Civil Service Technical Guild Photographs
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General Physical Description note
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Abstract
The Civil Service Technical Guild, established in 1937 to represent engineers and architects employed by the City of New York; was founded by three engineers: Henry F. Cunningham, William F. Elliot, and George Ellenoff. In 1956 it merged with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District 37, as that organization's Local 375. By the 1960s the Guild had won the right of collective bargaining and over the years won for its members improved salaries, medical and dental benefits, Social Security and long-term disability insurance. Spanning the years 1922 to 1980, the collection of ca. 400 black and white photographs represents every aspect of the Guild's existence and activities. Most are of routine gatherings such as banquets and meetings, and these include portraits and posed group photographs with Guild presidents Louis Albano, Philip Brueck, Joseph Collins, Richard Izzo, and Alexander Lurkis,, but a few are less formal and provide more information on the material culture and the social lives of the early union members. In addition, some photographs document subway construction at several different time periods and different locations. Some of the photographers/photographic studios whose work is included in this collection are: John Adams Davis; Drunker, Hilbert Co.; Roland Harvey; Photographic Unit of the New York City Transit Authority; Sam Reiss; A.G. Schoenfeld; Ed Sheenan; Vincent Stibler; and Whitestone Photos.
Historical/Biographical Note
The Civil Service Technical Guild was established in 1937 to represent engineers and architects employed by the City of New York. It began as Council 6 of the Civil Service Forum by three engineers, Henry F. Cunningham, William F. Elliot, and George Ellenoff. The first activity of the organization was a protest against the contracting out of public works by the City to private firms. The union mobilized 300 engineers who went to the state capitol to lobby for the passage of the Buckley Law, which proposed repealing from the New York City charter a provision which actually required contracting out of large projects. After the passage of the Buckley Law, the Guild's membership increased by approximately 2,000 new members, representing 25 city departments (adding chemists and technical inspectors, among others).
In 1948 the Guild disaffiliated from the Civil Service Forum and was independent until 1951 when it merged with the Government and Civic Employees Organizing Committee (GCEOC) of the CIO, and finally with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District 37 after the AFL-CIO merger in 1956. One of the key figures in the founding of the Guild was Philip Brueck, who was elected its President in 1938 and held that post for almost twenty years. Building upon the passage of the Buckley Law, Brueck's political strategy for the Guild was to lobby for legislation rather than to use strikes. By the 1960s the Guild had won the right of collective bargaining and over the years won for its members improved salaries, medical and dental benefits, Social Security and long-term disability insurance.
Arrangement
Arrangement is topical within series, with the exception of Series VI, which is arranged chronologically.
Organized into 8 series:
Missing Title
- I. Activities, Unofficial
- II. Activities, Official
- III. Administrative
- IV. Construction
- V. Oversize
- VI. Chronological
- VII. Negatives and Contact Sheets
- VIII. Unprocessed
Scope and Content Note
This collection of black and white photographs spans the years 1922 to 1980 and represents every aspect of the Guild's existence and activities. It is organized into seven series, and within the series, mostly by subject. The subjects include: dinners, meetings, elections, demonstrations, rallies, subway construction, portraits, and hearings. In some cases photographs were not entirely identified or dated.
Some of the most interesting photographs in the collection are those that show subway construction at several different time periods and many different locations, including an album completed by the Transit Commission in 1922 showing subway construction to Queens.
While most of the photographs are of routine gatherings such as banquets and meetings, many in formal poses, a few images are less formal and provide more information on the material culture and the social lives of the early union members. These include the staff of the Brooklyn Borough President's office at work and at play (at the beach) and lively snapshots of CSTG'ers alternately posing and clowning outdoors at early conventions. Also pictured, in portraits and group photographs are Civil Service Technical Guild presidents, including Louis Albano, Philip Brueck, Joseph Collins, Richard Izzo, and Alexander Lurkis.
Some of the photographers/photographic studios whose work is included in this collection are: John Adams Davis; Drunker, Hilbert Co.; Roland Harvey; Photographic Unit of the New York City Transit Authority; Sam Reiss; A.G. Schoenfeld; Ed Sheenan; Vincent Stibler; and Whitestone Photos.
Subjects
Organizations
People
Topics
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Civil Service Technical Guild Photographs; PHOTOS 012; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Photographs in this collection were separated from the Civil Service Technical Guild Records WAG.024, and established as their own collection, the Civil Service Technical Guild Photographs PHOTOS.011. The accession number associated with these materials is 1984.007. Over the years, there have been a number of additions made to this collection. The accession numbers associated with this collection are NPA.2004.069, NPA.2004.076, NPA.2004.086, NPA.2005.031, NPA.2006.022, NPA.2006.082, 2011.092, and NPA.2005.031.
Provenance
The records of the Civil Service Technical Guild were assembled by the union in cooperation with the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, NYU during an oral history project initiated in 1984 in preparation for the Guild`s fiftieth anniversary. In the absence of a body of official union records, items were donated from the private collections of the following officers and members: Philip Brueck, President 1938-1955, Alexander Lurkis, President 1956-1958, Bill Goldsborough, William Malloy, Joseph Collins, President 1958-1972, Louis Albano, President 1981-1998, David Jacobson, James Parker, Eleanor Eastman, David Sedacca, and Harold Haldorsen.
