#LaborInTheArchives

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"A Union Is As Strong As The Workers In It"

This poster is one example of many in the Guide to the Kheel Center Poster Collection, #6227, that includes posters advocating for health and safety policy reform, human rights issues, discrimination, political campaigns, labor issues, and unionization. The poster above is an example of publicity used to boost unionism and the strength of unions.

See Collection #6227 for more posters.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight

Abraham Rosenberg, 1870-1935

Born in Russia, Abraham Rosenberg arrived in the United States in 1883. He was a member of the Knights of Labor and secretary of the United Trade Unions of New York and Vicinity, before helping to found the ILGWU. Serving as president of the union at the time of "The Uprising of the 20,000" and "The Great Revolt" of 1909 and 1910, the negotiation of the Protocol of Peace, and the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911), Rosenberg led the ILGWU through a period of great growth and upheaval.

He also served on the Board of Grievances and the Joint Board of Sanitary Control and published Memoirs of a Cloakmaker, an account of the New York City garment industry through 1910. After leaving the ILGWU presidency in 1914, Rosenberg worked as an organizer in Boston, New York, and Jersey City.

Pictured above is a portrait of Abraham Rosenberg.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight ~ Carola Woerishoffer

Woerishoffer participated in the Shirtwaist Makers strike of 1909 and in 1910, she worked for Bureau of Industries and Immigration, which inspected camps of foreign workers. She joined the Women's Trade Union League and donated significantly to their cause and work. Additionally, she was part of the investigation following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

Portrait of Carola Woerishoffer.

Each #LaborOrganizerSpotlight is designed to highlight historical figures who have participated in the labor/labor organizing movement who are also featured in our collections. This portrat of Woerishoffer is part of our ILGWU Photographs Collection, #5780 P.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight

#LaborOrganizerSpotlight Moe Falikman (1893-1971) came to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1913 and joined Local 10 of the ILGWU in 1916. Within the ILGWU, he served as comptroller, assistant manager, and eventually, manager of Local 10. He also served as chairman of the American Trade Union Council for Histadrut. Falikman served as manager of Local 10 from 1952-1968.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight

Michael “Mike” Quill

Quill was one of the founders of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), created in 1934. The TWU was a union created by New York City subway workers and later evolved to represent employees across many forms of transit. He appeared on the radio to broadcast the union’s message and with the other founders fought hard through strikes and sit-ins to combat powerful transit companies.

Quill is known for the successful 1966 NYC Transit Strike that shut down bus and subway transit for almost 2 weeks, affecting millions of commuters. The 60 million dollar package included wage increases, an additional paid holiday, increased pension benefits, and more. Unfortunately, Quill passed away a few weeks after the victory.

Quill was quoted saying “we had nowhere to go but up”, and up they went.

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Labor Spotlight ~ Emil Schlesinger

Emil Schlesinger was born on December 27, 1900. Schlesinger graduated from City College in June 1921 and began Columbia Law School in September 1921, graduating in 1924. He worked for Morris Hillquit, the prominent labor lawyer, from 1922-1925 while he was a law student and after graduation until he was able to open his own law office and practice on January 3, 1926, though he continued to do trial work and argue cases in court for Hillquit.

In 1929 he became the general counsel for the Cloakmakers union and in 1933 represented the Joint Board of the Dressmakers union. Schlesinger provided legal counsel to the ILGWU and represented various locals of the union including Local 10 and Local 102. He died January 5, 1992.

For more on Emil Schlesinger, see Collection #6036/018, the Emil Schelsinger Collection.

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Labor Spotlight ~ Frederick Umhey

#LaborSpotlight Frederick Umhey

Umhey was born in New York City in 1895. Unlike most officials in the ILGWU, Umhey was never employed as a garment maker. He began working in the office of Morris Hillquit, the labor lawyer, while still a teenager, and remained there until Hillquit's death in 1933. The following year, ILGWU President David Dubinsky appointed Umhey to the newly-created post of Executive Secretary. In that role, he served as administrator for such ILGWU programs as the Union Health Center, Unity House, and the death benefit fund. He also served as secretary to all of the standing committees of the union's General Executive Board. Frederick Umhey died in office in 1955.

