#LaborArchives

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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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Found in the Archives Friday

Today’s Found In The Archives is a 1978 exposé on union-busting tactics written by an undercover @1199seiu reporter!

Check out the Kheel Center’s guide to other anti-union campaign materials here:

This item was found during a year-long survey that the Kheel Center is conducting to better document and describe their collections.

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March for Jobs and Freedom, On This Day in 1963

#OnThisDay Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” Speech in 1963 at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington D.C. to thousands of union members.

Lost to history is the emphasis on the March for the fight for jobs that paid a living wage and the role of the labor movement in organizing this massive demonstration.

Images above depict members of the International Ladies’ Garment Worker Union (ILGWU) packing Pennsylvania Station in New York City, standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, heading on buses to Washington D.C., and marching through the capitol with ILGWU signs.

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Malcolm X and Rosa Parks were two of the civil rights leaders assembled by A. Philip Randolph for a 1962 rally supporting poorly-paid Black, Hispanic, and Caribbean hospital workers in their bid for union recognition as part of the Local 1199 Drug and Hospital Union in what is now Brookdale Medical Center in New York City. This was the only time Malcolm X identified himself with a labor union.

Above, Malcolm X addresses the crowd in front of a sign reading “Negro and Puerto Rican Communities Support Local 1199’s Fight to End Exploitation …” Joining him on the platform are A. Philip Randolph, Rosa Parks, and other labor leaders. Photographer unknown.

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Images of Labor

"We were nervous and we didn't know we could do it. Those machines had kept going as long as we could remember. When we finally pulled the switch and there was some quiet, I finally remembered something: that I was a human being, that I could stop those machines, that I was better than those machines anytime." - Sit-down striker 1936

Bread and Roses, one of the sponsors of the poster featured here, is the nonprofit arm of Local 1199/SEIU. It was founded in 1979 as a cultural resource for union members in NYC to increase their exposure to the arts.

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Women of Hope: African Americans Who Made A Difference was a poster collection created by Local 1199's Bread and Roses Cultural Project. This project, founded in 1979 by Moe Foner, served to help workers have a chance to express their creativity and artistic talents that were put on the backburner by working.

For more from Local 1199's Bread and Roses Cultural Project, see Collection #6084 G.

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"If I went to work in a factory the first thing I'd do would be to join a union" - Franklin Roosevelt

This poster was released by the CIO Department of Education and Research. Collection 5284 holds hundreds of documents from the AFL-CIO Education Department, including letters and correspondence, testimonies, and information about training schools and institutes created all across the United States during the 1920s-1960s.

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Union Women Build the Future

"Union Women Build the Future" Poster by Lincoln Cushing

From the Kheel Center Poster Collection, a great resource for studying the iconography of labor through time.

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Another feature from our Poster Collection #6227, this graphic created and displayed by the UAW-CIO Education Department emphasizes to its members the importance and respect workers' voices should be given.

Alt text: The poster portrays a man cornered, being faced by a horde of other men. It reads "Let Him SPEAK" followed by a quote by John Stuart Mill "...If all mankind, minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, making would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind". UAW-CIO Education Department Poster is inscribed on the bottom.

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Wipe Out Discrimination!

This poster was distributed by the CIO Committee to Abolish Discrimination, through the Department of Research and Education.

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), proposed by John L. Lewis in 1928, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Committee for Industrial Organization was formed by the presidents of eight international unions in 1935. The presidents of these unions were dissatisfied with the American Federation of Labor's unwillingness to commit itself to a program of organizing industrial unions. In 1936, the A.F. of L. suspended the ten unions which proceeded to organize an independent federation, the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The CIO subsequently became the A.F. of L.'s chief rival for the leadership of American unions. The groups were reunited in 1955 as the AFL-CIO.

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April Archives Hashtag Party ~ Archives Snapshot

You can observe a lot from one photo... how about ten? Check out these snapshots from a Southern Tenant Farmers Union meeting in Arkansas in 1937, taken by Louise Boyle.

Curious about the Southern Tenant Farmers Union? Check out our digital collection "Louise Boyle. Southern Tenant Farmers Union Photographs, 1937 and 1982" here:

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In Remembrance

On this day 113 years ago in 1911, one of the worst workplace disasters occurred since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

Near the end of the work day a fire broke out, and within 18 minutes 146 of 500 workers had died. Exits were blocked, to keep the workers inside during the workday.

To learn more, visit https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/index.html , our remembrance website for the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Here you can find original text documents, photos, interviews of survivors and witnesses, a timeline of events, floor plans, and more.

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Wondering how Local 1199 strove to attract members and increase unionization within workplaces? Take a look at these posters and notices from the 1960s-70s!

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Look what we found in the archives...

A small United Farm Workers (UFW) banner!

The UFW was founded in 1962 by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and other labor leaders. The flag was designed by Richard Chavez, Cesar’s brother. Remarking on the flag, Cesar Chavez stated, “A symbol is an important thing. That is why we chose an Aztec eagle. It gives pride. When people see it they know it means dignity.”

This item was found during a year-long survey that the Kheel Center is conducting to better document and describe our collections.

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Eleanor Roosevelt & Labor

Above you'll find just a few examples of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's involvement and dedication to the labor movement and worker's rights. She was heavily involved with the ILGWU; in the first photo, you can see her visiting the ILGWU's Unity House with David Dubinsky, Harry Greenberg, and Local 91. In the poster featured you can see a letter she sent urging people to be aware of clothing with union labels, to promote interest in better working conditions in the garment industry.

She was also a member of the Women's Trade Union League, where she raised funds in support of a shorter, standardized workweek, a minimum wage, and the abolition of child labor. In the last photo, she is pictured with Dubinsky, Luigi Antonini, and members of the ILGWU Italian Dress Makers Union Local 89 accepting an award on behalf of her and President Roosevelt's contributions to the labor movement.

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Happy Birthday, David Dubinsky! 🎂

Pictured: Portrait of David Dubinsky tipping his hat

On this day in 1892, David Dubinsky was born. An immigrant from Belarus who came to the US in 1911, Dubinsky provided strong leadership that led to unprecedented growth in the International Ladies Garment Workers Union during his presidency from 1932 to 1966. He led the ILGWU through successful internal anti-communist struggles, built on the ascendancy of industrial unionism by encouraging the formation of the Committee for Industrial Organization, and helped the union become an important political force in New York City and state politics, and in the national Democratic Party and Liberal Party as well.

Pictured: David Dubinsky speaking at an ILGWU convention.

Pictured: David Dubinsky seated at his office desk.

To learn more about Dubinsky, see Collections 5780/136, 5780/002 AV, 5780/002 MB, 5780/002, and more!

Pictured: David Dubinsky looks at a sculpted bust of himself.