Danish, Max D. Collected Documents.
Collection Number: 6036/013
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
Danish, Max D. Collected
Documents., 1946-1964
Collection Number:
6036/013
Creator:
Danish, Max D.
Quantity:
1.5 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Articles, reprints, pamphlets, correspondence,
photographs.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
This collection includes play scripts and other writings by
Max Danish, as well as notes and collected documents about the International Ladies'
Garment Workers' Union.
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).
Max D. Danish, born in 1887 in Vitebsk, Russia, immigrated to the United States at
the age of 14 and began work in the garment industry. He was involved with the early
struggles and strikes of the union, and provided publicity for the union during the
Cloakmakers' strike in 1910. Danish worked on a daily newspaper in Connecticut and
went to New York University to study journalism and received a law degree. In 1914,
he became the managing editor of the official ILGWU publication, the "Ladies'
Garment Worker," and director of press relations. When the ILGWU publication became
"Justice" in 1919, Danish took over as editor, helming the publication until his
retirement in 1951. Danish also served the union as director of publicity and
attempted to change the impression of union news, creating a paper that had more
general interest. Through his positions with publicity and publications for the
union, Danish strived to change the attitude of the press toward union news. Danish
wrote the biographies "William Green: A Pictorial Biography" and "The World of David
Dubinsky." With close to four decades of service to the ILGWU, Danish was a
reporter, editor, public relations expert and historian. He died on January 11, 1964
at the age of 77.
The collection contains manuscripts, plays and drafts of original material by Max D.
Danish. Many are fiction and focus on the fashion and garment industry, including
"57th Street" and a similar version entitled "Pirates on 5th Avenue," "Dresses,
Unlimited," a play in three acts from 1940, and "Inside Dresses or Town and Gown: A
Play in Three Acts," a precursor to "Dresses, Unlimited," and "Mr. Lewis and Mr.
Green," a conversation between John Lewis and William Green in verse. Also included
is a manuscript for the "History of the ILGWU." The collection has numerous rough
drafts, ideas for stories, speeches and articles, items both typed and handwritten.
Available is collected material on historical information, newspaper clippings, and
articles on David Dubinsky.
The collection contains biographical material on Max Danish, including clippings from
his retirement from the union in 1951, his brief stint as an AFL news southern
correspondent in Miami in 1954, articles written by Danish in "The New Leader"
(paper devoted to Socialist and labor movements), and the clippings of the many
letters and opinions he wrote to various newspapers regarding labor matters.
Names:
Danish, Max D.
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union --
Archives.
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:
Danish, Max D. Collected Documents. #6036/013. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | 1940 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | 1940 | |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | 1940 | |
|
Draft
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | ||
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | 1959-1961 | |
|
Correspondence, speeches, notes
|
|||
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 4 | 1945-1946 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 6 | 1951 | |
|
Clippings
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | 1954 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | 1949-1952 | |
|
Clippings
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 9 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 10 | 1957 | |
|
Clippings
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 11 | 1964 | |
|
Letters to Mrs. Danish
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 12 | 1948-1961 | |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 | 1955 | |
|
Clippings
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 14 | 1957 | |
|
Clippings
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 15 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 16 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 17 | ||
| Box 2 | Folder 18 | ||
| Box 3 | Folder 1 | ||
| Box 3 | Folder 2 | ||
| Box 3 | Folder 3 | ||