Gertrude W. Klein Papers
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Abstract
Gertrude W. Klein (1893-1986) was one of the first women elected to the City Council of New York. She also served as director of community service for Sachs Quality Stores, Inc. and as educational director and as an organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. The collection chronicles Klein's professional life, focusing mostly on her service as city councilwoman in the 1940s, and contains newspaper clippings, photographs, reports, correspondence, and printed ephemera.
Historical/Biographical Note
Gertrude W. Klein (1893-1986) was one of the first women elected to the City Council of New York. Born in Brooklyn, Klein was the daughter of socialist writer Joseph A. Weil. She studied political science at Columbia University, the New School for Social Research, and the Rand School of Social Science. An American Labor Party candidate from the Bronx, Klein was one of three women elected to the Council in 1941 and was re-elected in 1943. She ran as an independent in 1945 after the party refused to designate her for a third term, but lost to the party's candidate, Michael J. Quill, president of the Transport Workers Union. In 1946, Klein became the director of community service for Sachs Quality Stores, Inc., a position she held until the early 1950s. Klein was also active in the labor movement as educational director and as an organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by genre of materials.
Scope and Contents
The collection chronicles Klein's professional life, focusing mostly on her service as city councilwoman in the 1940s. The collection is primarily comprised of photocopies of newspaper clippings from the 1910s through the 1980s, though the vast majority are from the 1940s. The clippings are mostly news stories that cover important moments in Klein's career, though some of the clippings are opinion pieces written by Klein on topics such as labor union history, women socialists, women's suffrage, and women in the workforce. To a lesser extent, the collection contains reports and correspondence related to Klein's work for Sachs Quality Stores and as councilwoman, as well as photographs that document her work as a councilwoman and as a leader in the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), including a photograph of Klein with Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Jacob Potovsky of the ACWA. There is also a small amount of printed ephemera in the form of flyers advertising forums with Klein and World War II community events (forums on rationing, flag dedications, etc.), Klein's promotional campaign materials, and Klein's ACWA membership card.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (and related rights to publicity and privacy) to materials in this collection created by Gertrude W. Klein was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Gertrude W. Klein Papers; TAM 368; Box number; Folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Ruth Rosner in 1986. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 1986.045 and 1986.046.
About this Guide
Processing Information
A photograph separated from this collection during accessioning was established as a separate collection, the Gertrude W. Klein Photographs (PHOTOS 229). In 2013, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the Gertrude W. Klein Papers (TAM 368).
Also in 2013, the collection was rehoused in archival folders.
