
Guide to the Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs WAG.013
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
10th Floor
New York, NY 10012
(212) 998-2630
tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Collection processed by Keri A. Myers (2009); Edited by Erika Gottfried to reflect the incorporation of nonprint materials and for compliance with DACS and Tamiment Required Elements for Archival Description (2013)
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on May 11, 2018
Description is in English. using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Descriptive Summary
Creator: | Weinstock, Louis, 1903-1994 |
---|---|
Source - dnr: | Gould, Susan Weinstock |
Source - dnr: | Weinstock, John |
Title: | Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs |
Dates [inclusive]: | circa 1910-1994, bulk 1930-1980 |
Dates [bulk]: | 1930-1980 |
Abstract: | Louis Weinstock was born in Hungary in 1903 and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He settled in New York City and in 1925 joined the Painters' Union, Local 499. Weinstock became one of the leaders of the "Rank and File" movement in District Council 9 of the International Painters and Paperhangers. He fought for Social Security and initiated the drive for unemployment insurance. Weinstock also led the Rank-and-File painters caucus in a fight against corruption in the union, defeating the corrupt leadership of the infamous Lepke-Gurrah racketeer gang and getting elected to the office of Secretary-Treasurer. In 1951, he was charged with conspiring to violate the Smith Act while teaching a trade union class; he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail. Weinstock retired from the union in 1963 and died in 1994 from heart failure. |
Quantity: | 5.25 Linear Feet in 3 record cartons, 2 manuscript boxes, 1 oversized flat box, and 2 oversized folders. |
Language: | Materials are in English and Hungarian. |
Call Phrase: | WAG.013 |
Historical/Biographical Note
Louis Weinstock was born in Hungary in 1903 and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He settled in New York City and in 1925 joined the Painters' Union, Local 499. Weinstock became one of the leaders of the "Rank and File" movement in District Council 9 of the International Painters and Paperhangers. In 1926 Louis married Rose, also from Hungary and an activist in the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. During the Depression, Weinstock fought for Social Security and initiated the drive for unemployment insurance even though the American Federation of Labor (AFL) leadership was opposed to such policies. Weinstock, with the help of Harry Bridges of the West Coast Longshoremen (ILWU) and Elmer Brown of the Typographers Union (ITU) headed a committee to rally support from 3,000 AFL local unions and ultimately forced the reversal of the position of William Green, then head of the AFL Executive Council who was opposed to such reforms. During the struggle for the unemployed, Weinstock participated in hunger marches and led delegations to city councils, state capitols, and was part of the National Hunger March to Washington, DC in the early 1930s.
Weinstock also led the Rank-and-File painters caucus in a fight against corruption in the union. Weinstock defeated the corrupt leadership of the infamous Lepke-Gurrah racketeer gang and was elected to the office of Secretary-Treasurer, the highest office in District Council 9. He was elected Secretary-Treasurer in 1926 and for 11 years he served as either Secretary-Treasurer or President of District Council 9. Under the renewed democratic leadership the union initiation fee was reduced from $75 to $5 which increased membership, especially amongst minority and immigrant groups, and particularly among African Americans and Puerto Ricans. Additional benefits followed: increases in wages, better safety conditions, and shorter working hours.
Weinstock participated in numerous activities for both social change and for the Rank and File movement in District Council 9. His activism included attending the founding convention of the World Federation of Trade Unions in 1945. He was a delegate to the first World Peace Congress, held in Paris in 1949. He continued to work throughout his life on the important issues facing international trade unions. In 1950 Weinstock became the secretary of a May Day parade planning committee. In 1953 the permit for the parade was canceled because the U.S. Subversive Activities Control Board declared that the group must register under the McCarran Act for operating a "Communist front" organization. At this point in Weinstock's life he was defending himself against three separate federal prosecutions: the May Day charge of perjury for allegedly lying about the name of the organizing committee, a Smith Act charge of teaching anti-American labor history, and a McCarran Act charge branding him as a Communist.
On June 20, 1951 agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed up to take Weinstock to jail. He was charged with conspiring to violate the Smith Act while teaching a course on trade unionism in 1950. The Justice Department argued that some issues being taught could be viewed as advocating a violent overthrow of the U.S. government. In 1953 Weinstock was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail and $6,000 fine. He was released from prison in May 1957 and continued to pay off the $6,000 fine in monthly installments for the next 19 years. After his release from prison in 1957, he was reinstated into the District Council 9 and continued his trade as a house painter until a massive heart attack in 1963 forced him to retire. In the 1960s he served as a business manager for The Worker, a newspaper published by the Communist Party of the United States.
