ILGWU. James Lipsig papers,, 1946-1970
Collection Number: 5780/126
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
ILGWU. James Lipsig papers, 1946-1970
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/126
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.
Creator:
Lipsig, James.
Quanitities:
1 cubic feet
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.
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.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
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
Names:
Lipsig, James.
Lipsig, James.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry -- United States
Clothing workers -- Labor unions -- United States
Clothing workers -- United States
Industrial relations -- United States
People with disabilities--United States.
Displaced workers--United States.
Discrimination in employment--United States.
CONTAINER LIST
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 |
Scope and Contents
Minutes and Correspondence
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Goldberg Campaign
|
1970 |
Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Convention Arrangements
|
1962 |
Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Florence Novitsky
|
1953 |
Scope and Contents
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 |
Scope and Contents
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 |
Scope and Contents
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 |