ILGWU Chorus Records and Sheet Music
Collection Number: 5780/214
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
ILGWU Chorus Records and Sheet
Music, 1991-1996
Collection Number:
5780/214
Creator:
Union of Needletrades, Industrial
and Textile Employees (UNITE);
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU);
Dodds, Malcolm;
Tyler, Gus
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU);
Dodds, Malcolm;
Tyler, Gus
Quantity:
1 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Records (documents).
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The collection predominantly consists of sheet music
arranged by song, also included are song books, chorus packets, and information
about performances.
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 Chorus was an organization within the ILGWU that brought together union
members to perform songs for television and radio, and at conventions and other
public events. Under the direction of Malcolm Dodds, the ILGWU Chorus was probably
most-widely known for its performances of "Look for the Union Label" on television
commercials in the mid-1970s. The song, written by Paula Green and composed by
Malcolm Dodds, was part of the ILGWU's general campaign to educate the public about
the union label, the work of the ILGWU, and the importance of both to consumers and
workers alike. The ILGWU Chorus appeared at ILGWU conventions, AFL-CIO conventions,
community and political events, and the group sang songs in Chinese, English,
French, and Spanish.
Local unions, district councils, and regional departments also organized choruses,
and in many instances, these groups pre-dated the ILGWU Chorus that gained national
recognition in the 1970s. These smaller groups performed at local and regional
meetings, community events, and sometimes at the ILGWU's international conventions.
The musical revue, "My Name Is Mary Brown," for example, was performed by the
Northeast Department at the ILGWU's Golden Jubilee Convention in 1950. Along with
orchestras, theater groups, sports teams, and others, these choruses were one part
of the union's active educational departments.
The records of the ILGWU Chorus consist primarily of sheet music, and minimal records
relating to the chorus including attendance lists and administrative aspects of the
group's performances. The photographs of the ILGWU Chorus include images from the
group, as well as portraits of the chorus director Malcolm Dodds.
The ILGWU Chorus records and photographs at the Kheel Center document a very small
fraction of the work of the group, thus researchers would do well to review other
parts of the ILGWU Records for further documentation. Researchers should consider
review the Report and Record of Proceedings of the ILGWU's conventions after 1975.
These records of proceedings provide some general information about the work of the
organization, and when they chorus performed, they list the songs performed. Also of
interest are recordings of Union Label commercials in the ILGWU Audio-Visual
Collection (5780 AV). These include several of the different commercials that were
televised as part of the Union Label Campaign.
Names:
Dodds, Malcolm
Tyler, Gus
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Operations Department
Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile
Employees
UNITE HERE (Organization)
Subjects:
Textile workers--Labor unions--New York (State)
Clothing workers--Labor unions--New York (State)
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 Chorus Records and Sheet Music #5780/214. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
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mounted on cardboard
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