ILGWU. Wilbur Daniels Papers,1977-1985.
Collection Number: 5780/155
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Cornell
University Library
Title:
ILGWU. Wilbur Daniels papers,
1977-1985.
Collection Number:
5780/155
Creator:
Wilbur Daniels, 1923-
Quantity:
4.5 linear feet
Forms of Material:
Records
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Contains records of Wilbur Daniels relating to General
Executive Board meetings and ILGWU conventions, including reports, correspondence,
notes and planning documents. Also included are some correspondence President Sol
Chaikin and materials relating to his retirement in 1986.
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.
Wilbur Daniels was born in Detroit in 1922. Daniels held several offices in the ILGWU
over more than 40 years, including Research Association and Assistant Director of
Research (1943-1950), Associate General Counsel in the Legal Department (1950-1959),
Assistant to the President (1959-1961), Director of the Master Agreements Department
(1965-1969?), Vice President (1969-1973), and Executive Vice-President (1973-1987).
After leaving the ILGWU in 1987, Daniels was Executive Director of the S.H. and
Helen R. Scheuer Foundation. He remained involved in New York City civic life,
serving on the boards of the Lincoln Center, United Housing Foundation, New York
Urban Coalition, and American Arbitration Association. He died in New York City in
1993.
Contains records of Wilbur Daniels relating to General Executive Board meetings and
ILGWU conventions, including reports, correspondence, notes and planning documents.
Also included are some correspondence President Sol Chaikin and materials relating
to his retirement in 1986.
Names:
Daniels, Wilbur,1923-
Daniels, Wilbur, 1923-
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.
Form and Genre Terms:
Records.
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. Wilbur Daniels papers. 5780/155. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell
University.
5780. ILGWU records
5780/084. ILGWU. Wilbur Daniels papers
5780/113. ILGWU. Wilbur Daniels papers
"Permanent deposit"
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
AFL-CIO Convention
|
1983 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
AFL-CIO Convention: ILGWU GEB Meeting
|
1983 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
GEB Meeting
|
1983 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
GEB
|
1983-1984 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
GEB Reports. [folder 1 of 3]
|
1982-1983 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
GEB Reports. [folder 2 of 3]
|
1982-1983 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
GEB Reports. [folder 3 of 3]
|
1982-1983 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 |
GEB Meeting
|
1981 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Correspondence
|
1983 |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 |
GEB Sixth Meeting
|
1983 |
|
January 3-7, 1983. Hollywood Florida.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 5 |
President Chaikin's Schedule
|
1982 |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 |
GEB Meeting: Retirees and Wives
|
1982 |
|
June 21-25, 1982. Unity House.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 7 |
GEB Reports. [folder 1 of 2]
|
1982 |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 |
GEB Reports. [folder 1 of 2]
|
1982 |
| Box 3 | Folder 2 |
Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
|
1982 |
|
March 18-19, 1982. New York City.
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 3 |
GEB Meeting: Letter "A"
|
1982 |
| Box 3 | Folder 4 |
GEB Meeting: Letter "B"
|
1982 |
| Box 3 | Folder 5 |
GEB Meeting
|
1982 |
|
May 3-5, 1982.
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 6 |
GEB Fifth Meeting
|
1982 |
|
June 21-25, 1982. Unity House.
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 7 |
GEB Meeting: Correspondence
|
1981 |
| Box 3 | Folder 8 |
GEB Fourth Meeting
|
1981-1982 |
|
January 5-11, 1982. Hollywood Florida. Mostly correspondence at the meeting
from late 1981..
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 9 |
ILGWU Legislative/Political Conference
|
1980 |
|
January 3-5, 1980. Hollywood Florida.
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 10 |
GEB Meeting
|
1980 |
|
January, 1980.
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 11 |
GEB Reports [folder 1 of 2]
|
1980 |
| Box 4 | Folder 1 |
GEB Reports [folder 2 of 2]
|
1980 |
| Box 4 | Folder 2 |
GEB Eighth Meeting
|
1980 |
|
July 8-10, 1980. New York City.
