ILGWU Ohio Kentucky Region Records
Collection Number: 5780/183
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU Ohio Kentucky Region
Records, 1951-1999
Collection Number:
5780/183
Creator:
International Ladies' Garment
Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Quantity:
1 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Records (documents).
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The collection contains material relating to the activities
of the office of the Ohio Kentucky Region, minutes of local union 300 between 1964
and 1968, and resolutions passed by city and state governments in the region in
recognition of Garment Workers' Day, 1975. Also contains printed material either
published or collected by the office, including the Ohio Kentucky Region periodical,
"Ohio Kentucky News" from 1960 to 1977.
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 ILGWU had been organizing in Cleveland since its early years, and by the 1930s,
the union was organizing in other parts of Ohio and Kentucky as well. The Cleveland
Joint Board and Cleveland Knitgoods Council represented workers in Cleveland, and
Cincinnati Joint Board represented workers in Cincinnati and parts of Kentucky.
Together, these represented ILGWU members in the Ohio-Kentucky Area.
By 1977, the Ohio- Kentucky Area, which included local unions in the Ohio-Kentucky
Region, Cleveland Joint Board and Knitgoods Council, and unaffiliated locals,
claimed a total membership of roughly 5,500 people. In 1978, the Ohio-Kentucky
Regional Office was dissolved. Local unions in Ohio became part of the Northeast and
Western Pennsylvania Department to create the Northeast, Western Pennsylvania, and
Ohio Department. Kentucky locals became part of the Upper South Department.
Abraham Katovsky was the ILGWU representative in Ohio from 1910 until his death 1945.
Nathan Solomon was appointed Manager of the Cleveland Joint Board, a position he
held until his passing in 1948. Louis Friend and Hyman Langer served short
appointments, until Nicholas Kirtzman assumed leadership of the region in 1950 and
stayed in that role until his death in 1963. Sam Janis was director of the regional
office from 1963 until its dissolution in 1978.
The collection documents various projects, initiatives, and efforts of the
Ohio-Kentucky Region. One such example is the involvement in the spring campaign to
roll back apparel and textile imports from 1985. The records include correspondence,
work done to push through legislation, the organization of demonstrations for import
regulations, and collaboration with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers
Union (ACTWU), particularly Cleveland's participation in the activities. There are
also notes, articles, instructions, and publicity regarding the "price watch"
campaign to record prices and any changes in prices for items in stores week after
week. Other such programs documented included the retraining program for laid off
workers through the United Labor Agency in Cleveland.
The remainder of the collection consists of local newsletters including the "Sew it
Seams," "Ohio Kentucky News" and "The Ohio Sew Biz," as well as minutes, clippings,
and news and action items as they relate to Ohio and local affairs.
Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
-- Ohio-Kentucky Region.
Subjects:
Women's clothing industry -- United States.
Clothing workers -- Labor unions -- United
States.
Industrial relations -- United States.
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 Ohio Kentucky Region Records #5780/183. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1985 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1979 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1975 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1979 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | 1983 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | 1995 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | 1983 | |
|
March 16
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | 1986-1987 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | 1982-1987 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | 1960-1965 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | 1969-1977 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | 1978-1984 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | 1963-1968 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | 1974 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 | 1974 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 | 1951-1999 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 | 1969-1971 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 | 1991-1998 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 | 1975 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 | 1960-1964 | |