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Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Moving Images Collection, 1920-1969

Title: Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Moving Images Collection, 1920-1969

The Tamiment/Wagner Moving Images Collection represents the core motion picture film collection of the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. It includes the film archives of the Transport Workers Union of America, a labor union founded in 1934 to organize subway workers and bus drivers in the New York City area that later included taxi drivers, railway employees, airline workers and utility workers in locals across the country; films and film footage from District 65/UAW , another labor union formed in New York City (in 1933) that organized warehouse workers, later expanding to include workers from the retail and manufacturing sectors, clerical personnel, salesclerks, writers, editors, technicians, and lawyers, include large numbers of women; a complete film, Nos Maisons d'Enfants, from the Jewish Labor Committee, a New York-based umbrella group of Jewish or Jewish-led trade unions and fraternal organizations, founded in 1934 to organize anti-Nazi and anti-fascist activity and to provide assistance to European Jews and others persecuted by these movements; footage shot by still photographer John Albok (1894-1982), known for his images of children and New York City street life during the Depression, who also documented organized labor and left-radical political life in New York City; and early footage of Camp Tamiment, a summer resort for socialists, in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, that opened in 1921. The remainder of the materials in the Collection come from various other labor and radical organizations. Together, they comprise approximately 40 hours of black and white and color 16mm motion picture film (and one 35mm film) which have been transferred to video for research use. They document activities and history of the labor movement and radical left or progressive organizations, mostly in New York City (although Philadelphia, Barcelona, Geneva, and a few locations in France are also represented. Most were produced by or for labor, left or progressive organizations and associated individuals in the United States. The Collection includes a dozen documentary films and a similar number each of television programs and filmed press conferences, but the largest proportion of materials by far consists of outtakes and edited sequences from these productions; a small amount of stock footage shot, acquired for, or associated with, these productions and unedited footage not associated with them.

ArchivalResource: 56 videocassettes

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/films_001/films_001.html View

Curran, Joseph, 1906-1981. Reminiscences of Joseph Curran : oral history, 1964.

Title: Reminiscences of Joseph Curran : oral history, 1964.

Early life; National Maritime Union, president, 1931; influence of Communist party in unions; vice president, AFL-CIO.

ArchivalResource: Transcript: 193 leaves.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/309731534 View

National Maritime Union and Seafarers International Union: Reference Files of the Seafarers International Union, Bulk, 1937-1969, 1878-1981, (Bulk 1937-1969)

Title: National Maritime Union and Seafarers International Union: Reference Files of the Seafarers International Union Bulk, 1937-1969 1878-1981 , (Bulk 1937-1969)

In monitoring their chief rival, the National Maritime Union (NMU), the Seafarers International Union (SIU) collected newspaper clippings on the NMU, as well as material written by and about its president, Joseph Curran. Material on the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (WCNYH), established in 1953 to investigate, deter, and remedy criminal activity and oversee fair hiring practice in New York Harbor, was also included. These reference files contain photocopies of clippings from the NMU Pilot, a quarterly publication, and from national papers such as the New York Times, San Francisco Call Bulletin, and New York World Telegram, many of them following Curran’s career and documenting charges of fraud and racketeering on the New York City waterfront. The collection also includes files on the SIU, containing clippings and other historical material on the union and its presidents, Paul Hall and Frank Drozak.

ArchivalResource: 4.5 linear feet; (5 boxes)

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/wag_267/wag_267.html View

Standard, William L. National Maritime Union, general counsel's files, 1937-1949.

Title: National Maritime Union, general counsel's files, 1937-1949.

Consists of William L. Standard's files as general counsel for the National Maritime Union (N.M.U.). These document public policy toward the N.M.U. during World War II; the status of the merchant marine under the U.S. War Shipping Administration; the politics of Joseph E. Curran (president, N.M.U.); collective negotiations between the N.M.U. and various railroads and shipping companies; and work stoppages conducted by the N.M.U. Legislative files include drafts of bills, memoranda, letters and reports regarding the National Maritime Union's lobbying activities and its position on federal legislation of interest to its members. The bulk of these records concerns maritime legislation enacted during or immediately after World War II and includes documentation on proposed amendments to War Shipping Administration regulations (1943); on the Merchant Seamen's War Service Act (1945); on suspension of provisions of the Public Vessels Act of 1925; on seamen's rehabilitation legislation (1948); on proposed amendments to the Merchant Marine Act; on amendments to the National Service Life Insurance Act (1940); and on amendments to the Railway Labor Act (1946-1947). This legislation and other bills documented in these files sought to expedite the activities of merchant seamen during the war, to minimize work stoppages, to compensate families of deceased seamen, to provide vocational rehabilitation for those disabled as a result of war-related injuries, to provide for the naturalization of foreign seamen who served on American owned vessels, and to protect the merchant marine from wartime sabotage. The union was also interested in such legislation as the Taft-Hartley amendments to the National Labor Relations Act (1947-1948) and anti-organized labor legislation that began appearing in some states after the war. National War Labor Board case files include statements, letters, decisions, and proposals for cases brought before the Board. These consist of the N.M.U. vs. the American Merchant Marine Institute on issues of working conditions, wages, and hours of work; vs. the American Communications Association, Pacific District Marine Local; vs. Pacific American Shipowners Association and American Export Lines et al regarding petitions for reconsideration of dispute settlement; vs. the general agents of the War Shipping Administration of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts; vs. the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Steamship Operators as agents for the War Shipping Administration and the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company on issues of jurisdiction and wages; vs. the Pittsburgh Supply Company on issues of union security, wages and union activity; and vs. Ford Motor Company on collective negotiations and wages (1942-1945). The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case files on N.M.U. representation elections include correspondence, petitions for certification, authorization cards and supporting documentation on certification elections brought before the Board. The elections were held for employees of the following: Cities Service Oil Company; American Trading and Production Corporation; War Emergency Tankers Inc.; Ponchelet Marine Steamship Company; Great Lakes General; Marathon Tanker Corporation; Agivilines Pursers; Grace Lines; Consolidated Steamship Company; Marine Engineers Beneficial Association and Great Lakes companies; Pittsburgh Steamship Company; General Petroleum Corporation; Richfield Oil Corporation; Hanna Company; Sun Oil Company; Great Lakes Conference; Midland Steam Ship Line Inc.; American Staff Officers Association; Newley Steamship Company; and Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company (1942-1947). War Shipping Administration case files consist of agreements, letters and petitions regarding cases of the N.M.U. before the War Shipping Administration on the issues of wages and the allocation of personnel on the steamships Copley and Wheeler (1946). Arbitration case files include awards, decisions, memoranda, and statements pertaining to cases involving various arbitrators. The cases include the N.M.U. vs. the following: the Bethlehem Transportation Company on the issue of overtime pay; the Atlantic Gulf Coast Committee for companies and agents on the issue of impasses in collective negotiations; the Isthmian Steamship Company on the issue of overtime wages; and the Ford Motor Company and Nicholson Transit Company on the issues of wages, hiring, seniority, discrimination, grievance procedure, and holidays (1942-1947). Files on collective negotiations include materials pertaining to bargaining conducted between the N.M.U. and various railroads and shipping companies. The documents consist of copies of collective agreements, letters, and statements of proposals of the parties. Negotiations were conducted between the N.M.U. and the Panama Railroad Company; the car ferries of the Detroit River; the Wabash and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Companies; the Ann Arbor Railroad Company; the Pere Marquette Railway Company; car ferries companies of the Great Lakes; the Atlantic Gulf and Pacific Company; the Richfield Oil Corporation; the Bethlehem Transportation Company; the Standard Oil Company of Texas; Inland Waterways; the Pan American Refining Corporation; and the Polarus Steamship Company (1940-1947). Also include materials pertaining to the mediation proceedings held by the National Mediation Board to resolve an impasse in collective negotiations between the N.M.U. and the Reading Railroad tug boat operators (1946-1948). Files on legal cases argued on behalf of the N.M.U. before the U.S. District and Supreme Courts and various military courts include correspondence, notes and various legal documents. These files include a libel case between the N.M.U. and various newspapers because of a published report alleging N.M.U. members refused to unload military supplies; a case against an N.M.U. member in which "militant union activity" was alleged to be impeding the war effort; the court martial of an N.M.U. member; and documents regarding the settlement of strikes against various Great Lakes transportation companies by the N.M.U. (1942-1947). Standard maintained general files on N.M.U. activities and issues, largely during the war years. These include data on the national reorganization of the union in 1939; on pension and benefit claims and regulations; on the relationship of the N.M.U. to the Women's Auxiliary of the American Merchant Marine Institute, Inc.; and on sedition trials of N.M.U. members. Of particular interest in these files are documents relating to alleged racial discrimination in employment on the Atlantic Coast Line Company; the position of Joseph E. Curran (president, N.M.U.) regarding a Supreme Court case concerning communist affidavits (1948); documents relating to FBI investigations of the N.M.U. and the CIO (1943-1947); and a civil suit brought against Harry Bridges, Philip Murray and Joseph Curran for alleged suppression of free enterprise. Also in the collection are two scrapbooks of news clippings and articles regarding various strikes and elections, non-union workers, salaries, collective agreements, court decisions, safety, hazards, accidents, disasters, factional disputes in maritime unions, communism in unions, and copies of N.M.U. news bulletins (1943-1947).