After retirement, Louis and Rose moved to Los Angeles where they remained active by working with the Los Angeles Committee for Trade Union Action and Democracy (TUAD) and also coordinated a Senior Citizens Organization. During the 1980s he was active with senior citizens' organizations and was a delegate to the World Conference on Aging, organized by the United Nations, held in Vienna, Austria. Louis Weinstock died on November 26, 1994 at the age of 91 from heart failure.
Sources:
- Gersh, Adolph B., Occupational Hazards and the Painter.New York: New York District Council No. 9, B. of P. D. & P. of A., 1937.
- Hall, Burton H., editor. Autocracy and Insurgency in Organized Labor.New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1972.
- Montgomery, John Flournoy. Hungary: The Unwilling Satellite.New York: The Devin-Adair Company, 1947.
- The Struggle of the New York Painters for Human Conditions.New York: District Council 9, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, No Date.
- Zausner, Philip. Unvarnished: The Autobiography of a Labor Leader. New York: Brotherhood Publishers, 1941.
Scope and Content Note
The papers and photographs of Louis Weinstock document his life from the 1920s to his death in 1994. The collection includes personal artifacts as well as an extensive amount of material from his involvement with the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers. The collection is organized into seven separate series: personal, correspondence, writings, subject files, resource materials, ancillary materials, and photographs.
Arrangement
Most files are arranged chronologically within each series.
Organized into 7 series:
- I, Personal
- II, Correspondence
- III, Writings
- IV, Subject Files
- V, Resource Materials
- VI, Ancillary Materials
- VII, Photographs
Access Points
Subject Names
- Hall, Gus
- Billings, Warren K., 1893-1972
- O'Dwyer, William, 1890-1964.
- Curran, Joseph Edwin, 1906-1981
- Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley
- Bloor, Ella Reeve, 1862-1951
- Castro, Fidel, 1926-2016
- La Guardia, Fiorello H. (Fiorello Henry), 1882-1947
- Winn, Sam.
- Weinstock, Louis, 1903-1994
- Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976
- French, Daniel, 1908-
- Weinstock, Rose
- Gellert, Hugo, 1892-1985
- Lindelof, Lawrence P.
- Healy, Dorothy, 1914-1990
- Quill, Mike, 1905-1966
- Gould, Susan Weinstock
- Weinstock, John
Document Type
- Color photographs.
- Black-and-white photographs.
- Articles.
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Correspondence.
Subject Organizations
- International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades. Painters District Council 9 of New York City
- World Peace Congress
- National Hunger March.
Subject Topics
- Collective bargaining -- United States.
- Insurance, Unemployment.
- Unemployed.
- Social security.
- Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Protest movements.
- Labor unions -- United States.
- May Day (Labor holiday) -- United States -- History.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Louis Weinstock was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from John Weinstock and Susan Weinstock Gould.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs; WAG 013; 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
Donated by Louis Weinstock's children, Dr. John Weinstock and Susan Gould, in 1995. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 1995.028, 1995.029 and NPA.1998.008.
Processing Information
Photographs from this collection were established as a separate collection in 1998, the Louis Weinstock Photographs (PHOTOS 077). In March 2013 PHOTOS 077 was reincorporated into the Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs.
