Series 1, Subseries 3. Delegates and organizers interviews, 1975-1980.

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Series 1, Subseries 3. Delegates and organizers interviews, 1975-1980.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64755466

Topics discussed include respondents' personal backgrounds; social and cultural activities of 1199; networks of friends and family members; Elliott Godoff's personality and political background; volunteer and scab labor; public opinion of hospital strikes; workers' consciousness among various ethnic groups; strikebreaking tactics of hospital administrators; 1199's image of supporting under-privileged minority workers; red-baiting of 1199 leaders; and hospital administrators' anti-union tactics. Other topics discussed include pluralism in internal union politics; black and Puerto Rican union leadership; the militancy of union membership; the role of delegates and organizers in union administration; leadership roles of Leon Davis, Doris Turner, Moe Foner, Jesse Olson, and Elliott Godoff; the manner in which delegate, chapter, and assembly meetings are conducted; discipline of union members; the political consciousness of union leaders, members and workers; organizing Catholic hospitals and the role of nuns as administrators; the influence of Catholic Church doctrines on health care policies of Catholic hospitals; black, Puerto Rican and women workers' identification with 1199; the crucial role of Guild and Nursing Division members in the operation of hospitals; the racial composition of Guild and Hospital Divisions; dissent among Guild members; establishment of the Nursing Division and craft identification; and the union's reaction to layoffs and budget cuts in New York hospitals. Issues relating to 1199 organizing campaigns in Pittsburgh, Scranton, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pa. include the racial composition of hospital workers; establishment of organizing committees; grievances and denial of benefits; the conduct of demonstrations; strikes and pickets; community support; the effects on the national organizing campaign of organizing drives in Baltimore, Md. and Charleston, S.C.; anti-union tactics of hospital administrators; Coretta Scott King, Southern Christian Leadership Conference and civil rights organizations' support for the organizing campaign; workers' opposition to unionization; union solidarity and community support in Pittsburgh; boards of trustees' influence on hospital administrators; lobbying for passage of Pennsylvania collective bargaining legislation for hospital workers; press coverage of hospital strikes; and organizing hospital workers in small communities. Discussions pertaining to the Bronx Hospital include mention of the community of interest between hospital engineers and 1199; the organizing activities of Marshall Dubin, Ted Mitchell, Howard Gorelick, Phil Kamenkowitz, Bob Burke and Armando Ramirez; the hospital administration's attitude toward unionization; the signing of membership cards; the strategy of organizing hospital departments; strike contributions from brewery workers, religious organizations, the Democratic Club, the community, and politicians; the hiring of scabs; alleged police brutality and the arrests of strikers; assaults on scabs; the dismissal and reinstatement of strikers; the reaction of workers' families to strikes; grievance procedure and dues collection; the responsibilities of delegates; and the relationships between delegates and hospital administrators. Issues relating to Maimonides Hospital include the history of unionism at that institution; working conditions; labor-management relations under Teamsters Local 237; the conduct of collective negotiations; grievance procedures; the organizing strategy of Elliott Godoff; alleged discrimination by supervisors against workers for union activity; the organizing of nursing, dietary, and housekeeping departments; the conduct of organizing meetings and picketing; cooperation between management and union; wages; the ethnic composition of hospital staff; the management of hospital finances; layoffs; the effects of the unionization of Maimonides on the League of Voluntary Hospitals; the political viewpoints of Maimonides staff; job security; conflicts between ethnic groups; community support for strikers; the conflicts between community groups', unions' and workers' interests; the participation of ethnic groups in demonstrations; and the reaction of 1199 leadership to the coalition of workers and community groups.

5 transcripts (115 p.)

Cornell University Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7918992

Cornell University Library

Related Entities

There are 25 Entities related to this resource.

Maimonides Mental Health Center (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

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Ramirez, Armando Socarras

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International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America. Local 74 (Minot, N.D.)

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Minot, North Dakota. From the description of International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffers, Warehousement, and Helpers of America, Local 74 records, 1936-1960; 1985. (State Historical Society of North Dakota State Archives). WorldCat record id: 17799391 ...

Burke, Bob, 1948-

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Tillow, Kay

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Mitchell, Tedi K.

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Olson, Jesse.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64x89nn (person)

Kamenkowitz, Phil.

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Davis, Leon J. 1907-

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League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York.

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Brown, Joseph Epes

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Gorelick, Howard.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65n3w4m (person)

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is a national organization organized in chapters and affiliates that works for human rights across the world. It played a prominent role in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King, Jr. Origins of the SCLC can be traced back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 5 December 1955 after which leaders of civil rights groups met in Atlanta on 10-11 January 1957 to form ...

Dubin, Marshall.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ck0zcm (person)

Godoff, Elliott.

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King, Coretta Scott, 1927-2006

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Coretta Scott King (b. April 27, 1927, Marion, AL–d. Jan. 30, 2006, Rosarito Beach, Mexico) was the wife of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. She attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and earned a degree from the New England Conservatory of Music studying under Marie Sundelius. She met King in Boston and they were married in 1953. They had four children: Yolanda (1955), Martin III (1957), Dexter (1961), and Bernice (1963).The King family lived in Montgomery, Alabama. Mrs. ...

National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees

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The unedited oral history interviews of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees discuss the evolution of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union drugstore local, representing pharmacists and drug clerks in New York City (known as Local 1199 and District 1199) into an international union of non-professional and professional workers in voluntary and non-profit health institutions, including hospitals, clinics and nursing homes as well as drugstores. From the d...

Bronx Hospital.

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Morris, Nellie.

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Methodist Hospital (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

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Foner, Moe, 1915-

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Labor union organizer. From the description of Reminiscences of Moe Foner: oral history, 1986. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 309737252 ...

National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. District 1199

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Maimonides Hospital (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

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Turner, Doris, 1931-

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