ILGWU. Convention Publications,1904-1995
Collection Number: 5780/193 PUBS
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
Cornell
University Library
Title:
ILGWU. Convention publications,
1904-1995.
Collection Number:
5780/193 PUBS
Creator:
International Ladies'
Garment Workers' Union.
Quantity:
4 linear feet
Forms of Material:
Publications.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection consists of publications produced for the
conventions of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), including
Annual Journals, Reports and proceedings, General Executive Board Reports, and
Financial and Statistical Reports.
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.
This collection consists of publications produced for the conventions of the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), including Annual Journals,
Reports and proceedings, General Executive Board Reports, and Financial and
Statistical Reports.
Names:
International Ladies' Garment Workers'
Union.
Subjects:
Labor unions--Clothing workers--United
States--History.
Labor unions--Clothing workers--New York
(State)--New York--History.
Wages--Clothing workers--United
States--History.
Wages--Clothing workers--New York (State)--New
York--History.
Form and Genre Terms:
Records.
Publications.
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.
Restrictions on Use:
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet
and Procedures for Document Use.
Cite As:
ILGWU. Convention publications. 5780/193 PUBS. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell
University.
5780. ILGWU Records
5780/072. ILGWU. Constitutions and dues books
5780/080. ILGWU. Convention records
5780/080mf. ILGWU. Convention records. Microfilm
“Permanent deposit”
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
5th Convention, 1904. Annual Journal
|
1904 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
11th Convention, 1912. Report and Proceedings
|
1912 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
12th Convention, 1914. Report and Proceedings
|
1914 |
|
2 copies.
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
13th Convention, 1916. Report and Proceedings
|
1916 |
|
Copy 1
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
13th Convention, 1916. Report and Proceedings
|
1916 |
|
Copy 2
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
13th Convention, 1916. Report and Proceedings
|
1916 |
|
Copy 3
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
14th Convention, 1918. Report and Proceedings
|
1918 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
17th Convention, 1924. Financial Report
|
1922-1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
17th Convention, 1924. General Executive Board Report
|
1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
19th Convention, 1928. Financial Report
|
1925-1928 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
20th Convention, 1929. Report and Proceedings
|
1929 |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
21st Convention, 1932. Financial Report
|
1929-1932 |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 |
21st Convention, 1932. Report and Proceedings
|
1932 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
22nd Convention, 1934. Financial Report
|
1932-1934 |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 |
23rd Convention, 1937. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1934-1937 |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
24th Convention, 1940. Report and Records
|
1940 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 |
25th Convention, 1944. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1940-1944 |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 |
25th Convention, 1944. Report and Proceedings
|
1944 |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 |
26th Convention, 1947. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1944-1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 |
26th Convention, 1947. Report and Record
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 |
27th Convention, 1950. Report and Record and Financial and
Statistical Report
|
1947-1950 |
| Box 1 | Folder 22 |
28th Convention, 1953. Report and Record.
|
1953 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 |
29th Convention, 1956. Report and Record.
|
1956 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 |
30th Convention, 1959. Report and Record.
|
1959 |
|
2 copies.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 3 |
31th Convention, 1962. Report and Record.
|
1962 |
|
Copy 1
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 4 |
31th Convention, 1962. Report and Record.
|
1962 |
|
Copy 2 and 3
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 5 |
32nd Convention, 1965. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1962-1964 |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 |
32nd Convention, 1965. Report and Record.
|
1965 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 |
33rd Convention, 1968. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1965-1967 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 |
33rd Convention, 1968. Report and Record.
|
1968 |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 |
34th Convention, 1971. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1968-1970 |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 |
34th Convention, 1971. Report and Record.
|
1971 |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 |
35th Convention, 1974. Report and Record.
|
1974 |
|
Copy 1
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 2 |
35th Convention, 1974. Report and Record.
|
1974 |
|
Copy 2
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 3 |
35th Convention, 1974. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1971-1973 |
| Box 3 | Folder 4 |
35th Convention, 1974. The Northeast Department
|
1974 |
| Box 3 | Folder 5 |
35th Convention, 1974. Report and Record
|
1974 |
| Box 3 | Folder 6 |
36th Convention, 1977. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1974-1976 |
| Box 3 | Folder 7 |
36th Convention, 1977. Report and Record
|
1977 |
| Box 3 | Folder 8 |
37th Convention, 1980. General Executive Board Report
|
1980 |
|
3 copies.
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 9 |
37th Convention, 1980. Report and Record.
|
1980 |
|
2 copies.
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 10 |
37th Convention, 1980. Report and Record.
|
1980 |
|
Copy 3
|
|||
| Box 3 | Folder 11 |
37th Convention, 1980. Financial Report
|
1977-1979 |
| Box 4 | Folder 1 |
38th Convention, 1983. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1980-1982 |
| Box 4 | Folder 2 |
38th Convention, 1983. Newsletter
|
1983 |
| Box 4 | Folder 3 |
38th Triennial Convention, 1983. Report to the Delegates
|
1983 |
|
2 copies
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 4 |
38th Triennial Convention, 1983. Report and Record.
|
1983 |
| Box 4 | Folder 5 |
39th Convention, 1986. General Executive Board Report
|
1986 |
| Box 4 | Folder 6 |
40th Convention, 1989. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1986-1988 |
| Box 4 | Folder 7 |
40th Convention, 1989. Report of Proceedings
|
1989 |
|
4 copies.
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 8 |
41st Convention, 1992. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1989-1991 |
| Box 4 | Folder 9 |
41st Convention, 1992. Report of Proceedings
|
1992 |
|
2 copies.
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 10 |
41st Convention, 1992. Policy Statements
|
1992 |
|
2 copies.
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 11 |
42nd Convention, 1995. Financial and Statistical Report
|
1992-1994 |
| Box 4 | Folder 12 |
42nd Convention, 1995. General Executive Board Report
|
1995 |
|
2 copies.
|
|||
| Box 4 | Folder 13 |
10th Convention, 1910. Report and Proceeedings
|
1910 |
| Box 4 | Folder 14 |
15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th Conventions, 1920-1925. General Executive Board Reports
|
1920-1925 |
|
2 copies.
|
|||