quantity:
4 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Records (documents).
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The collection contains records of the Western Massachusetts
District Council primarily documenting its financial transactions, including records
of state and federal tax payments, documentation of investments, fundraising for its
Campaign Committee, and benefits paid from the Northeast Department Health and
Welfare Fund. A smaller portion of the Western District Council records is
correspondence on other matters.
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.
The Western Massachusetts District Council began as part of the Northeast Department
of the ILGWU. In 1976, the Western Massachusetts District Council became part of the
newly-formed New England Region, along with other affiliates in Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Within a couple of years, the Western
Massachusetts District Council became the Western Massachusetts-Vermont District
Council. In 1993, the Western Massachusetts-Vermont District Council merged with the
Northern New England District Council (NNEDC); at the time of the ILGWU's merger
with ACTWU in 1995, the NNEDC and the Boston Joint Board merged to become the
Northern New England-Boston Joint Board District Council.
Jack Albano was the ILGWU representative in the district from the 1940s until 1977.
Paul Winslow succeeded him as manager, serving in that role from 1977 to 1984. From
1984 to 1994, Richard Rumelt was regional manager. Following Rumelt, Warren
Pepicelli, manager of the Boston Joint Board, led the Northern New England-Boston
Joint Board District Council through the ILGWU's merger with ACTWU, and subsequently
managed the regional affiliate of UNITE and UNITE-HERE.
The collection contains two distinct types of records interwoven through the boxes;
administrative documents and correspondence. The administrative paperwork details
the daily functions and activities of the Western Massachusetts District Council.
There are numerous government documents, such as federal and state tax forms and
information reports to the U.S. Department of Labor. Financial transactions are also
documented and other monetary matters such as the investments and values for various
accounts in Western MA banks. Much information is available for the various health
coverage plans, including correspondence and administrative paperwork for the Health
Center in Boston; documents for the Staff and Retiree Drug Plans under the ILGWU
Health Services Plan; reports of collections and payouts, correspondence, audit
reports, and general administration for the Northeast Dept. Health and Welfare Fund;
correspondence, reports and transactions for Blue Cross; and correspondence and
claims for the Death Benefit Fund.
A second component of the collection consists of correspondence files of individuals
including: Mitchell Yager, office manager of the Finance Dept.; Gus Tyler, director
of the Education Dept. and administrator of the ILGWU Scholarship Fund; Alfred T.
Gustin, controller of the Northeast Dept;, Morris Glushien, general counsel for the
ILGWU; Siemon Hamburger, general auditor for the ILGWU; Jack Halpern, field
supervisor of the Northeast Dept.; Adolph Held, director of the Welfare and Health
Benefits Dept.; Arthur Levine, administrative assistant of the Northeast Dept.; Hugh
Maloney, supervisor of the Health and Welfare Fund of the Northeast Dept.; Jack
Albano, who held numerous positions, including district manager of Organizing for
the Northeast Dept., supervisor for New England and Upstate New York, manager of
Local 226, and district manager of the Northeast Dept.; Alexander Bookstaver,
controller for the ILGWU; and Louis Brass, general auditor for the ILGWU.
Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
-- Western Massachusetts District.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry -- United States.
Women's clothing industry -- Massachusetts.
Clothing workers -- Labor unions -- United
States.
Clothing workers --Labor unions --
Massachusetts.
Clothing workers -- United States.
Clothing workers -- Massachusetts.
Industrial relations -- United States.
Industrial relations -- Massachusetts.
