ILGWU. James Lipsig Papers,1946-1970
Collection Number: 5780/126
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Cornell
University Library
Title:
ILGWU. James Lipsig papers,
1946-1970
Collection Number:
5780/126
Creator:
Lipsig, James.
Quantity:
1 linear foot
Forms of Material:
Records
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Contains correspondence, testimony, and other material
relating to James Lipsig's work as Assistant Executive Secretary of the ILGWU. Also
included are minutes of the Finance Committee and the Education
Committee.
Language:
Collection material in English
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.
After working as general counsel for the Textile Workers of America, James Lipsig
served as Assistant Executive Secretary of the ILGWU for thirty years. Throughout
his career, Lipsig also served as secretary of the Socialist Party of New York
State, as board member of the Jewish Labor Committee, the National Sharecroppers'
Fund and the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory, and as a consultant to
the Workers Defense League. Born in New York City, Lipsig was a graduate of City
College and Columbia University Law School. He died in New York City on December 18,
1976 at the age of 66.
Contains correspondence, testimony, and other material relating to James Lipsig's
work as Assistant Executive Secretary of the ILGWU. Also included are minutes of the
Finance Committee and the Education Committee.
Names:
Lipsig, James.
Lipsig, James.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry--United
States.
Labor unions--Clothing workers--United
States.
Clothing workers--United States.
Industrial relations--United States.
People with disabilities--United
States.
Displaced workers--United States.
Discrimination in employment--United
States.
Access Restrictions:
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.
Cite As:
ILGWU. James Lipsig papers. 5780/126. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.
5780. ILGWU records
5780/082. ILGWU. James Lipsig papers
"Permanent deposit"
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Long Branch Account. Forgery Case.
|
1952-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Arbitration
|
1946-192 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Immigration. Skilled Garment Workers
|
1946-1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Civil Liberties Questions
|
1947-1953 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Complaints by Members
|
1951-1954 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Miscellaneous
|
1951-1954 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Local 105 Subcommittee
|
1949 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Miscellaneous Materials Prepared
|
1946-1949 |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
ILGWU General Office and Office Employees International Union (OEIU) Local 153 Contracts
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Miscellaneous
|
1946-1950 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Union Health Center Committee
|
1951-1954 |
|
Minutes and
Correspondence
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Goldberg Campaign
|
1970 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Convention Arrangements
|
1962 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Florence Novitsky
|
1953 |
|
Office Employees International Union (OEIU) Local
153
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 3 |
New York City Center Trades Labor Council
|
1949-1950 |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Local 25. Vacation Fund and Federal Taxes
|
1947 |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Wage Stabilization
|
1951-1952 |
|
Economic Control Bulletin
no.1,5-31.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Upper South Health and Welfare Funds and Unemployment Insurance
|
1949 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Local 132. Health and Welfare Funds
|
1947-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 |
Union Broadcasting Corp.
|
1948-1951 |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 |
Finance Committee. Minutes
|
1948-1950 |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 |
Education Committee
|
1948-1950 |
|
Minutes and
Correspondence
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 11 |
Immigration Matter. Kaufman, Ralph (Kozak)
|
1937-1948 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 |
Radio Stations [folder 1 of 2]
|
1950-1952 |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 |
Radio Stations [folder 2 of 2]
|
1950-1952 |