Governor's Advisory Commission. Cloak, Suit & Skirt Industry.
Collection Number: 6036/009
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
Governor's Advisory Commission. Cloak, Suit
& Skirt Industry., 1924- 1928
Collection Number:
6036/009
Creator:
Governor's Advisory Commission for the Cloak,
Suit and Skirt Industry
Quantity:
1.5 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Minutes, reports.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives,
Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection consists of reports and hearing transcripts of the
Governor's Advisory Commission for the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry.
Language:
Collection material in English
Founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the
northeastern United States, the ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, 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. In
1995, the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) to form
the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE).
Beginning in March 1924, the ILGWU and the Joint Board of Cloak and Dressmakers' Union began
negotiations with the Merchants' Ladies' Garment Association (jobbers), the Cloak, Suit and
Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association (manufacturers), and the American Cloak and Suit
Manufacturers' Association (sub-manufacturers). When no agreement could be reached by June 1924,
New York Governor Alfred E. Smith appointed a Special Advisory Commission consisting of George
Gordon Battle (Chairman), Herbert Lehman, Arthur Wolf, Lindsay Rogers, and Bernard Schientag
(State Industrial Commissioner). Representing the union and associations were Morris Hillquit
(ILGWU), Samuel Blumberg (Merchants' Ladies' Garment Association) and William Klein (Cloak and
Suit Manufacturers' Protective Association). Public hearings took place between June 17 and June
25, and on June 27, recommendations were submitted. Accepted by the union, sub-manufacturers,
and manufacturers, the jobbers refused until July 7, 1924 when the Merchants' Association agreed
to the terms of the Governors' Commission.
In an effort to bring about much needed change in the industry, the ILGWU led by President
Morris Sigman, sought reform in the New York suit and cloak trade. On behalf of the workers, the
union devised to restructure the industry through the requirement of union shops, sanitary
conditions, unemployment insurance, regulation of the work week, and guidelines for
investigating disputes. In March 1924, the ILGWU began negotiations for a new agreement with
predominantly the Merchant Ladies' Garment Association (jobbers), but also the Cloak, Suit and
Skirt Manufacturers' Protective Association (manufacturers) and the American Cloak and Suit
Manufacturers' Association (sub-manufacturers). No agreement had been reached as of June 1924,
and the union proposed to submit the issues to arbitration. With negotiations stalled, Governor
Alfred E. Smith appointed a Special Advisory Commission consisting of George Gordon Battle,
Bernard L. Shientag, Herbert H. Lehman, Arthur D. Wolf, and Lindsay Rogers to hold hearings and
work out a basis for an agreement.
The collection contains material from the Governor's Advisory Commission during its
investigation. Included are bound books containing the various and official reports that were
created during and for the investigation. There are the briefs, the memorandum on behalf of the
union as well as the Industrial Council, transcripts of the hearings and meetings, supplementary
recommendations, and the final recommendations on May 20, 1926. Of particular interest is the
extensive research done in the course of the investigation that provides a comprehensive
assessment of the garment industry at that time. The reports comprise historical information,
the current status of the industry, points of contention between the groups involved, the
demands of reform from the union, many employment and earning statistics, wage and wage scale
tables and garment output and price charts.
For supplemental information, see collection 5780/161 Cloak Joint Board Governor's Advisory
Commission on the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry which contains the first hearing on June 17,
1924 of the Special Commission to study the situation in the Cloak and Suit Industry and be able
to offer recommendations to avert any impending strike. The hearings are in bound volumes and
include June 17-19, 1924; June 20-23, 1924; June 24-July 11, 1924; July 15-August 1, 1924;
August 12-October 2, 1924; and January 2-April 15, 1925.
The Hearings continue into 1925, and additionally, there is the final Report of the
Investigation from March 10, 1925. There are also additional reports that were created as the
result of the investigation including "Wages and Wage Scales, 1925," Final Recommendations from
May 1926, the Meeting of the Special Mediation Commission in the New York Cloak and Suit
Industry from March 6, 1926 (same individuals involved).
Also, additional material can be found in collection 5780/165 Governor Smith's Hearings and
Arbitration Files which contains the typed transcripts from the hearings of the Special
Commission appointed by Governor Smith to investigate and arbitrate the existing differences
between the ILGWU and the associations of manufacturers and jobbers. Taking place at the office
of the State Labor Department in New York City, the records contain hearings that date between
July 15, 1924 and October 27, 1924. In the form of questions and answers between the Special
Commission and the representatives of the ILGWU and manufacturers' associations, discussion
focuses on the role of designers within manufacturing, conditions in the industry, the
responsibility of jobbers and sub-manufacturers, and salary and wages.
Names:
Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers' Protective
Associations (New York, N.Y.) -- Archives.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union -- Archives.
New York (State). -- Governor's Advisory Commission, Cloak,
Suit and Skirt Industry, New York City -- Archives.
Subjects:
Clothing workers -- Labor unions -- New York (State) -- New
York.
Form and Genre Terms:
Records
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:
Governor's Advisory Commission. Cloak, Suit & Skirt Industry. #6036/009. Kheel Center for
Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections:
5780: ILGWU records
5780/161: ILGWU. New York Cloak Joint Board. Advisory Commission on the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry in New York records
5780/006: ILGWU. Morris Sigman correspondence
5780/165: ILGWU. Governor Smith's Hearings and Arbitration with Various Associations records
5780: ILGWU records
5780/161: ILGWU. New York Cloak Joint Board. Advisory Commission on the Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Industry in New York records
5780/006: ILGWU. Morris Sigman correspondence
5780/165: ILGWU. Governor Smith's Hearings and Arbitration with Various Associations records
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Container
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Description
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Date
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| Box 1 | Folder 1 | 1924-1926 | |
|
Contains: Original demands by the union on the Protective Association, 1924; Decisions and
research of Governor's Commission, 1926-1926; Briefs and replying briefs, 1925-1926; Report
of final conference with union before the strike, 1926; Arbitration in the matter of union
and American Association, 1926.
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| Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1925 | |
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Copy 1
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| Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1925 | |
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Copy 2
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| Box 2 | Folder 1 | 1925-1926 | |
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Contains: Report of an Investigation, 1925; Employment and Earnings of Workers, 1925;
Memorandum in behalf of the union; Supplmentary recommentations, 1925; Wages and Wage Scales,
1925; Final recommendations, 1926.
|
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| Box 2 | Folder 2 | 1924 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | 1924-1926 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 | 1925 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 | 1925 | |
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3 copies
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| Box 2 | Folder 6 | 1925 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | 1926 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | 1928 | |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 | 1924 | |
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June 18, 1924.
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| Box 3 | Folder 2 | 1924 | |
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August 1, 1924.
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| Box 3 | Folder 3 | 1924 | |
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October 27, 1924.
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| Box 3 | Folder 4 | 1926 | |
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March 7, 1926.
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