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ILGWU Local 91 Records

 Collection
Identifier: 5780/066

Scope and Contents

The collection contains speeches and papers written for the newsletter, or to give at banquets and dinners by Belle Horensen. Horensen became the librarian for Local 91 in 1943, elected business agent in 1946, and was the manager from 1977 until her retirement in 1982. There is also some information on contracts and prices, scripts for membership meetings, and the 60th anniversary of Local 91 in 1973.



The collection also contains bound copies of Local 91's publication "Our Aim." Historical information of Local 91 can be found in the anniversary pamphlets, as well as the paper written by Morris Paladino for a Trade Union Fellowship Class at Harvard University, which provides an in-depth study of the industry, structure, governance, and organization of the union utilizing Local 91 as a case-study.

Dates

  • 1934-1982

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

Chartered in 1921, Local 91 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), also known as the Children's Dress, Infant's Wear, House, Dress, and Bathrobe Makers Union, was formed with the merger of Local 41 and Local 50 and based in New York, New York.

Extent

1 cubic feet

Abstract

The collection consists primarily of Local 91's publication, Our Aim, from 1934 to 1947. Also includes other printed material, files on union contractors, and employment agreements.

Quantity:

1 linear ft.

Forms of Material:

Records (documents).

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:
B. Walker, September 26, 2008
EAD encoding:
Kheel Staff, April 11, 2019
Title
ILGWU Local 91 Records
Status
Completed
Author
Compiled by B. Walker
Date
April 11, 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

Contact:
227 Ives Hall
Ithaca NY 14853