For more information, see Collection #5780/005, Frederick F. Umhey, Executive Secretary's Correspondence, 1934-1955.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight ~ Isidore Nagler

Nagler came to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1909 and joined Local 10 of the ILGWU in 1911. He held various positions within the ILGWU, including business agent of Local 10, manager of the New York Cloak Joint Board, international vice president, and manager of the New York Joint Board of the Cloak, Shirt, Skirt and Reefer Makers' Union. He was also involved in the work of the New York State Federation of Labor, American Federation of Labor, American Labor Party, Liberal Party, and the Jewish Labor Committee.

Photos are from Collection #5780 P N45

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Labor Organizer Spotlight ~ Mary Goff Schuster

Mary Goff Schuster Mary Goff Schuster was born in Russia on October 16, 1898, and arrived in New York City in 1905. Having joined Local 62, also known as the Underwear and White Goods Workers' Union, in 1913, Schuster served as a member of the Executive Board, Business Agent, Educational Director, and Organizer. Schuster was also a member of the Young People's Socialist League, Socialist Party, Women's Trade Union League, and the Liberal Party, among other political organizations.

Portrait of Schuster is from Collection #5780 P, ILGWU Photographs.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight ~ Jacob Potofsky

Potofsky immigrated to Chicago from Ukraine in 1905. He became a floor boy in a men's clothing factory in 1908 and participated in the 1910 Hart, Schaffner and Marx strike. After, Potofsky became a shop secretary, served as Treasurer of Local 144 and joined the ACWA at its inception in 1914. He served as Secretary-Treasurer of the ACWA Chicago Joint Board 1914-1916 and as Secretary Treasurer of the ACWA 1916-1934. He became ACWA Assistant President in 1934 and became General Secretary Treasurer 1940-1946. He was an original member of the Congress of Industrial Organizations' (CIO) Executive Board. Starting in 1940 he served as Chairman of the CIO Committee on Latin-American Affairs, which was later absorbed into the Committee on International Affairs.

A close colleague of Sidney Hillman, Potofsky became President of the ACWA after Hillman's death from 1946-1972. He raised funds for organizations dedicated to the war effort such as the Red Cross, and the New York National War Fund. After the merger of the AFL and the CIO he served as vice-president and executive council member of the AFL-CIO. He was also a member of a large number of boards for public and private agencies and served as President of the Amalgamated Insurance Co., Chairman of the Amalgamated Insurance Fund, Chairman of Boards and President of Amalgamated Savings Bank of NY, and Director Amalgamated Trust & Savings Bank, Chicago.

Photos from Collection #5999 P, Jacob Potofsky Photographs.

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On This Day in 1966...

#OnThisDay in 1966 the ILGWU Local 91 sponsored a sewing class.

This photo is from our International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs Collection #5780 P (1885-1985). The ILGWU was the largest labor union to represent workers in the women's garment industry in the United States and Canada in the twentieth century, peaking at 450,000 members. The ILGWU was formed by the merging of several NYC unions in 1900 and continued until it merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union to form UNITE in 1995.

At over 2,500 linear feet, the ILGWU records are the most extensive and heavily used collection at the Kheel Center, the official repository of the ILGWU since 1987.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight ~ David Gingold

David Gingold was born in Poland on December 10, 1896, arrived in the United States in 1912 as a teenager, and began working in the raincoat trade, joining Rainwear Local 20. He held several offices in Local 20 including a member of the executive board in 1922 and vice-chairman in 1923. In 1924, Gingold was elected manager of Local 20 and from 1925-1929 served on the ILGWU General Executive Board (GEB) and as a vice president of the union.

Gingold briefly returned to shop work before becoming an organizer in 1934. After time spent organizing areas of Pennsylvania and New England, Gingold assumed the directorship of the Northeast Department in 1943, a position he held until his retirement in 1977. He was again elected a vice president and member of the ILGWU GEB in 1946. He died on December 15, 1980 at the age of 84.

Photo from Collection #5780/050.

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Labor Organizer Spotlight, Min Matheson

Matheson transformed the International Ladies Garment Workers Union's presence in Wilkes-Barre, PA, increasing the number of businesses represented by the ILGWU from under 10 to over 150, and boosting membership to 11,000. Matheson was also one of the founding members of the National Organization for Women, NOW.

Pictured above: Min Matheson sits with David Dubinsky at a 1972 testimonial in her honor.

Each #LaborOrganizerSpotlight is designed to highlight historical figures who have participated significantly in the labor/labor organizing movement who are also featured in our collections. To learn more about Min Matheson visit https://rare.library.cornell.edu/finding-aids-for-archival-and-manuscript-collections/ and search #6000/020, #5780/122, #5780/177, and #5780/014 for correspondence, articles, and more biographical information.