Theodore W. Kheel Audio-Visual Materials

Collection Number: 6021 AV

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Theodore W. Kheel Audio-Visual Materials, 1961-2001
Collection Number:
6021 AV
Creator:
Kheel, Theodore W.
Quantity:
34.6 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Audiovisual materials.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Language:
Collection material in English

THEODORE W. KHEEL BIOGRAPHY

Theodore Woodrow Kheel was said to be named for both Woodrow Wilson and his political rival Theodore Roosevelt, the result of a compromise between his politically differing parents. The settlement presaged a career in which Kheel would be tapped by mayors, governors, and presidents to settle disputes that were part of the nation's major political and social transitions from post-World War II to well into the 21st century.
Born in 1914 in Brooklyn, Ted Kheel attended public high school in the Bronx. He was awarded a Regents scholarship to Cornell University, where he attended an accelerated undergraduate law school program permitting him to earn a bachelor's and law degree in six years.
In private practice for a brief time after graduation from law school, Kheel soon was offered a position as a National Labor Relations Board attorney in Washington. Kheel's special talents as a mediator and his obvious political skills soon gave him the opportunity to move to a new war-time agency, where he was initially hired as principal mediation officer. By 1944, he had been appointed executive director of the National War Labor Board, with a staff of 2,500 who were hearing 150 disputes a week. Kheel's work at the WLB introduced him to the most important figures in the labor movement and key government officialscontacts he would use effectively in the future.
Following the end of World War II, Kheel returned to New York City and was drafted by Mayor O'Dywer to serve in the city's new Labor Relations Division, which Kheel came to head within a year. With the agreement of the mayor, Kheel was able to serve both in this position and maintain a separate, private law practice.
In 1949, Kheel was appointed to a part-time position as impartial chairman for an important segment of public transit in New York City, a position in which he would render 30,000 decisions through 1982. Also in 1949, Kheel became a partner in the New York law firm Battle, Fowler, Jaffin and Kheel. His skills in conflict resolution led an observer to remark that the firm's work began with a battle, ended by Kheel.
During his more than half a century of involvement in labor matters, Kheel was known above all else for his extraordinary ability to get feuding parties to make concessions to reach an agreement. In the important New York and national labor disputes which he would be called to mediate, Kheel's approach was to protect management rights and at the same time demand fairness to workers while also trying to protect the public interest in the issue.
Kheel's was frequently the voice of reason in settling a number of extremely difficult labor disputes of the 1960s and 1970s. Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr., turned to Kheel to help end the 114-day newspaper strike of 1962-63. Among his most infamous cases was the strike involving Mike Quill, head of the Transport Workers Union, who publically battled Mayor John V. Lindsay in 1965-66. Kheel's efforts also included helping coordinate bargainers and mediators during the 35-day New York City teachers' strike in 1968. President Lyndon B. Johnson summoned Kheel to Washington in 1964 to help mediate 10 days of feverish negotiations that prevented a nationwide rail walkout. Kheel would ultimately serve as a mediator and advisor for virtually every New York mayor from O'Dwyer to Beame, for the Kennedy-Johnson Administration, and other presidential administrations as well.
Kheel's interests in public issues were not limited to the labor sector. The policy disputes that came to his attention as a mediator and lawyer frequently cried out for larger solutions, and Kheel was not averse to using his considerable public presence and media contacts to seek redress, especially for what he viewed as past institutional injustices or misguided government actions. Although pressed to do so on a number of occasions, Kheel refused to run for elective office, preferring the role of a labor neutral and public advocate.
Kheel was also not averse to backing his powers of persuasion with legal action: a fierce advocate for public transit, he initiated a class action lawsuit over the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's refusal to fund mass rail transit. His most sustained crusade for the public good related to his battle to limit commuter auto traffic and control highway building in New York City in favor of increased use of public transportation. Initially attacked by Port Authority officials and some city, state, and federal politicians of both parties, many of the solutions originally proposed by Kheel, including the concept of the subsidized fare, became public policy in later years.
An early supporter of the civil rights movement, Kheel and his wife Ann become involved with the New York Urban League in the 1950s. He served as its president in 1955 and as national president for four years. He worked with President Johnson on race issues and with Martin Luther King, Jr., in a libel suit against the New York Times. Kheel's mediation skills led to important strides in hiring African Americans in the airline industry. His reputation for sensitivity to minority issues resulted in his becoming involved in efforts to add civilians to the New York City Police Review Board in 1965. Kheel was also recruited as a peacemaker in the 1968 Ocean Hill-Brownsville Teachers dispute.
Even though Kheel handled disputes for transit workers, typesetters, and longshoremen, he reveled in the finer things in life, and dabbled as a restaurateur in fine food and was a patron of the fine arts.
He once owned a stake in Le Pavillon, a leading French restaurant in Manhattan, among others. He also represented numerous artists, including Robert Rauschenberg and Christo, and was the prime mover in the realization of the long-heralded Gates Project in Central Park in 2005.
He also made millions of dollars as an entrepreneur while facilitating sustainable economic and social change. He was the lead investor in the giant Punta Cana resort, transforming 30 miles of jungle in the Dominican Republic, and helped bring about the airport that opened that country to tourists and travelers.
Finding the solution to problems such as the impact of automation on the workplace, community disputes, and protecting a sustainable environment in which mankind will flourish, to name but a few, were the focus of Kheel's interest, enthusiasm, and financial support. He was the prime mover, bringing along like-minded citizens and specialists, in the creation of organizations to find solutions to the more intractable issues facing society. The Foundation on Employee Health, Medical Care and Welfare, the Foundation on Automation and Employment (and its British counterpart), Automation House, the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, and the Earth Pledge Foundation were among the most successful of such efforts. In the same vein, in collaboration with Price, Waterhouse in 1994, Kheel formed Prevention and Early Resolution of Conflicts, Inc. (PERC), now housed at Cornell ILR as Cornell/PERC Institute.
A prolific writer, Kheel is perhaps best known for his encyclopedic work on labor law. Throughout a career that was active almost until his death at age 96 in November 2010, he was able to balance, with amazing success, advocacy of the public good and the management of a successful law and mediation practice and other business and cultural interests.
SUBJECTS

