ILGWU Local 10 Records, 1965-1971
Collection Number: 5780/131
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
ILGWU Local 10 Records, 1965-1971
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5780/131
Abstract:
The collection consists of records documenting elections of union officers of Local
10.
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU). Local 10
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Quanitities:
0.5 cubic feet
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 Cutters of Local 10 can be traced back to the Gotham Knife Cutters of 1884 and
the United Cloak Cutters in 1886 by the Knights of Labor. These were the predecessors
of Local 15 and 6 which were chartered by the ILGWU in 1902 and merged to become Local
10 in 1906. Local 10 played a lead role in the 1910 cloakmakers' strike. Local 10
of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), was also known as the
Amalgamated Ladies' Garment Cutters' Union, and based in New York City.
The collection contains records documenting the election of officers to Local 10.
Harry Shaw was a candidate for the office of Secretary of the Executive Board in 1971.
Shaw alleged 18 instances of impropriety in connection with Local 10 elections of
February 1971. Included are files relating to Shaw's protest and appeals to Local
10's Election and Objection Committee and eventually, the National Labor Relations
Board. There is correspondence, election material such as ballots, the documents used
as evidence for the protest and appeal process, the Appeal Committee decision, and
the charges that were filed with the Nation Labor Relations Board. Shaw claimed that
in June 1971, union officers and representatives restrained and coerced him, causing
him to be discriminated by his employer Ann Page Manufacturing.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
ILGWU Local 10 Records #5780/131. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation
and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Names:
Amalgamated Ladies' Garment Cutters' Union.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry -- United States
Clothing industry--Labor unions--United States.
Clothing workers -- United States
Industrial relations -- United States
CONTAINER LIST
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Local 10 Elections
|
1965-1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Local 10 Election. Harry Shaw Protest.
|
1970-1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Election Protest Correspondence
|
1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Shaw v. Local 10 Hearing Exhibits.
|
1971 |
|
Scope and Contents
March 23, 1971. Duplicate set.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Harry Shaw Election Protest and Appeal.
|
1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Harry Shaw Protest. Notes on Labor Department Investigation.
|
1971 |
|
Scope and Contents
June 1971.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
1971 Election, Shaw.
|
1970-1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) Charges.
|
1966-1971 |