ArchivalResource: 21 linear ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64755392 View

Randall Smith: Maritime Radicalism Collection, 1940s-1980s, undated

Title: Randall Smith: Maritime Radicalism Collection 1940s-1980s, undated

ArchivalResource: 1.0 linear feet; (2 boxes)

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/tam_203/tam_203.html View

National Maritime Union Photographs, circa 1940-circa 1950, undated

Title: National Maritime Union Photographs circa 1940-circa 1950, undated

The National Maritime Union (NMU) was an American labor union founded in May 1937 and led by Joseph Curran. The collection contains black and white photographs of NMU activities mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as photographs of merchant seamen and shipping in Marseille, France made by photographer Ernst Haas for the Economic Development Corporation, a United States agency that administered the Marshall Plan.

ArchivalResource: 0.75 linear feet; in 1 oversize flat box and 1 folder.

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/photos_044/photos_044.html View

Labor Leader Biographies, 1873-2010

Title: Labor Leader Biographies, 1873-2010

This collection consists of biographical data on various individuals prominent in labor unions in the United States since 1910. Includes articles, clippings, pamphlets, vita, obituaries and manuscript notes, filed alphabetically by name of individual..

ArchivalResource: 1 linear ft.

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/xml/dlxs/KCL05211.xml View

Guide to the Abraham Unger Papers, 1936-1980

Title: Guide to the Abraham Unger Papers, 1936-1980

Abraham Unger (1899-1975) was a lawyer, Communist, a founder and officer of the National Lawyers Guild and leader of its New York City Chapter, and beginning in 1948, partner in the law firm of Freedman and Unger. His defendants included the Communist Party USA, various state-level Party organizations, individual Communists and progressive activists, radical and/or Communist-associated labor unions and their leaders and activists, Puerto Rican nationalists, and fellow lawyers charged with contempt and other crimes in connection with their defense of radicals. The collection contains personal and legal correspondence; legal documents pertaining to cases handled by Unger and those of interest to him; published and unpublished writings; records of the National Lawyers Guild and of its New York City chapter; subject files; and clippings and printed ephemera.

ArchivalResource: 13.5 Linear Feet in 13 record cartons and 1 manuscript box

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/tam_157/tam_157.html View

Marine Workers Historical Collection, 1930-1996

Title: Marine Workers Historical Collection 1930-1996

The Marine Workers Historical Collection was the result of a community history project on the Chelsea area of New York City conducted by Joe Doyle, then a New York University Department of Public History graduate student, beginning in 1981. Doyle set out to reconstruct and document the working-class population and institutions of the Chelsea waterfront of New York City in the first half of the twentieth century. The project was continued and expanded in partnership with the Marine Workers Historical Association. The collection includes rank-and-file newsletters, flyers, union correspondence, grievance reports, pamphlets, memoirs, memorabilia and printed ephemera of many kinds documenting the working and living conditions of American merchant seamen/women since 1900 and the struggle of maritime workers, particularly sympathizers of the Left, to organize and maintain leadership in the National Maritime Union (NMU) and other unions.

ArchivalResource: 3.75 linear feet; in 4 record cartons and one folder.