Names:
Kheel, Theodore Woodrow

Form and Genre Terms:
Audiovisual materials.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

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:
Theodore W. Kheel Audio-Visual Materials #6021 AV. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
RELATED MATERIALS

Related Collections:
5024: Theodore W. Kheel Arbitration Awards
5776 AV: Theodore W. Kheel Interviews and Programs
6017: Theodore W. Kheel Newspaper Clipping File
6021 MB: Theodore W. Kheel Memorabilia
6021 P: Theodore W. Kheel Photographs
6021/001: Theodore W. Kheel Correspondence
6021/003: Theodore W. Kheel Arbitration files
6021/004: Theodore W. Kheel Legal Files
6021/005: Theodore W. Kheel Speeches and Articles
6021/006: Theodore W. Kheel Non-Profit Organization Files
6021/007: Theodore W. Kheel Subject Files
6021/008: Theodore W. Kheel Books and Articles
6021/009: Theodore W. Kheel Newspaper Clipping File
6021/010: Theodore W. Kheel Additional Files
6021/011: Theodore W. Kheel Punta Cana Files
6021/012m: Invitation and Program for the Theodore W. Kheel Memorial Service
6059 OH: Thomas Shactman Interviews with Theodore W. Kheel
6194 OH: College of Labor and Employment Lawyers Interview with Theodore W. Kheel
6196 OH: New York City Central Labor Council Interview of Theodore W. Kheel for Central Archives
6207 OH: CLEL Video Oral History Project
CONTAINER LIST

Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Item 1 1961
Box 2 Item 1 1980
Box 2 Item 2
Box 2 Item 3
Master
Box 2 Item 4
Dub
Box 2 Item 5
Edited Master
Box 2 Item 6
Box 2 Item 7 1982
Box 3 Item 1
TUB
Box 3 Item 2 1981
Master
Box 3 Item 3
Box 3 Item 4
Box 3 Item 5
Box 4 Item 1
Box 4 Item 2
Long version Part 2
Box 4 Item 3
Long version Part 1
Box 4 Item 4
Dub
Box 4 Item 5
Show #13 - VT -- Protection Master
Box 5 Item 1
Box 5 Item 2
Box 5 Item 3
Box 5 Item 4
edited Master ; Segment 1
Box 5 Item 5
Edited Master ; Segment 3
Box 5 Item 6
Box 5 Item 7 1980
Master
Box 6 Item 1
Master
Box 6 Item 2
Edited Master
Box 6 Item 3
Edited Master
Box 6 Item 4
Box 6 Item 5
Box 7 Item 1
Box 7 Item 2
Box 7 Item 3
Box 7 Item 4
Box 7 Item 5 1980
Box 7 Item 6 1984
Box 7 Item 7 1980
Box 7 Item 8
Box 7 Item 9
Box 7 Item 10 1980
Box 7 Item 11 1982
Box 7 Item 12 1981
Box 7 Item 13
Box 7 Item 14 1981
Box 7 Item 15 1980
Shooting Master
Box 7 Item 16
Box 8 Item 1
Box 8 Item 2
1.Rainbow ; 2.Instant Nut ; 3.Challenge ; 4.Super Bowl ; 5.Chewy Chocolate ; 6.American Cancer ; 7.Dan Lovett ; 8.H. Rubenstein ; 9.Revlon ; 10.IBM
Box 8 Item 3
type "C" - 1 inch
Box 8 Item 4
Box 8 Item 5
Master
Box 8 Item 6
Box 8 Item 7
Box 9 Item 1
Master
Box 9 Item 2
tape #41
Box 9 Item 3
tape no. 33 -- DUB
Box 9 Item 4
Edited Master
Box 9 Item 5
tape # 40 - Master
Box 9 Item 6 1982
Box 9 Item 7
Box 9 Item 8
Teach-in Edit Master - 9/5/1979
Box 9 Item 9
Reel 2 of 2 -- DUB
Box 9 Item 10
Reel 1 of 2 -- DUB
Box 9 Item 11
part 2 of 2 -- Master
Box 9 Item 12
DUB
Box 9 Item 13
9/10/1982
Box 9 Item 14 1982
Box 9 Item 15 1982
Box 10 Item 1
Dub
Box 10 Item 2
Master
Box 10 Item 3
Box 10 Item 4
Box 10 Item 5
Dub
Box 10 Item 6 1982
Box 10 Item 7
Box 10 Item 8
Edited Master
Box 10 Item 9
Master
Box 10 Item 10
Edited Master
Box 10 Item 11
Box 10 Item 12 1980
Box 10 Item 13
1.Anti-Smoking PSA ; 2.Fast Forward ; 3.Fast Forward -- Edited Master
Box 10 Item 14
Dub
Box 10 Item 15
Master
Box 11 Item 1 1980
2nd Edit - AutoHse - 2/19/1980 -- Edited Master
Box 11 Item 2
Box 11 Item 3
Box 11 Item 4
Box 11 Item 5
DUB
Box 11 Item 6
DUB
Box 11 Item 7
Master
Box 11 Item 8
Edited Master
Box 11 Item 9
Box 11 Item 10
Master
Box 11 Item 11
Master
Box 11 Item 12
Master
Box 11 Item 13
Master
Box 11 Item 14
Master
Box 11 Item 15
Master
Box 12 Item 1 1976
Box 12 Item 2 1976
Box 12 Item 3 1976
Box 12 Item 4 1976
Box 12 Item 5 1984
Box 12 Item 6
Box 12 Item 7
Box 12 Item 8 1976
Box 12 Item 9
Box 12 Item 10 1976
Box 12 Item 11 1976
Box 12 Item 12
Box 12 Item 13 1976
Box 12 Item 14 1976
Box 12 Item 15
unboxed
Box 13 Item 1 1980
Box 13 Item 2 1984
Box 13 Item 3 1980
Box 13 Item 4 1981
Reel 1B
Box 13 Item 5
Television Lighting (B&W) ; Color Brightness & Contrast ; Color by Design
Box 13 Item 6 1980
Box 13 Item 7
Spring 1981
Box 13 Item 8
