Fashion Exports New York, 1994

The records of the Boston Joint Board contain three series. The first series is composed of meeting minutes. The meetings are for the various locals that comprised the Boston Joint Board (Locals 12, 46, 56, 73, and 80) as well as the Joint Board itself. The early minutes are bound and hand-written. Later minutes are no longer bound and typewritten.



The second series is composed mainly of correspondence, but also contains records of the administrative function and union activities of the Joint Board. There are the meeting minutes of the various committees of the Joint Board, including the Grievance Committee, the Appeals Committee and the Negotiating Committee (with agreements). Departments of the Joint Board represented include the Health and Vacation Fund and the Retirement Fund. In addition to correspondence and records of those departments, there are also the rules and regulations. Administrative material includes finances, receipts and disbursement statements. There is much information on local executive board elections and of note is a listing of incoming members and which local they joined. The correspondence is to and from the International, office of the president (David Dubinsky), union departments and other Joint Boards. Correspondence also involves garment companies, and manufacturers and associations. Of special interest is the correspondence with the Boston City Council as well as Massachusetts members of Congress.



Most of the correspondence is to and from longtime Boston Joint Board manager Philip Kramer. Kramer came to the United States in 1905 and soon found work in a dress shop. He joined the ILGWU in 1920 and was part of the 1925 organizing campaign in Boston. It was his work there that led to his role as a business agent for the Boston Joint Board. He was later elected to the General Executive Board. He became manager of the Joint Board in 1932 and held that position until his retirement in 1973.



Series three consists solely of company files. These files help to illustrate the garment industry in Boston. The records are arranged alphabetically by company name. There is correspondence with the companies, but mainly they consist of signed status reports. Also included are contract agreements with the various locals. Many of the companies changed their names or went out of business, which is reflected in the records.