Complaints from Workers, 1965-1968

The collection of the New York Cloak Joint Board is organized into two series. The first series contains the subject files of the Joint Board of Cloak, Suit, Skirt and Reefer Makers' Union. The records offer historical information about the Joint Board, which can be found in the documentation of the 50th anniversary of the cloakmakers' strike of 1910. There was a large celebration in 1960, and along with photographs of the big event, the speeches and programs discuss the history of the strike and the Joint Board. Additionally, there is a copy of the 1926 constitution of the Joint Board. It was during this time that the Joint Board was plagued by infighting and an attempted Communist control of the locals. Charges were brought against members and officers resigned in an effort to maintain the Joint Board.



The records document both the administrative function of the Joint Board, as well as that of the International union. The work of the International comprises correspondence from the office of presidents David Dubinsky and Louis Stulberg. ILGWU Departments represented includes: Education, (Management) Engineering, Fair Trade Practices, Legal, Political, Research, Retiree Service, and Union Label. The records of the Union Label Department offers reports, articles and clippings, and provides information on the general history and use of the label. More specifically, there is correspondence with the Joint Board regarding use of the label and the companies and firms that were not using complying. Promotional material and publicity campaigns, studies and surveys, illustrate label use and its effectiveness. Additional ILGWU business involves the union's National Retirement Fund (general information, by-laws, rules and regulations); the retirement plan for staff members of the ILGWU (those that work in the office); and the Supplementary Unemployment Benefits (SUB) Fund offered to those who had been in the employ of a terminated business (rules and regulations, meeting minutes). The collection also offers information on cooperative housing and possible early housing projects of the ILGWU (folder entitled "Housing"). There are Board of Director meeting minutes and Stockholder meeting minutes for the East River Housing, as well as early documents of the United Housing Foundation.



Administrative departments of the Cloak Joint Board that are represented includes: the reports of the Cloak and Suit Department within the Joint Board; the Health and Welfare Fund and its predecessor the Health and Vacation Fund (meeting minutes, financial reports, rules and regulations, benefits); the Organization Department (handmade fliers that were passed out in shops, lists of firms to organize as well as those that joined the manufacturer associations, reports, and the organizational campaign to unionize the entire cloak industry); the Price Adjustment Department (reports on rate increases, piece work settlements); and the Reefer Department (children's style of coat, reports from the children's coat department). Notable records involve the Overlapping Department. The correspondence references the encroachment of men's clothing establishments on the women's coat and suit industry. This production of ladies garments by men's garment manufacturers resulted from the new style of "mannish" suits for women.



There are files of correspondence and agreements with numerous Manufacturers Associations: the American Cloak and Suit Manufacturers' Association, the Industrial Council of the Cloak, Suit and Skirt Manufacturers, the Infants' and Childrens' Coat Association, Inc., and the Merchant Ladies Garment Association, Inc. Additionally, there were departments within the Joint Board that worked with the manufacturers. These included the Industrial Council Department and the Merchants-American Department. The Industrial Council Department of the Cloak Joint Board resolved complaints, settlements of prices, held investigations and shop meetings, handled and prepared union books, and were involved in union activities and publicity drives. They also managed all complaints with manufacturer associations, mainly the Industrial Council Association and American Association. The Merchants-American Department was similar in that it dealt with complaints, discharge of workers, payroll defaults, underpayment of wages, non-payment for overtime work, failure of shops to keep proper books, and visits and investigation of firms.



The general files of the Cloak Joint Board reflect the routine and administrative function of the Joint Board mainly from 1930 through the 1960s. Subjects include officer elections and installations, information on board members, speeches at the installation ceremonies, financial statements, assets and accounts, and informative reports created by the Research Department offering a look at production, earnings, and conditions in the industry through compiled studies. The records of the Joint Board Grievance Committee consists of cases before the committee, arranged by case number, with an overview of the grievance, individuals involved, and finals actions. The reports from the general manager to the Board of Directors of the Joint Board compiles the union's activities, and provides an overview of what was happening in the industry. The bulk of the collection is made up of correspondence, speeches, and even photographs of three of its managers, Israel Feinberg, Isidore Nagler, and Henoch Mendelsund. Israel Feinberg was manager of the Cloak Joint Board from 1920-1925, and then was reappointed in 1939 until his death in 1952. Isidore Nagler held the position of general manager from 1928-1939 and became manager again in 1952 until his death in 1959. Henoch Mendelsund was Nagler's assistant for years became the new manager of the Joint Board in 1959 and retired in 1973.



The Brooklyn Office of the Cloak Joint Board handled the shops and workers in Brooklyn, including charges and complaints, discharge cases, and reports from the office supervisors. Shop complaints from members and locals went to the Joint Board, the Grievance Committee and sometimes the Impartial Chairman. The Impartial Chairman of the Cloak and Suit Industry arbitrated disputes in the industry and the records contain hearings and cases as well as the decisions rendered. The National Board of the Coat and Suit Industry continued the work of the National Recovery Board to ensure that garments were made under fair working conditions. The records include correspondence, reports, negotiations, hand written notes, preparatory documents and research, proposals and demands.



The Cloak Out-of-Town Department was composed of locals that represented cloak workers not in New York City, but worked closely with the New York Cloak Joint Board and the collection contains meeting minutes and correspondence between managers and locals. There is also the correspondence with other Joint Boards across the country including the Los Angeles Joint Board and South Jersey-Philadelphia Joint Board. Locals affiliated with the Cloak Joint Board are contained in this collection, and in many instances their own as well: Cloak and Suit Tailors' Local 9 (5780/013; 5780/017; 5780/017P), Amalgamated Ladies' Garment Cutters' Union Local 10 (5780/001; 5780/008; 5780/011; 5780/012; 5780/094; 5780/131), Waterproof Garment Workers' Union Local 20, Blouse, Skirt and Sportswear Workers Union Local 23-25 (5780/059; 5780/059P; 5780/059Pubs; 5780/095), Skirt and Sportswear Workers' Union Local 23, Designers' Guild of Ladies' Apparel Local 30, Corset and Brassier Workers' Local 32, Cloak, Skirt and Dress Pressers Local 35 (5780/031), Italian Cloak, Suit and Skirt Makers Local 48 (5780/040), Buttonhole Makers Local 64, Examiners and Floor Workers Local 82 (5780/007), Office and Distribution Employees Local 99, Cloak and Dress Drivers' and Helpers Local 102, Snowsuits, Ski Wear, Leggings, Infants and Novelty Sportswear Local 105 (5780/053), United Cloak, Suit, Infants and Children's Coat Operators and Sample Makers Local 117 (5780/034), Knitgoods Workers Local 155 (5780/076; 5780/129).



Individual correspondents represented in the collection include: David Dubinsky; William Green; Averell Harriman; Sidney Hillman; Irving Howe; Jacob Javits; Fiorello LaGuardia; Herbert Lehman; Elias Lieberman; Jay Lovestone; George Meany; Marianne Moore; Jacob Potofsky; Nelson Rockefeller; Rose Schneiderman; Matthew Schoenwald; Mark Starr; Louis Stulberg; Norman Thomas; Gus Tyler; and Charles S. Zimmerman.



Organizations include: the AFL-CIO; the American Labor Party; Histadrut; the Jewish Daily Forward; the Jewish Labor Committee; the Liberal Party of New York; the National Recovery Administration; the Rand School of Social Science; and the Socialist Party.



The Second Series involves subject files arranged alphabetically for the Cloak Out-of-Town Department and include locals, educational programs and training seminars, and departments.