Box 13 Item 9
9/23 - (pt.3) ; 9/30 (pt.1) VanArsdale
Box 13 Item 10 1980
Box 13 Item 11 1980
Box 13 Item 12
Box 13 Item 13
Box 13 Item 14
Box 13 Item 15 1981
Edited Copy
Box 14 Item 1 1980
Box 14 Item 2
Box 14 Item 3 1982
Box 14 Item 4 1981
Box 14 Item 5
Dub
Box 14 Item 6 1980
Box 14 Item 7
Box 14 Item 8
Box 14 Item 9
Dub
Box 14 Item 10
Dub
Box 14 Item 11
Box 14 Item 12 1982
Box 14 Item 13
Master - Protection Copy
Box 14 Item 14
Box 14 Item 15 1980
Master Reel #3
Box 15 Item 1
32 Master
Box 15 Item 2 1985
Box 15 Item 3
can't use -- reel one
Box 15 Item 4
Master tape (European Standard)
Box 15 Item 5 1981
Box 15 Item 6
Box 15 Item 7
Box 15 Item 8
Box 15 Item 9
Box 15 Item 10
used for J. Hilton Inc.
Box 15 Item 11 1980
reel 2
Box 15 Item 12 1980
Master -- reel #2
Box 15 Item 13 1980
Edited Copy
Box 15 Item 14
Noise Reduced Master
Box 15 Item 15
Box 15 Item 16
Cassette Piracy -- Pete Rose -- Mugging ------ Dub
Box 15 Item 17 1983
Back-up
Box 16 Item 1 1982
Box 16 Item 2
Box 16 Item 3
Box 16 Item 4
Edited Master
Box 16 Item 5
Edit Master
Box 16 Item 6
Box 16 Item 7
Edited Master
Box 16 Item 8 1980
WNBC News ; Gabe Pressman ; Nov. 1980
Box 16 Item 9 1980
record date: 11/18/1980
Box 16 Item 10 1983
Box 16 Item 11 1980
Box 16 Item 12 1980
Box 16 Item 13
Box 16 Item 14
Box 17 Item 1
Box 17 Item 2
Box 17 Item 3
Box 17 Item 4
Box 17 Item 5
Box 17 Item 6
Box 17 Item 7
Box 17 Item 8
Box 17 Item 9
Box 17 Item 10
Box 17 Item 11
Box 17 Item 12
Box 17 Item 13
Box 17 Item 14 1984
Box 17 Item 15
Box 17 Item 16
Box 18 Item 1
Master
Box 18 Item 2
Master
Box 18 Item 3
Box 18 Item 4
Box 18 Item 5
Edited copy
Box 18 Item 6
Edited Master
Box 18 Item 7
produced by Terran productions for Hudson Institute
Box 18 Item 8
3rd. Gen. Dub
Box 18 Item 9
Master
Box 18 Item 10
Box 18 Item 11
Box 18 Item 12
Box 18 Item 13
Box 18 Item 14
Box 18 Item 15
Dub
Box 18 Item 16
Box 19 Item 1
Box 19 Item 2
Box 19 Item 3 1980
Master -- Reel #4
Box 19 Item 4 1980
Box 19 Item 5 1980
Box 19 Item 6 1980
Master Reel #1
Box 19 Item 7 1980
Dub copy -- Record Date: 6/3/1980
Box 19 Item 8 1981
Box 19 Item 9 1982
Box 19 Item 10
Master
Box 19 Item 11 1980
Edited Master
Box 19 Item 12 1980
Dub -- Reel #4
Box 19 Item 13
Box 19 Item 14
Box 19 Item 15 1984
Box 20 Item 1
i-Productions -- Master
Box 20 Item 2
Box 20 Item 3 1978
Shooting Master -- 11/16/1978
Box 20 Item 4
Box 20 Item 5
Master
Box 20 Item 6
Box 20 Item 7
Box 20 Item 8
Box 20 Item 9
Box 20 Item 10
Dub
Box 20 Item 11
Box 20 Item 12
Master
Box 20 Item 13
DUB
Box 20 Item 14
Master
Box 20 Item 15
Box 21 Item 1
1.Collective Bargaining, Session #10 ; 2.Collective Bargaining Session #2
Box 21 Item 2
1.Session#2 ; 2.Session #3
Box 21 Item 3
Session #2 continued
Box 21 Item 4
Box 21 Item 5
1.Session #4 ; 2.Session #6
Box 21 Item 6
1.Session #3
