National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. Series 6, Subseries 3. Abe Raskin interview, 1977.

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National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. Series 6, Subseries 3. Abe Raskin interview, 1977.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64091497

Raskin interview discusses, among other topics, Leon Davis' politics and relations with other labor leaders; unionization of different types of hospitals; organizing efforts among minority workers; collective bargaining legislation and compulsory arbitration for hospital workers; and the union's involvement in city and state politics. The interview with Raskin regards his personal background and early connections with Elliott Godoff and Leon Davis; Davis' background in drugstores, the Communist Party, radical politics, and his connections with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU); politicians' reactions to Davis; Cardinal Spellman's influence on relations between Catholic and Jewish hospitals, and their fears of a communist union president; comparison of unionization of proprietary, public and voluntary hospitals; and relations between David Livingston and Max Greenberg (presidents, RWDSU) and Davis. Also discussed are Harry Van Arsdale's attempts to organize minority workers in the construction trades, the exploitation of hospital workers by hospital philanthropists, the relationships of the union with New York City politicians, the pledge of Brotherhood Party support for Mayor Wagner; compulsory arbitration for hospital workers, police and firemen; the AFL-CIO's reaction to Davis' political reputation; and the positions of German and Russian Jewish groups on hospital workers and social justice. Other topics include the relationships of New York politicians with the Greater New York Hospital Association; the positions of city and state hospitals on the passage of collective bargaining legislation for hospital workers and the inclusion of compulsory arbitration; Joseph Carlino's support for collective bargaining legislation for hospital workers; the alleged Republican labor alignment in New York City; Harold Felix and various political forces influencing Mayor Wagner's executive order regarding collective bargaining rights for hospital workers; 1199's success in organizing the Federation of Jewish Hospitals and its failures in organizing university hospitals; and the establishment of the Permanent Administrative Committee and its effects on unionization of hospitals. Also discussed are future problems of labor and a depressed economy; 1199's tactics in developing rank and file loyalty and leadership and the structure and reputation of 1199 as a socially minded union.

1 transcript (25 p.)

Cornell University Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 7911034

Cornell University Library

Related Entities

There are 16 Entities related to this resource.

AFL-CIO

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Spellman, Francis, 1889-1967

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Raskin, A. H. 1911-

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Brotherhood Party (New York, N.Y.)

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National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. District 1199

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Livingston, David, approximately 1856-

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Wagner, Robert F. (Robert Ferdinand), 1910-1991

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Robert F. Wagner, three term Mayor of New York City was born April 20, 1910 on the upper east side of Manhattan, New York. He attended Taft School in Connecticut, Yale University, the Harvard Graduate School of Business, the School of International Relations in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Yale University Law School, from which he graduated in 1937. At the age of 26, Wagner was elected to the State Assembly from the Yorkville District and he served in that position for four years. From 1942 to 1...

Greenberg, Max.

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Van Arsdale, Harry, 1905-1986

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Davis, Leon J. 1907-

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