Container List
Series I: Personal
|
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Box: 1 | Folder : 1 | Biographical file |
undated | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 2 | Scrapbook |
1930-1939 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 3 | Awards and Invitations |
1942-1992 | |
Box: MSOS003 | Folder : 1 | Awards (oversize) |
1943 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 4 | Rose Weinstock file (wife) |
1951-1959 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 5 | Attorneys' Records: Sacher, Abt, Forer, & Rein |
1953-1956 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 6 | Birthday Celebrations |
1973 , 1983 , 1988 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 7 | Financial Records/Receipts |
1986-1991 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 8 | Causes & Issues |
1989-1993 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 9 | Memorials, Obituaries |
1994 | |
|
||||
Series II: Correspondence
|
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 10 | Letters from Elizabeth Gurley Flynn |
1961 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 11 | Correspondence |
1932-1947 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 12 | Correspondence |
1950-1969 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 13 | Correspondence |
1970-1989 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 14 | Correspondence |
1990-1993 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 15 | Correspondence (orphan) |
undated | |
|
||||
Series III: Writings
|
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 16 | Speeches |
circa 1943 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 17 | Draft of Memoir |
undated | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 18 | Notes for Memoir |
1989 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 19 | Weinstock Memoirs Publishing Committee |
1989-1992 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 20 | Margaret S. Mahler Institute, Grant for Memoir |
1992 | |
|
||||
Series IV: Subject Files
|
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 21 | C.P.U.S.A. |
1920-1939 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 22 | Communist Party USA: "The Economic Crisis |
1930 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 23 | C.P.U.S. A. articles |
1980 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 24 | C.P.U.S.A. |
undated | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 25 | Hunger March Materials-news clips, press releases |
1931 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 26 | Hunger March-originals |
undated | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 27 | National Hunger March to Washington-Analysis |
1932 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 28 | Cincinnati Rank & File Conference-Proceedings |
1932 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 29 | Unemployed Organizer Newsletters |
1933 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 30 | AF of L Trade Union Committee for Unemployment Insurance and Relief |
1932-1933 , 1935 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 31 | Tom Mooney articles |
1932 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 32 | Workers Alliance of America |
1930-1949 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 33 | American Labor Party |
1944-1946 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 34 | US Dept. of Labor-Painters Vacation Hearing |
1945 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 35 | Painters Vacation Hearing, Local 186 New Haven, Connecticut |
1945 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 36 | May Day materials |
1950-1989 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 37 | Supreme Court Opinions-Smith Act |
1951 | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 38 | Smith Act-Defense Committee |
1951-1954 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 1 | Smith Act Support for Weinstock-Correspondence |
1952 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 2 | Smith Act Trial Report |
1952-1953 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 3 | Smith Act-Court Proceedings |
1953 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 4 | Federal Correctional Institution-Danbury, Rand Connecticut |
1955-1957 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 5 | Correspondence in Prison-Danbury, Connecticut |
1955-1957 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 6 | Record of Smith Act Cases |
1956 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 7 | Receipts of Payment to the Dept. of Justice |
1950-1959 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 8 | Smith Act Materials |
1951-1976 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 9 | U.S. Court of Appeals Re: Smith Act |
undated | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 10 | Walter- McCarran Law |
1954 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 11 | American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born |
1956-1957 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 12 | District Council #9 |
1932-1988 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 13 | Examination of DC #9's Accounts, Stuart Chase, CPA |
1925-1927 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 14 | Local Union 499, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, & Paperhangers |
1934 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 15 | New York District Council |
1936 , 1946 , 1947 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 16 | NYS Conference Buffalo, New York |
1938 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 17 | Rank & File" Program |
1938-1940 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 18 | Local Union 848, (Weinstock's Home Local) |
1940-1949 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 19 | CIO-PAC |
1944 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 20 | NC-PAC |
undated | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 21 | Union Insurance Policies |
1944-1946 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 22 | Lemkin v Weinstock, Rarback v Weinstock |
1945-1946 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 23 | Expulsion from the Painters' Union |
1945-1950 , 1967 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 24 | Local Union 442, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, & Paperhangers |
1946 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 25 | DC #9, Re: Dan French |
1978 , 1990-1991 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 26 | IBPAT Pension Plan |
1988 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 27 | 4th District Western Conference of Painters & Tapers |
1988-1991 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 28 | 26th General Convention Reporter |
1989 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 29 | News Clips- Corruption DC #9 |
1990-1991 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 30 | Painters Local Union 913 v Monroe, etc. |
1991 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 31 | William Duva, Int.'l Rep-personal papers |
1992 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 32 | Social Security, Medicare, & Healthcare |