Box 21 Item 7
Box 21 Item 8
Box 21 Item 9
Box 21 Item 10
Box 21 Item 11
Box 21 Item 12 1980
Box 21 Item 13 1980
Box 21 Item 14
Dub
Box 21 Item 15
produced by S. Lawrence / M. Owen with H. Smith
Box 21 Item 16
Reel #12 (tape 1)
Box 21 Item 17
Box 21 Item 18
Box 22 Item 1
Box 22 Item 2
Box 22 Item 3
Box 22 Item 4
Box 22 Item 5 1980
Box 22 Item 6 1980
Dub -- Reel #1
Box 22 Item 7
Box 22 Item 8
Box 22 Item 9
hold for re-use
Box 22 Item 10
Box 22 Item 11
Box 22 Item 12
Box 22 Item 13 1980
Box 22 Item 14
Original Edited Master
Box 22 Item 15
Box 22 Item 16
Box 22 Item 17
Box 22 Item 18 1980
Box 22 Item 19
Box 23 Item 1
Official Master Edit
Box 23 Item 2
Box 23 Item 3
Box 23 Item 4
i-productions
Box 23 Item 5
Box 23 Item 6
Box 23 Item 7
Box 23 Item 8
Box 23 Item 9
Box 23 Item 10
Box 23 Item 11
Box 23 Item 12
Box 23 Item 13
Box 23 Item 14
Dub -- part one
Box 23 Item 15
Box 23 Item 16
Box 24 Item 1
Box 24 Item 2 1969
Box 24 Item 3
Box 24 Item 4 1980
Box 24 Item 5
Box 24 Item 6 1980
Box 24 Item 7
Box 24 Item 8 1983
Box 24 Item 9
Box 24 Item 10
Box 24 Item 11
Box 24 Item 12 1980
Box 24 Item 13
Box 24 Item 14
Box 24 Item 15
Box 24 Item 16
new?
Box 24 Item 17
Box 24 Item 18
Box 24 Item 19
Box 25 Item 1 1974
Box 25 Item 2 1975
Box 25 Item 3 1975
Box 25 Item 4
Box 25 Item 5 1975
Box 25 Item 6 1974
Box 25 Item 7
Box 25 Item 8
Box 25 Item 9
Box 25 Item 10
Box 25 Item 11
Box 25 Item 12
Box 26
Box 26 Item 1
Box 40 Item 1
Box 41 Item 1
Box 42 Item 1
Box 43 Item 1
Box 44 Item 1
Box 45 Item 1
Box 46 Item 1
Box 27
Box 27 Item 1
Box 52 Item 1
Box 53 Item 1
Box 54 Item 1
Box 55 Item 1
Box 28
Box 28 Item 1
Box 56 Item 1
Box 29 Item 1
Box 29 Item 2 1981
Box 29 Item 3
Edit Master
Box 29 Item 4 1983
Box 29 Item 5 1983
Box 30 Item 1
Emhart Prod. Master
Box 30 Item 2
Box 30 Item 3
Box 30 Item 4 1983
Box 31 Item 1
Box 31 Item 2 1983
Box 31 Item 3
Box 31 Item 4
Box 32 Item 1
Master
Box 32 Item 2 1981
Box 32 Item 3
Back up master (with D.S. Key) - tape #2
Box 32 Item 4
Box 32 Item 5 1966
Box 32 Item 6
Box 32 Item 7
Box 32 Item 8
Box 33
Box 34 Item 1 2001
Box 34 Item 2
Box 34 Item 3 1999
Box 34 Item 4 2001
Box 34 Item 5
Master
Box 34 Item 6 1976
Box 34 Item 7 1983
Box 34 Item 8 1983
Box 35 Item 1 1948
Box 35 Item 2 1948
Box 35 Item 3
Box 35 Item 4
Box 35 Item 5
Box 35 Item 6
Box 35 Item 7 1948
Box 35 Item 8 1948
c.2 - Scratched
Box 36.1
Box 36 Item 1
Box 36.2
Box 36.3
Box 37
Box 37 Item 1
Box 38 Item 1 1983
Box 38 Item 2
Master Spectrum
Box 38 Item 3
Box 39 Item 1
Box 39 Item 2 1974
Box 39 Item 3
Box 39 Item 4 1974
Box 39 Item 5
Box 39 Item 6 1976
Show #4, Sunday, Oct. 17, 1976 -- Master
Box 40
Box 41
Box 42
Box 43
Box 44
Box 45
Box 46
Box 47
Box 47 Item 1
Box 48 Item 1
Box 33 Item 1
Box 49 Item 1
Box 50 Item 1
Box 51 Item 1
Box 48
Box 49
Box 50
Box 51
Box 52
Box 53
Box 54
Box 55
Box 56