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 3 |
Executive Committee Reports
|
1978 |
| Box 4 | Folder 4 |
GEB Reservations: The Sheraton Centre
|
1980 |
| Box 4 | Folder 5 |
GEB Dinner
|
1980 |
|
July 9, 1980.
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 6 |
Arthur Levine Convention Memos [folder 1 of 2]
|
1980 |
| Box 4 | Folder 7 |
Arthur Levine Convention Memos [folder 1 of 2]
|
1980 |
| Box 4 | Folder 8 |
1980 Convention: Delegate Arrivals
|
1980 |
| Box 4 | Folder 9 |
1980 Convention: Staff
|
1980 |
| Box 5 | Folder 1 |
Sol C. Chaikin: Correspondence
|
1984 |
| Box 5 | Folder 2 |
Sol C. Chaikin: Correspondence [folder 1 of 2]
|
1983 |
| Box 5 | Folder 3 |
Sol C. Chaikin: Correspondence [folder 2 of 2]
|
1983 |
| Box 5 | Folder 4 |
Sol C. Chaikin: Dinner
|
1986 |
|
May 13, 1986. Grand Hyatt, New York.
|
|||
| Box 5 | Folder 5 |
Sol C. Chaikin: Dinner [folder 1 of 2]
|
1986 |
|
June 19, 1986. Plaza Hotel.
|
|||
| Box 5 | Folder 6 |
Sol C. Chaikin: Dinner [folder 2 of 2]
|
1986 |
|
June 19, 1986. Plaza Hotel.
|
|||
| Box 6 | Folder 1 |
Crafted With Pride
|
1983 |
| Box 6 | Folder 2 |
Crafted With Pride
|
1984 |
| Box 6 | Folder 3 |
Crafted With Pride [folder 1 of 3]
|
1985 |
| Box 6 | Folder 4 |
Crafted With Pride [folder 2 of 3]
|
1985 |
| Box 6 | Folder 5 |
Crafted With Pride [folder 3 of 3]
|
1985 |
| Box 6 | Folder 6 |
National Home Caring
|
1982-1984 |
| Box 7 | Folder 1 |
National Home Caring
|
1985-1986 |
| Box 7 | Folder 2 |
United Nations Association
|
1983-1984 |
| Box 7 | Folder 3 |
Miscellaneous Services: The Sheraton Centre
|
|
| Box 7 | Folder 4 |
Miscellaneous Services: Give-Aways for Convention
|
1980 |
| Box 7 | Folder 5 |
1980 Convention Elections Timetable
|
1980 |
| Box 7 | Folder 6 |
Credit Authorization
|
1980 |
| Box 7 | Folder 7 |
Convention Dimensions, Inc.
|
1980 |
| Box 7 | Folder 8 |
Convention Call/Voting
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 1 |
1980 Constitution Revisions [folder 1 of 2]
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 2 |
1980 Constitution Revisions [folder 2 of 2]
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 3 |
Miscellaneous Services
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 4 |
Convention Appeal Committee
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 5 |
Convention Arrangements Committee
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 6 |
Convention Committees
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 7 |
Convention Reports
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 8 |
Convention Call: Amended
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 9 |
Convention Check Lists
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 10 |
Convention Photographs
|
1980 |
|
7 photographs
|
|||
| Box 8 | Folder 11 |
ILGWU Constitution
|
1980 |
| Box 8 | Folder 12 |
Credit Allowances for Delegates
|
1980 |
| Box 9 | Folder 1 |
Convention Elections [folder 1 of 2]
|
1977 |
| Box 9 | Folder 2 |
Convention Elections [folder 2 of 2]
|
1977 |
| Box 9 | Folder 3 |
Convention Committee Reports: Set 1
|
1980 |
| Box 9 | Folder 4 |
Convention Committee Reports: Set 2
|
1980 |
| Box 9 | Folder 5 |
Convention Committee Reports: Set 3
|
1980 |
| Box 9 | Folder 6 |
The Sheraton Centre
|
1980 |
| Box 9 | Folder 7 |
Convention Guests
|
1977 |
| Box 9 | Folder 8 |
1977 Convention
|
1976-1977 |
|
English and French
|
|||
| Box 9 | Folder 9 |
Democratic National Convention
|
1980 |