ILGWU Murray Gross Memorabilia
Collection Number: 5780/199 MB
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU Murray Gross Memorabilia,
1963
Collection Number:
5780/199 MB
Creator:
Gross, Murray;
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Quantity:
0.7 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Memorabilia.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Miscellaneous memorabilia including sketches, awards,
citations, cups and ribbons
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.
Murray Gross entered the garment industry as a capmaker in 1925, and later worked as
a tucker and a dress operator. A former student at the Brookwood Labor College,
Gross was elected to the executive board of the Dress Joint Board in 1932. He was
longtime manager of Local 6. In 1941, he helped found the Union for Democratic
Action (later Americans for Democratic Action). After serving in the Army from 1943
to 1945, Gross served as assistant general manager of the Dress Joint Board. In
1961, he was appointed National Chairman of the American Veterans Committee, and in
1962, he was named Commission of Human Rights for the City of New York. Murray Gross
passed away on July 12, 1981, in New York City.
Names:
Gross, Murray
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.
Form and Genre Terms:
Memorabilia.
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 Murray Gross Memorabilia #5780/199 MB. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
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Container
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Description
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Date
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| Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1963 | |
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Format: Memorabilia
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| Box 1 | Folder 2 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | ||