International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept

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From 1989 to 1995, Kitty Krupat was Director of Education Department of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU). Prior to working with the ILGWU, Krupat was on staff of the United Auto Workers (UAW).

From the description of ILGWU. Education Department. Kitty Krupat papers, 1990-1995. (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 64059248

The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union was founded in New York City in 1900 by mostly Socialist immigrant workers who sought to unite the various crafts in the growing women’s garment industry. The union soon reflected changes in the sector and rapidly organized thousands of unskilled and semi-skilled women, mostly Jewish and Italian young immigrants. Exemplifying the “new unionism,” the ILGWU led two of the most widespread and best-known industrial strikes of the early Twentieth Century: the shirtwaist makers’ strike of 1909 in New York City and the cloak makers’ strike of 1910 in Chicago. The union also tried to adapt to the fragmented and unstable nature of the industry. It adopted the “protocol of peace,” a system of industrial relations that attempted to ensure stability and limit strikes and production disruption by providing for an arbitration system to resolve disputes.

The ILGWU exemplified the European-style social unionism of its founding members. They pursued bread and butter issues but provided educational opportunities, benefits, and social programs to union members as well. In 1919, the ILGWU became the first American union to negotiate an unemployment compensation fund that was contributed to by its employers. The ILGWU also pioneered in the establishment of an extremely progressive health care program for its members which included not only regional Union Health Centers but also a resort for union workers, known as Unity House. The Union also had an imaginative and pioneering Education Department which not only trained workers in traditional union techniques, but provided courses in citizenship and the English language.

David Dubinsky, an immigrant from Belarus who came to the US in 1911, provided strong leadership that led to unprecedented growth in the union during his presidency from 1932 to 1966. He led the union 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.

In the period following the Second World War, the union suffered a decline in membership as manufacturers avoided unionization and took advantage of less expensive labor by moving shops from the urban centers in the northeast to the south, and later abroad. The ethnic and racial character of the ILGWU also changed as European immigrants were supplanted by Asians, Latin Americans, African- Americans, and immigrants from the Caribbean.

In July 1995 the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) at a joint convention, forming UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees). At the time the new union had a membership of about 250,000 in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

From the guide to the ILGWU. Education Department records, 1920-1979., (Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library)

The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union was founded in New York City in 1900 by mostly Socialist immigrant workers who sought to unite the various crafts in the growing women’s garment industry. The union soon reflected changes in the sector and rapidly organized thousands of unskilled and semi-skilled women, mostly Jewish and Italian young immigrants. Exemplifying the “new unionism,” the ILGWU led two of the most widespread and best-known industrial strikes of the early Twentieth Century: the shirtwaist makers’ strike of 1909 in New York City and the cloak makers’ strike of 1910 in Chicago. The union also tried to adapt to the fragmented and unstable nature of the industry. It adopted the “protocol of peace,” a system of industrial relations that attempted to ensure stability and limit strikes and production disruption by providing for an arbitration system to resolve disputes.

The ILGWU exemplified the European-style social unionism of its founding members. They pursued bread and butter issues but provided educational opportunities, benefits, and social programs to union members as well. In 1919, the ILGWU became the first American union to negotiate an unemployment compensation fund that was contributed to by its employers. The ILGWU also pioneered in the establishment of an extremely progressive health care program for its members which included not only regional Union Health Centers but also a resort for union workers, known as Unity House. The Union also had an imaginative and pioneering Education Department which not only trained workers in traditional union techniques, but provided courses in citizenship and the English language.

David Dubinsky, an immigrant from Belarus who came to the US in 1911, provided strong leadership that led to unprecedented growth in the union during his presidency from 1932 to 1966. He led the union 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.

In the period following the Second World War, the union suffered a decline in membership as manufacturers avoided unionization and took advantage of less expensive labor by moving shops from the urban centers in the northeast to the south, and later abroad. The ethnic and racial character of the ILGWU also changed as European immigrants were supplanted by Asians, Latin Americans, African- Americans, and immigrants from the Caribbean.

In July 1995 the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) at a joint convention, forming UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees). At the time the new union had a membership of about 250,000 in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

From 1989 to 1995, Kitty Krupat was Director of Education Department of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU). Prior to working with the ILGWU, Krupat was on the staff of the United Auto Workers (UAW).

