Amalgamated Bank of New York

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Amalgamated Bank is an American financial institution. It is the largest union-owned bank and one of the only unionized banks in the United States. Amalgamated Bank is currently majority-owned by Workers United, an SEIU Affiliate.

On March 16, 1923, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America chartered the Amalgamated Bank of New York. On April 14, 1923, the bank opened it doors to the public on East 14th Street, Manhattan, nextdoor to a former site of Tiffany's on Union Square. Within a short time, 2,400 people had deposited $450,000 with the bank. Within weeks, it had to expand vertically onto two floor above in the same building. In the Liberator magazine, the bank advertised its ownership and operations by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. It listed chairman Hyman Blumberg, president R. L. Redheffer, vice president Jacob S. Potofsky, cashier Leroy Peterson, and other directors: Gold, Sidney Hillman, Max Lowenthal, August Bellanca, Fiorello H. La Guardia, Abraham Miller, Joseph Schlossberg, Murray Weinstein, Max Zaritsky, and Peter Monat.

In 1927, Amalgamated Bank financed the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative, the first union-supported housing development in the United States, which is located in The Bronx. In the late 1920s, Amalgamated Bank had a "Travel Department" that advertised "Visit Soviet Russia" in New Masses magazine. In 1957, it financed the construction of Park Reservoir Housing Cooperative in the Bronx, which was the first affordable housing development created under New York State's Mitchell-Lama Housing Program. Amalgamated has a long history of helping union movements. It once opened its bank vaults on a Saturday in order to provide $300,000 in bail for striking workers. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) received $800,000 to post a cash bond within 24 hours. In 1973, bank employees worked all weekend to keep striking Philadelphia teachers out of jail. In 1982, Amalgamated made a $200,000 loan to the striking National Football League Players Association despite the fact that they did not even have an account at the bank.

In May 2018, the Amalgamated Bank merged with New Resource Bank of San Francisco.

In August 2018, Amalgamated became a public company and filed for an initial public offering of stock to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "AMAL."

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Local 98. ILGWU. Local 98 records, 1938-1983. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. ACTWU's Microfilm of Murray Finley's Correspondence from the President's Office, 1973-1983. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Copelof, Maxwell, 1897-. Arbitration files, ca. 1940-ca. 1970. Cornell University Library
referencedIn ACTWU. Presidential Papers (Murray Finley). Correspondence. Microfiche, 1973-1983 Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. President's Office. Benjamin Schlesinger presidential records, 1928-1932. Cornell University Library
referencedIn International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Benjamin Schlesinger, President. Records, 1928-1932. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn Copelof, Maxwell, 1879-. Papers, 1940-1954 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Maxwell Copelof arbitration files, ca. 1940-ca. 1970. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn The Nation, records, 1879-1974 (inclusive), 1920-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Houghton Mifflin Company contracts, 1831-1979 (inclusive) 1880-1940 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Sheinkman, Jacob. Jack Sheinkman. Audio- and Video-cassettes, 1985-1997. Cornell University Library
referencedIn ILGWU. Local 98 records, 1938-1983. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives
referencedIn Papers of Mary E. (Mary Elisabeth) Dreier, 1797-1968 (inclusive), 1897-1968 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union corporateBody
associatedWith Copelof, Maxwell, 1879- person
associatedWith Gundersheim, Arthur person
associatedWith Houghton Mifflin Company. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. President's Office. corporateBody
associatedWith International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. President's Office. corporateBody
associatedWith MARY ELISABETH DREIER, 1875-1963 person
correspondedWith Nation (New York, N.Y. : 1865). corporateBody
associatedWith Sheinkman, Jacob. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Manhattan NY US
New York City NY US
Subject
Banking
Unionism
Occupation
Activity
Banking

Corporate Body

Establishment 1923-03-16

Active 2022

Americans

English

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SNAC ID: 87341309