ILGWU Local 9 Managers' Correspondence
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Scope and Contents
The collection is mainly composed of correspondence to the Joint Board, the ILGWU, and other organizations. Early correspondence is often from manager Isidore Sorkin (1925-1942), while later correspondence is from manager Louis Hyman (1942-). As a member of the Joint Board of the Cloak, Suit, Skirt and Reefer Makers' Union, Local 9 corresponded with the Joint Board regarding meetings, often for the Local manager meetings, as well as committees, agreements, price settlements, claims and complaints against firms. Local 9 and its members were part of the Retirement Fund of the Coat and Suit Industry in the New York Metropolitan area and there are letters regarding benefits. Additionally, there is correspondence with George Price (Director) and Leo Price (Assistant Director) of the Union Health Center concerning patients who were members of Local 9 discussing examinations in the clinic and work permits in shops.
Files labeled "President's Office" refer to documents that mainly originated from the office of ILGWU president David Dubinsky. Much is general letters and memos that went out to all the local managers and Joint Board within the union. There is also much correspondence addressed to Local 9 manager Louis Hyman.
Organizations represented in the collection include ICOR, which refers to the Association for Jewish Colonization in the Soviet Union Inc., of which Local 9 manager Hyman was a National Executive member. And manufacturers' organizations and associations (which represented the garment firms) appearing include the Industrial Council of Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers, Inc., and the Merchants Ladies Garment Association.
Finally, there is material of an administrative nature for Local 9 such as an accounting ledger detailing assets and investments, fees and various expenses.
Dates
- 1929-1951
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Conditions Governing Access
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.
Biographical / Historical
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States founded in 1900 by local union delegates representing about 2,000 members in cities in the northeastern United States. It was one of the first U.S. Unions to have a membership consisting of mostly females, and it played a key role in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s. The union is generally referred to as the "ILGWU" or the "ILG". The ILGWU grew in geographical scope, membership size, and 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. The ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1995 to form the Union of Needle trades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. The two unions that formed UNITE in 1995 represented only 250,000 workers between them, down from the ILGWU's peak membership of 450,000 in 1969.
Biographical / Historical
General managers of Local 9 included Isidore Sorkin and Louis Hyman. Isidore Sorkin was manager of Local 9 from 1925 to 1942.
Born in Russia, Louis Hyman (1884-1963) emigrated to England in 1903 before settling down in the United States in 1911. Within the ILGWU, Hyman served as business agent and executive board member of Local 9, director of the Union Health Center, and executive board member of the New York Joint Board. Hyman left the ILGWU for a time (roughly from 1925 to 1939) during which he served as president of the Needle Trades Workers Industrial Union. In 1942, he defeated Isidore Sorkin to become manager of Local 9.
Biographical / Historical
Local 9 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), also known as the Cloak and Suit Finishers Union, was chartered in 1903 and based in New York City.
Extent
2.33 cubic feet
Abstract
The collection consists of the correspondence of managers Isidore Sorkin and Louis Hyman of Local 9 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Includes correspondence with several departments of the Cloak Joint Board and the office of the President of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Quantity:
2.3 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Correspondence.
General
- Contact Information:
- Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives Martin P. Catherwood Library 227 Ives Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3183 kheel_center@cornell.edu http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/kheel-center
- Compiled by:
- R. Miles, September 26, 2008
- EAD encoding:
- Kheel Staff, April 02, 2019
- Title
- ILGWU Local 9 Managers' Correspondence
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Compiled by R. Miles
- Date
- April 02, 2019
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Revision Statements
- 02/23/2024: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)
Repository Details
Part of the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives Repository
227 Ives Hall
Ithaca NY 14853