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/tam_125/tam_125.html View

Shirley Quill Transport Workers Union of America Photographs, Bulk, 1941-1966, 1913-1997

Title: Shirley Quill Transport Workers Union of America Photographs Bulk, 1941-1966 1913-1997

Shirley Garry Quill (1915 - 1991) and Michael J. (Mike) Quill (1905 - 1966), President of the Transit Workers Union (TWU) from 1935 to 1966, met in 1943 when she helped him campaign for New York City Council. After the election, Shirley Garry served as Mike Quill’s legislative secretary. Their mutual commitment to union organizing and progressive politics led to a friendship and a long relationship; they married in 1966. The collection focuses on the history of the TWU and Mike Quill, although it also includes Quill family portraits and snapshots and images of early TWU and CIO leadership and conventions. Highlights include a group portrait of the CIO leadership in 1940 (Joe Curran, Quill, Phillip Murray and John L. Lewis); the Unity Slate Victory party; Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at the Ghandi Society Luncheon; and Mike Quill's last press conference and his memorial service.

ArchivalResource: 1.25 linear feet; in 3 manuscript boxes

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/photos_032/photos_032.html View

Maritime Workers / National Maritime Union Research Files of Bruce Nelson, 1931-2011

Title: Maritime Workers / National Maritime Union Research Files of Bruce Nelson 1931-2011

Historian Bruce Nelson is the author of (1990). This collection contains files on prominent radical sailors who were members of the National Maritime Union, and files on several maritime labor events and on related organizations. The files include Nelson's correspondence with these sailors, detailed summaries (or, in the case of Joseph Stack, transcripts) of oral histories, printed ephemera and internal National Maritime Union documents, in particular from the post-World War II period of internal struggle between the union's Communist and anti-Communist factions. Workers on the Waterfront: Seamen, Longshoremen, and Unionism in the 1930s

ArchivalResource: 0.75 linear feet; (2 boxes)

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/tam_585/tam_585.html View

Guide to the Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs, circa 1910-1994

Title: Guide to the Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs, circa 1910-1994

Louis Weinstock was born in Hungary in 1903 and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He settled in New York City and in 1925 joined the Painters’ Union, Local 499. Weinstock became one of the leaders of the “Rank and File” movement in District Council 9 of the International Painters and Paperhangers. He fought for Social Security and initiated the drive for unemployment insurance. Weinstock also led the Rank-and-File painters caucus in a fight against corruption in the union, defeating the corrupt leadership of the infamous Lepke-Gurrah racketeer gang and getting elected to the office of Secretary-Treasurer. In 1951, he was charged with conspiring to violate the Smith Act while teaching a trade union class; he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail. Weinstock retired from the union in 1963 and died in 1994 from heart failure.

ArchivalResource: 5.25 Linear Feet in 3 record cartons, 2 manuscript boxes, 1 oversized flat box, and 2 oversized folders.

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/wag_013/wag_013.html View

Marine Workers Historical Collection, 1930-1996

Title: Marine Workers Historical Collection 1930-1996

The Marine Workers Historical Collection was the result of a community history project on the Chelsea area of New York City conducted by Joe Doyle, then a New York University Department of Public History graduate student, beginning in 1981. Doyle set out to reconstruct and document the working-class population and institutions of the Chelsea waterfront of New York City in the first half of the twentieth century. The project was continued and expanded in partnership with the Marine Workers Historical Association. The collection includes rank-and-file newsletters, flyers, union correspondence, grievance reports, pamphlets, memoirs, memorabilia and printed ephemera of many kinds documenting the working and living conditions of American merchant seamen/women since 1900 and the struggle of maritime workers, particularly sympathizers of the Left, to organize and maintain leadership in the National Maritime Union (NMU) and other unions.

ArchivalResource: 5.0 linear feet; (5 boxes)

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/tam_125/tam_125.html View

Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the National Maritime Union, 1937-2005

Title: Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the National Maritime Union

The National Maritime Union, which represented workers in the merchant marine, was formed in 1937 in a split from the International Seamen's Union. The National Maritime Union merged with the Seafarers International Union of North America in 2001. The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the National Maritime Union of America contains a variety of documents on the National Maritime Union, including newspaper clippings, flyers, brochures, biographical material, convention proceedings, chapter and ships' meeting minutes, correspondence, and other items. Material in the collection dates from 1937 to 2005.

ArchivalResource: 4.0 linear feet; (4 boxes)

http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/pe_008/pe_008.html View