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Department Store and Office Workers' Organizing Collection

Call Number

TAM.002

Dates

1916-1947, inclusive
; 1930-1941, bulk

Creator

Department Store Employees Union and Office Workers' Union
Rand School of Social Science (Role: Donor)

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

Efforts to unionize New York City department store employees in the 1930s took place under the auspices of the Department Store Employees Union, Local 1250 (at first affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and subsequently with the Congress of Industrial Organizations) and the Office Workers' Union, an affiliate of the Trade Union Unity League, a Communist Party labor initiative. The collection contains pamphlets, leaflets, newsletters and clippings relating to sit-down strikes, department store and office workers strikes and organizing in the 1930s, printed material from the Office Workers' Union, and of the Department Store Employees Union, Local 1250.

Historical/Biographical Note

Efforts to unionize New York City department store employees in the 1930s took place under the auspices of the Department Store Employees Union, Local 1250, at first affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The local became a CIO affiliate in 1937 and later expanded into Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The Office Workers' Union, a Communist Party labor initiative and an affiliate of the Trade Union Unity League, also organized workers in department stores, as well as clerical staff in a variety of businesses including newspapers, insurance and mail order companies.

Arrangement

The folders are arranged alphabetically.

The files are grouped into one series:

Missing Title

  1. I, General Files

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains pamphlets, leaflets, newsletters and clippings relating to sit-down strikes, department store and office workers strikes and organizing in the 1930s. Also included is printed material from the Office Workers' Union and the Department Store Employees Union, Local 1250 including some agreements. General information on AFL and CIO unions, TUUL strikes, sit-down strikes, coal strikes, and longshoremen's strikes in California and Hawaii is also included.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

The Tamiment Library has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in 1916 to 1947, are expected to enter the public domain in 2068.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transfer from the Rand School Archives, 1963. The accession number associated with this collection is 1963.002

Custodial History

The Department Store and Office Workers' Organizing Collection was transferred from the Rand School Archives in 1963. The original donor to the Rand School is unknown.

Collection processed by

Tamiment Staff

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:45:03 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from Department Store.doc

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012