William Nuchow Papers
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Abstract
William Nuchow was born in Bronx, New York, in 1928. He quit school to go to sea and in 1946 was elected to the strike committee of the National Maritime Union. He then worked in steel mills and auto plants in Buffalo, New York, before returning to New York City. There he led the organization of New York City cabbies as an officer of International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Local 826 from 1952 through the taxi strike of 1956. Before joining the staff of Teamsters Local 210 in 1958, he worked as an organizer for the United Furniture Workers in the South. Nuchow was deeply committed to labor education and served on the advisory boards of the Harry Van Arsdale School of Labor Studies, the Cornell University Labor Liberal Arts Certificate Programs, and the Trade Union Leadership Institute of the New York City Central Labor Council. Nuchow also espoused a variety of progressive political causes. The Nuchow Papers include organizing and strike materials from the National Maritime Union, Taxi Local 826, IBT (including scattered issues of Taxi Teamster), the United Furniture Workers, and IBT, Local 840; political literature from the campaigns of Bella Abzug, Paul O'Dwyer, and George McGovern; material on anti-Vietnam War and anti-nuclear demonstrations; and files on labor tours of China.
Historical/Biographical Note
William Haywood (Bill) Nuchow was born on June 15, 1928 to immigrant Jewish parents in the Bronx. He and his sister, Sylvia, grew up in the "Co-ops," a Jewish workers cooperative housing project. He attended P.S. 96 and P.S. 89, and organized his first strike (aimed at better pay and conditions for athletic coaches) while still at Christopher Columbus High School. After high school Bill became a merchant seaman and was involved in the 1946 waterfront strike as a member of the National Maritime Union's New York Strike Committee. This experience was followed by a stint in the army, where he served first as driver and then as acting Jewish chaplain in the 88th Infantry Division in northern Italy. After his army service he worked in the mills and auto plants of Buffalo, NY, and then returned to New York City as a trackman on the railroad, a dockworker, and a cab driver. He became the first president of the New York Taxi Drivers Union, Local 286 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), and led the 1956 taxi strike. After working for a time in IBT regional offices, Bill was sent "on loan" for two years to the United Furniture Workers in Southern mill towns and in the lumber camps of Vermont and New Hampshire. He then returned to New York City to help organize IBT, Local 210, and eventually became Secretary-Treasurer of IBT, Local 840 (from July 1969). His last achievement as a Teamster was to organize the victory of the reform "Unity Slate" at IBT, Joint Council 16.
His interests, both political and intellectual were varied. Among the many causes he supported were the struggles against repression in Central America and Northern Ireland, work for peace and Arab-Israeli rapprochement in the Middle East, nuclear disarmament, union democracy, and U.S.-China cultural exchange. A staunch proponent of labor education, he studied at the Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., School of Labor Studies at Empire State College, and later served on the Advisory Boards of that school and the Cornell University Labor Liberal Arts Certificate Program. Beginning in the late 1970s he organized and led a series of trips to China for labor leaders and political activists, under the auspices of the U.S.-China People's Friendship Association. Bill Nuchow died on November 28, 1993. Among the dignitaries who gathered with his wife and four children, and many relatives and friends, to honor him at a memorial meeting were David Dinkins, Jesse Jackson, Bella Abzug and Pete Seeger.
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Content Note
This collection reflects William Nuchow's political interests and not his day-to-day work in the labor movement. Only a few files of miscellaneous correspondence, leaflets and other publicity material represent his work organizing taxi drivers and furniture workers, and his tenure as an officer of IBT Local 804. More extensive files of leaflets, programs, press releases, and clippings document Nuchow's interest in reform Democratic politics (through Ansonia Independent Democrats), the peace movement, labor history, and labor education. Most thoroughly documented is his continuing interest in group travel to China, beginning with his initial proposal for a student-faculty trip in 1974, when he was a student at Empire State College. He eventually organized several trips for labor activists through the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association, and files on these trips include extensive application information from participants, Nuchow's correspondence with officials in China, travel documents required for each participant by the Chinese government, and publicity materials and reports on the trips themselves. Of special note is an autobiographical essay Nuchow composed as part of his work at Empire State College. The collection also contains twenty-six images of Teamsters, including portraits of Nuchow. Other photographs include demonstration images and a Local 840 softball game.
Subjects
Organizations
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Donors
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 William Nuchow was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; William Nuchow Papers; WAG 043; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by William Nuchow, 1986. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 1986.023, 1986.028, NPA 2000.066, and NPA 2003.014.
Separated Materials
Buttons were separated to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Button and Pin Collection (BUTTONS 001)
About this Guide
Processing Information
Photographs were separated from this collection and established as a separate collection, the William Nuchow Photographs (PHOTOS 166). In 2013, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the William Nuchow Papers.