From the guide to the ILGWU. Education Department. Kitty Krupat papers, 1990-1995., (Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Printed Ephemera Collection, 1903-2009 Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
creatorOf ILGWU. Education Department records, 1920-1979. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn ILGWU. Library listing of selected material Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Western States Region. ILGWU. Western states region records, 1940-1985. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Shulman, Beverly. ILGWU. Education Department. Beverly Shulman papers, 1972-1991. Cornell University Library
creatorOf International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Education Dept. ILGWU. Education Department. Kitty Krupat papers, 1990-1995. Cornell University Library
referencedIn ILGWU. Education Department. Jasper Peyton papers. Additional. Microfilm, 1941 Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
creatorOf International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union collection, 1937-1968. Pennsylvania State University Libraries
referencedIn Peyton, Jasper. ILGWU. Education Department. Jasper Peyton papers, 1963-1982. Cornell University Library
creatorOf ILGWU. Education Department. Kitty Krupat papers, 1990-1995. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn ILGWU. Local 98 records, 1938-1983. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn Guide to the Mark Starr Papers, 1912-1980s Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
referencedIn Guide to the Charles S. Zimmerman Papers, 1920s-1930s, undated Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
referencedIn ILGWU. Education Department. Jasper Peyton papers, 1963-1982 Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn Fuller, Mabel. Mabel Durham Fuller. Interview by Jill Fields. Cornell University Library
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. ILGWU. Library listing of selected material. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Fannia M. Cohn papers, 1914-1962 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Archives Union File, 1892-2004. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept. Executive Secretary. ILGWU. Education Department. Fannia Cohn papers, 1918-1962. Cornell University Library
referencedIn ILGWU. Education Department. Beverly Shulman papers, 1972-1991. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn Wolfson, Theresa, 1897-1972. Series 6. Files on workers' education, 1920-1961. Cornell University Library
creatorOf International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Education Dept. ILGWU. Education Department records, 1920-1979. Cornell University Library
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept. Executive Secretary. ILGWU. Education Department. Fannia Cohn photographs, 1920-1960. Cornell University Library
referencedIn ILGWU. Education Department. Fannia Cohn papers, 1918-1962 Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
creatorOf International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept. Poster, ca. 1936. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
creatorOf International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Education Dept. ILGWU. Education Department publications, 1920-1995. Cornell University Library
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 98. ILGWU. Local 98 records, 1938-1983. Cornell University Library
referencedIn ILGWU. Education Department. Kitty Krupat papers, 1990-1995. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
creatorOf International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept. [Minor publicatons on workers' education and on the general educational program of the Union]. Yale University Library
referencedIn Fuller, Mabel. Mabel Durham Fuller. Oral history interviews conducted by P. Sinclair, February 22, 1988. Cornell University Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Cohn, Fannia M. (Fannia Mary), 1885- person
associatedWith Fuller, Mabel. person
associatedWith Fuller, Mabel. person
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept. Executive Secretary. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept. Executive Secretary. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Educational Dept. Executive Secretary. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Education Department corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Education Dept. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 98 corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 98. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Western States Region. corporateBody
associatedWith Krupat, Kitty. person
associatedWith Krupat, Kitty. person
associatedWith Krupat, Kitty. person
associatedWith Peyton, Jasper corporateBody
associatedWith Peyton, Jasper corporateBody
associatedWith Peyton, Jasper. corporateBody
associatedWith Shulman, Beverly. person
associatedWith Shulman, Beverly. person
associatedWith Starr, Mark, 1894- person
associatedWith Tamiment Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Wolfson, Theresa, 1897-1972. person
associatedWith Zimmerman, Charles S., 1896-1983 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York (State)--New York
United States
Subject
Adult education
Clothing workers
Clothing workers
Clothing workers
Industrial relations
Industrial relations
Labor unions
Labor unions
Labor unions
Women's clothing industry
Women's clothing industry
Occupation
Activity

Corporate Body

Active 1937

Active 1968

Active 1920

Active 1979

Active 1990

Active 1995

Active 1920

Active 1995

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