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Jesse Simons Papers

Call Number

WAG.044

Date

1919-2000, inclusive

Creator

Simons, Jesse
Simons, Jesse (Role: Donor)

Extent

12 Linear Feet in 12 record cartons

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

Jesse Simons (1917-2006) was a distinguished labor arbitrator, and served as Director of the American Artbitration Association's Labor Management Institute. A veteran of the U.S. Trotskyist movement of the 1930s and 40s, he held a variety of blue-collar jobs, served in World War II, and became a union official and organizer. As an arbitrator he was called upon to rule on cases involving many important sectors of New York City labor, and served on the Personnel Review Board of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and as an arbitrator for the National Mediation Board. The collection contains personal, political and professional correspondence, writings and presentations, arbitration and other decisions, reports and background files.

Historical/Biographical Note

Born in New Haven in 1917, Jesse Simons had a long and distinguished career in labor arbitration. While director of the American Arbitration Association's Labor Management Institute, he helped to create the New York City Collective Bargaining Law. The law, enacted in 1967 under Mayor John V. Lindsay, soon led to the creation of the New York City Office of Collective Bargaining and set up procedures to mediate and arbitrate contract disputes between the city and the majority of its employees. The system remains in use to this day.

During Simons' early career in the 1930s and 40s, he held a variety of jobs including machinist, shipyard coppersmith and linotype operator. After attending the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington briefly, he became deeply involved in trade-union and Trotskyist politics in the Seattle area, and his interest in unions developed out of these political experiences. At various times he served as chief shop steward, educational director and executive board member of the International Association of Machinists, the International Union of Shipbuilding Workers of America and the United Electrical Workers. From 1944-1946 he served in the Army Air Force. Afterwards, he took a job as assistant to the political director of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, doing publicity, lobbying and organizing union support for political candidates from 1948 to 1951. In 1954, he became manager of personnel and industrial relations for the New York Post. After leaving the Post in 1962, he directed the AAA's Labor Management Institute from 1963 to 1966. In 1966, he joined the United States Lines, becoming the company's vice president for labor relations from 1967 to 1970.

In the course of his work as an arbitrator, Simons worked with a wide range of unions and employers to resolve literally thousands of contract-related disputes. He became thoroughly conversant with working conditions and labor-management issues in every major sector of the New York City work force; he dealt with cases involving health care workers, transit workers, communications workers, service employees, electricians, teamsters, maritime workers, theatrical and television workers, garment workers and teachers, among others. He served on the Personnel Review Board of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and dealt with railroad cases nationwide as an arbitrator for the National Mediation Board. One of his most widely publicized decisions was the award of a $440,000 salary to New York Yankees catcher Rick Cerone in 1981, rejecting the team offer of $350,000 made by owner George M. Steinbrenner III.

Simons traveled widely and pursued interests in art and archaeology, literature and music. Many in his circle of devoted friends came from these fields; there is evidence in the collection of his own experiments in poetry writing. His three marriages ended in divorce. He died in July 2006 in New York City.

Arrangement

Files are arranged alphabetically within series; groups of arbitration decisions are arranged by award or case number.

The collection is organized into two series:

Series I: Subject Files, 1945-2000

Series II: Arbitration Decisions, undated

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains personal correspondence and biographical materials reflecting the wide range of Jesse Simons' cultural and intellectual interests. Professional correspondence found in this series relates to the major arenas of his activity as an arbitrator. Also included are articles and speeches by Simons and others, material documenting his work with the United States Lines, and industry reports and other background material related to his work. Of special interest is a file of political correspondence, 1945-1948. Written by Simons and signed "Buddy," these letters reflect his views and activities and as a member of the Workers Party, a Trotskyist group. The bulk of this collection is comprised of case files from arbitration decisions between the 1970s and 1990s, which represent the full subject range and geographical spread of Simons' work as an arbitrator. The majority of the decisions date from the 1980s.

Donors

Simons, Jesse

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Jesse Simons were transferred to New York University in 1996 by Jesse Simons. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu, (212) 998-2630.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date; Jesse Simons Papers; WAG 044; 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 Jesse Simons in 1996. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 1996.005 and 1996.009. Additional materials were received in 1998, 2002 and 2005.

Collection processed by

Sarah Graff, Alaina Zulli, and Gail Malmgreen, 2006

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:49:37 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid is written in English

Processing Information

Photographs separated from this collection during processing were established as a separate collection, the Jesse Simons Photographs (PHOTOS 163). In 2013, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the Jesse Simons Papers (WAG 044).

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from Simons, Jess Wag #44.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