1980-1999 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 33 | Senior Citizens-materials |
1986-1991 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 34 | Health Care Reform |
1990 | |
|
||||
Series V: Resource Materials
|
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 35 | Articles and Journals |
1930-1955 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 36 | Corruption Sources |
1930-1991 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 37 | National Committee Minutes |
1932 , 1934 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 38 | Unemployment Sources |
1932-1945 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 39 | Flyers |
1933-1981 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 40 | News and Opinion: NYC Building Trades |
1944 , 1946 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 41 | International Sources |
1945-1990 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 42 | Rank and File Painter, Painters' Rank and File, The Voice etc… |
1946-1970 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 43 | UAW-CIO Report on Racketeering and Gangsteriism |
1949 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 44 | NY Law Journal, Labor Union Expulsion of Communist Party Member |
1950 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 45 | Daily News |
1951 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 46 | 10th World Trade Union Congress, Havana, Cuba |
1982 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 47 | Retirement Sources |
1983-1989 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 48 | Joe Hill News |
1989 | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 49 | Issues of Boomerang, United Electrical Workers of Chicago |
undated | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 50 | Programme of Economic and Social Demands, WFTU-Draft |
undated | |
Box: 2 | Folder : 51 | Fact Sheet on Senator McCarthy |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 1 | Myerson Notes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 2 | MyersonNotes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 3 | Myerson Notes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 4 | Myerson Notes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 5 | Myerson Notes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 6 | Myerson Notes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 7 | Myerson Notes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 8 | Myerson Notes |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 9 | Myerson Notes-Cold War |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 10 | Myerson printed material- Research |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 11 | Myerson bibliography |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 12 | Myerson correspondence Re: Abt |
1977-1990 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 13 | ACTWU Archives |
1986 , 1987 , 1990 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 14 | Myerson Contacts for Interviews |
1990 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 15 | Myerson Correspondence with Weinstock |
1991-1992 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 16 | Orphan Documents |
1932-1991 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 17 | Articles/News Clips, Communist Pary |
1929-1990 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 18 | Press Releases, Hunger March & Work Sharing |
1931-1970 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 19 | Clips and Newspaper Articles, Hunger March & Work Sharing |
1931-1970 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 20 | Articles on Painters, News Clips, & Press Releases |
1931-1966 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 21 | Articles on Racketeering, News Clips, & Press Releases |
1937-1947 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 22 | Articles on Hungary-News Clips |
1946-1994 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 23 | News Clips/Articles |
1981-1992 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 24 | News Clips (Orphan) |
undated | |
|
||||
Series VI: Ancillary Materials
|
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 25 | Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, 80th Congress |
1948 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 26 | Subversive Activities Control Board |
1950-1959 | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 27 | Legal Documents, US Court of Appeals |
undated | |
Box: 3 | Folder : 28 | Legal Documents, US Supreme Court |
1950-1959 | |
|
||||
Series VII: Photographs, 1920s-1980s 1940-1949
Scope and Content NoteThree-hundred-twenty-six black and white prints and 59 color prints, including images of these individuals: Warren K. Billings, "Mother" Ella Reeve Bloor, Fidel Castro, Joseph R. Curran, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Hugo Gellert, Gus Hall, Dorothy Healy, Fiorello LaGuardia, William O'Dwyer, Mike Quill, and Paul Robeson. Notable subjects depicted include May Day parades in New York City, and demonstrations protesting against the Korean War. Photographers include Hungarian immigrant photographers John Albok and Gabriel Hackett, Alexander Archer, and one photograph credited to A.H. Greene of the Film and Photo League. |
||||
Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 1 | 1920s? |
circa 1920-1930 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 2 | 1930s? |
circa 1930-1940 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 3 | 1940s - Restaurant souvenir photographs |
circa 1940-1950 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 4 | 1940s? |
circa 1940-1950 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 5 | 1950s? |
circa 1950-1960 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 6 | 1960s? |
circa 1960-1970 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 7 | 1970s? |
circa 1970-1980 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 8 | 1980s? |
circa 1980-1990 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 9 | Congress Syndical Mondial, Berlin |
1986 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 10 | 1990s? |
circa 1990-1994 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 11 | Reference photocopies of photographs of Louis and Rose Weinstock in passports and
labor union membership books |
1928-1980 | |
Box: 4 | Folder : 12 | Photocopies of unidentified photographs (possibly family, friends, and political colleagues) |
undated | |
Box: 5 | Photograph album (disassembled) of the Fot, Hungary orphanage
GeneralThis item was presented to Louis Weinstock in memory of his visit to the orphanage on November 4, 1966. Captions are handwritten in Hungarian. Nineteen pages long (with photographs on both sides of the pages), it is arranged in original page order (indicated by an assigned page number written in pencil in square brackets on both sides of the pages). The album also includes a dedicatory note that accompanied the album, and a sample page of the original interleaving papers in the album has been retained. |
circa 1960-1970 | ||
Box: OS 001 | Folder : 1 | Oversized photographs - panoramic |
circa 1930-1950 | |
Box: OS 001 | Folder : 2 | Oversized photographs - miscellaneous |
circa 1930-1950; 1959 | |
|
||||