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International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Charles S. Zimmerman papers

 Collection
Identifier: 5780/014

Scope and Contents

The Charles Zimmerman papers consist primarily of correspondence, reports, minutes, newspaper clippings, and broadsides dealing with his activities as a leader in Local 22 (in Series I), as well as his other union and political activities (in Series II).

The remainder of the materials covers union affairs, both within and outside of the ILGWU, from the 1920s to the 1950s, as well as labor issues in general. There is a good deal of information on civil rights and African-American employees from the 1930s to the 1950s. Other subjects include anti-fascism and anti-Nazism; strikes and other labor disputes in the U.S. and Canada; union elections; and worker education.

Significant organizations represented in the Zimmerman collection include the AFL and CIO (before and after the merger); the Fur and Leather Workers' Union; the Jewish Labor Committee; joint boards and locals of the ILGWU, especially Local 22 in New York; the League for Industrial Democracy; the NAACP; the National Urban League; the Workmen's Circle; and the Works Progress Administration.

Notable individuals represented include: Luigi Antonini; Irving Brown; David Dubinsky, Julius Hochman; Fiorello LaGuardia; Tom Mooney; Rose Pesotta; Adam Clayton Powell; Jackie Robinson; Norman Thomas; and Roy Wilkins.

Among the most significant material in the collection is correspondence documenting Zimmerman's activities with the Communist Party in the U.S. and its various factions and splinter groups, as well as other political organizations and figures. Correspondents include Jay Lovestone and William Z. Foster; there is also considerable material dealing with the Communist Party of the U.S.A. and the "Majority Group," or Lovestone faction. Other political parties represented include the American Labor Party, the Liberal Party (New York State), and the Socialist Party.

Dates

  • 1919-1958 [bulk 1920-1945].

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

Charles S. Zimmerman, labor leader, political activist, and officer, International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU).

Charles Zimmerman was born in Russia in 1896 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1913. He worked in the New York garment industry and joined ILGWU Local 22; shortly thereafter, he became its secretary-manager. He was also an organizer for the Joint Board of the Dress and Waistmakers' Union. Throughout the 1920s, Zimmerman was an active member of the Communist Party, which affiliation cost him his union leadership positions in 1925. By 1931, however, he was reinstated in the ILGWU and was elected a vice-president in 1934.

1897
Born in Talne, Ukraine, Russia. Studied in Kheder and Talmud Torah.
1907
Entered local Russian secular school.
1913
Arrived in United States. Lived with relatives on Lower East Side.
1913-16
Worked in garment and non garment shops.
1913
Participated in a strike to form a union and joined Local 19, United Garment Workers, on Clinton Street.
1914
Mother and brother came from Europe and joined CSZ and his sister.
1913-17
Attended public night school and Manhattan Preparatory School.
1916
Joined Local 25, ILGWU, and factory went out on strike. Elected shop chairman.
1917
Joined Socialist Party.
1918
International Workers of the World (IWW).
1919
Conducted organizing drive for Local 9 in Long Branch, N.J. Hall chairman in organization strike of Local 25.
1930
Joined the United Cloak and Dressmakers Progressive League as member #1.
1931
Rejoined ILGWU.
1931
Formed Committee of 25 to rebuild Local 22.
1931
After rejoining Local 22, formed Progressive League (or Group).
1932
Elected to executive board of Local 22.
1933
Elected manager-secretary of Local 22.
1934
Elected to General Executive Board.
1940
Resigned from Lovestone group.
1945-46
Trip to Europe, visiting Poland, Sweden and Norway on behalf of Jewish Labor Committee.
1947
Elected chairman, Trade Union Council, Liberal Party. 1958 Elected general manager of Dress Joint Board.
1958
Served as worker delegate to Sixth Session of Textiles Committee of International Labour Organization.
1966
Helped found Inter-American Federation of Textile and Garment Workers.
1969
Training ship, "Charles S. Zimmerman," christened by Seafarers International Union.
1972
Resigned as Union vice president and general manager of Dress Joint Council and N.Y., Dress Joint Board.

Extent

25 cubic feet

Abstract

The Charles Zimmerman papers consist primarily of correspondence, reports, minutes, newspaper clippings, and broadsides dealing with his activities as a leader in Local 22 (in Series I), as well as his other union and political activities (in Series II).

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject within each series.

Arrangement

I. Local 22. Subject files, 1933-1958.
Boxes 1-39
II. Subject files, 1919-1932.
Boxes 40-50

Related Materials

5780/014 P. Charles S. Zimmerman. ILGWU Local 22. Dressmaker's Union. Photographs, 1910-1958.

5780/015. ILGWU Local 22. Dressmaker's Union. Papers, 1920-1933.

5780/036. ILGWU Local 22. Dressmakers' Union. Minutes, 1934-1972.

5780/057. ILGWU Local 22. Dressmaker's Union. Education Department records, 1933-1975, 1950-1970 (bulk).

5780/067. ILGWU Local 22. Dressmaker's Union. Israel Breslow. Manager's records.

5780/178. Charles Zimmerman, collector. Radical pamphlets.

5780 OH. ILGWU. Oral Histories.

Quantity:

25 linear ft.

Forms of Material:

Correspondence, reports, minutes, newspaper clippings, and broadsides.

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
Compiled by:
Robert E. Lazar
Date completed:
January 1979
EAD encoding:
Casey S. Westerman, August 2, 2002
Title
International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Zimmerman, Charles S. papers, 1919-1958 [bulk 1920-1945].
Status
Completed
Author
Compiled by Robert E. Lazar.
Date
August 2, 2002
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)
  • 2007-05-29: converted from EAD 1.0 to EAD 2002

Repository Details

Part of the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives Repository

Contact:
227 Ives Hall
Ithaca NY 14853