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 Western Massachusetts District Records #5780/120. Kheel Center for
Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1937-1939 | |
Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1938-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1938-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1938-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 5 | 1960 | |
Box 1 | Folder 6 | 1958 | |
Box 1 | Folder 7 | 1958-1963 | |
Box 1 | Folder 8 | 1958-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 9 | 1958-1967 | |
Box 1 | Folder 10 | 1960-1967 | |
Box 1 | Folder 11 | 1965-1967 | |
Box 1 | Folder 12 | 1958-1960 | |
Box 1 | Folder 13 | 1967-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 14 | 1962 | |
Box 1 | Folder 15 | 1956-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 16 | 1969-1971 | |
Box 1 | Folder 17 | 1958-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 18 | 1958-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 19 | 1958-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 20 | 1965-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 21 | 1958-1960 | |
Box 1 | Folder 22 | 1958-1962 | |
Box 1 | Folder 23 | 1958-1961 | |
Box 1 | Folder 24 | 1943-1963 | |
Box 1 | Folder 25 | 1943-1963 | |
Box 1 | Folder 26 | 1943-1963 | |
Box 1 | Folder 27 | 1969-1972 | |
Box 1 | Folder 28 | 1969-1972 | |
Box 1 | Folder 29 | 1961-1969 | |
Box 1 | Folder 30 | 1958-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 31 | 1958-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 32 | 1962-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 33 | 1969 | |
Box 1 | Folder 34 | 1963-1968 | |
Box 1 | Folder 35 | 1958-1963 | |
Box 1 | Folder 36 | 1962 | |
Box 1 | Folder 37 | 1958-1959 | |
Box 1 | Folder 38 | 1958-1960 | |
Box 2 | Folder 1 | 1959-1963 | |
Box 2 | Folder 2 | 1943-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 3 | 1943-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 4 | 1959-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 5 | 1941-1959 | |
Box 2 | Folder 6 | 1940-1947 | |
Box 2 | Folder 7 | 1962-1966 | |
Box 2 | Folder 8 | 1960-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 9 | 1959-1960 | |
Box 2 | Folder 10 | 1961-1969 | |
Box 2 | Folder 11 | 1958-1963 | |
Box 2 | Folder 12 | 1964-1966 | |
Box 2 | Folder 13 | 1964-1968 | |
Box 2 | Folder 14 | 1958-1963 | |
Box 2 | Folder 15 | 1964-1966 | |
Box 2 | Folder 16 | 1959-1963 | |
Box 2 | Folder 17 | 1967-1972 | |
Box 2 | Folder 18 | 1967-1972 | |
Box 2 | Folder 19 | 1967-1972 | |
Box 2 | Folder 20 | 1966-1972 | |
Box 2 | Folder 21 | 1970-1972 | |
Box 2 | Folder 22 | 1964-1972 | |
Box 2 | Folder 23 | 1964-1972 | |
Box 3 | Folder 1 | 1945 | |
Box 3 | Folder 2 | 1942 | |
Box 3 | Folder 3 | 1961-1969 | |
Box 3 | Folder 4 | 1964-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 5 | 1964-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 6 | 1964-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 7 | 1958-1968 | |
Box 3 | Folder 8 | 1955-1958 | |
Box 3 | Folder 9 | 1971 | |
Box 3 | Folder 10 | 1971-1972 | |
Box 3 | Folder 11 | 1970-1971 | |
Box 3 | Folder 12 | 1956-1965 | |
Box 3 | Folder 13 | 1962-1964 | |
Box 3 | Folder 14 | 1954-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 15 | 1954-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 16 | 1957-1960 | |
Box 3 | Folder 17 | 1963-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 18 | 1963-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 19 | 1963-1970 | |
Box 3 | Folder 20 | 1963-1968 | |
Box 3 | Folder 21 | 1963-1968 | |
Box 3 | Folder 22 | 1969-1971 | |
Box 3 | Folder 23 | 1972 | |
Box 3 | Folder 24 | 1959 | |
Box 3 | Folder 25 | 1953-1967 | |
Box 3 | Folder 26 | 1953-1967 | |
Box 3 | Folder 27 | 1960-1970 | |
Box 4 | Folder 1 | 1953-1959 | |
Box 4 | Folder 2 | 1965-1970 | |
Box 4 | Folder 3 | 1967-1968 | |
Box 4 | Folder 4 | 1961 | |
Box 4 | Folder 5 | 1959-1968 | |
Box 4 | Folder 6 | 1959-1968 | |
Box 4 | Folder 7 | 1951-1970 | |
Box 4 | Folder 8 | 1951-1970 | |
Box 4 | Folder 9 | 1963-1969 | |
Box 4 | Folder 10 | 1963-1969 | |
Box 4 | Folder 11 | 1958 | |
Box 4 | Folder 12 | 1968-1970 | |
Box 4 | Folder 13 | 1960-1963 | |
Box 4 | Folder 14 | 1959-1960 | |
Box 4 | Folder 15 | 1963-1966 | |
Box 4 | Folder 16 | 1963-1966 | |
Box 4 | Folder 17 | 1961 | |
Box 4 | Folder 18 | 1958-1965 | |
Box 4 | Folder 19 | 1965 |