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Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island Records

Call Number

WAG.054

Date

1911-1993, inclusive

Creator

Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island
Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island (Role: Donor)

Extent

27 Linear Feet
in 26 record cartons and 1 flat box.

Language of Materials

Materials are written in English.

Abstract

In 1911, the Union Label Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor chartered the Central Union Label Council of New York City. Like its parent body, which had been established by Samuel Gompers in 1909, the New York City Label Council was dedicated to "a more systematic and thorough agitation and demand for union-made and particularly union label products, and for the patronage of union organizations issuing them." The Label Council, and later its state counterpart, focused on lobbying, service and publicity, all in the interest of union-labeled goods produced by members of craft unions. The records of the Central Union Label Council and its related organizations consist of correspondence, reports, flyers, news releases, programs, convention proceedings, speeches and publications, as well as non-print material such as photographs, buttons and posters. The collection documents both the behind­ the-scenes operation of this union public relations program as well as the implementation of that program, documented in its many publications and reports.

Historical Note

In 1911, the Union Label Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor chartered the Central Union Label Council of New York City. Like its parent body, which had been established by Samuel Gompers in 1909, the New York City Label Council was dedicated to "a more systematic and thorough agitation and demand for union-made and particularly union label products, and for the patronage of union organizations issuing them." In 1916, the Council sold stock to establish a department store of union label products, which it then ran and stocked. After World War II, the increasing number of retail stores carrying union-made products greatly increased, prompting the Council to close its store in 1947.

The Label Council, and later its state counterpart, focused on lobbying, service and publicity, all in the interest of union-labeled goods produced by members of craft unions. Although separate central bodies existed in Manhattan and Brooklyn in 1911, the Central Union Label Council, headquartered in Brooklyn in its own building at 902-4 Broadway, bridged the boroughs. Charles Sinnigen, a member of the Electrotypers Local 100, served as the Council's Secretary. In 1935, the Union Label Trades and Services Department of the AFL chartered a Union Label Trades and Services Department for the state of New York. The organization moved to Bible House, where Charles Sinnigen directed both the city and the state organization as Secretary-Treasurer. The state organization called conventions annually and published the Union Label News.

After Sinnigen's death in 1949, Harry Avrutin, formerly an organizer for the Office and Professional Employees International Union, was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Union Label and Services Trades Council of Greater New York. Placing greater emphasis on publicity tactics, Avrutin published annual buyers' guides to union-made products, mounted labor-management trade shows during "Union Label Week" (the first week of September), staged a "Miss Union Maid" beauty contest, sponsored a weekly Labor Press radio program, and engaged in other public relations efforts designed to promote union labor and products, and, increasingly, to encourage unionized business to remain in the metropolitan area. In 1959, the New York Council expanded its jurisdiction to Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Arrangement

The records of Union Label are divided into twelve series:

Series I: Union Label Advocate

Series II: Union Label Store

Series III: Central Union Label Council

Series IV: Officers Correspondence

Subseries A: General Subseries B: Officers Activities Series V: Union Label and Service Trades Department - AFL and AFL-CIO

Series VI: Financial Records

Series VII: NYS Union Label and Serve Trades Department (ULSTD) Conventions

Series VIII: Public Relations and Organization Files

Series IX: Union Label Activities

Series X: Subject Files

Series XI: Publications

Series XII is comprised of materials from an accretion.

Scope and Contents

The records of the Central Union Label Council and its related organizations consist of correspondence, reports, flyers, news releases, programs, convention proceedings, speeches and publications, as well as non-print material such as photographs, buttons and posters. The collection documents both the behind­ the-scenes operation of this union public relations program, largely through the officers correspondence and the Executive Committee Minutes of the Central Union Label Council, as well as the implementation of that program, documented in its many publications and reports. Gaps are most evident in regards to the records of the ULSTD of NYS where early annual convention material is much less bulky than during the later years when H. Avrutin was Secretary-Treasurer. Meeting minutes for the Executive Council of that organization are also spotty.

Correspondence between the ULSTD of the AFL in Washington, D.C. and the New York branch is a significant part of the Officers' Correspondence file. C. Sinnigen stayed in close touch with I.M. Ornburn, Secretary-Treasurer of the national organization, and followed policy from that office. Materials from Series V on the ULSTD of the AFL show the extent to which the New York organizations followed the publicity programs of the Washington office. On the other hand, the New York office functioned as a national center for information about where to purchase union made goods and about which companies were organized. The Washington office used the Official Directory of AFL-CIO Union Products and Services (published by the ULSTD-NYS) as a national guide.

The work of Union Label as a lobbying organization is represented by letter writing campaigns to the New York City and New York state political leadership and by the inclusion of political leaders in Union Label publicity programs. Extensive involvement in labor-sponsored community programs by the leadership is also documented.

This collection is significant for its documentation at the city and state levels of larger national trends for American labor - the strengths and weaknesses of craft unionism in the 1930's and 1940's, the revitalization which came about from a merger with the industrial union movement, the expulsion of the Left from the labor movement in the 1950's and the existence of a more hostile environment for unions in the 1970's and 80's.

Major subject areas likewise shift from disputes about CIO union labelled goods and goods without any union label to pressing economic issues like runaway shops and imports. By the mid 1970's, Charles Garrahan, President of the Greater New York and Long Island ULSTC stated that "the import issue has become the major cause within our jurisdiction." Similarly, the recent union label slogan "Buy union - the job you save may be your own" captures the shift which has occurred in the union label movement from a focus on craft pride to one of economic survival.

Series XII is comprised primarily of materials related to annual conventions including minutes, correspondence, promotional materials and press clippings. Also of note are files and press related to the Coors Brewing Company boycotts. Additionally files and photographs related to the naming and dedication of Union Square are included in the collection.

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 the Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island Records; WAG 054; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by the Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island, 1986. The accession number associated with this gift is 1986.032.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

A portion of the collection was microfilmed as part of the New York Labor documentation Project in 1985. The microfilm call number associated with this collection is R-7417. Included are a complete run of minutes for the Central Union Label Council (1911-1962) and Union Label Store, Inc. (1916-1945), The Union Label Advocate (1918-1932), and reports of Charles Sinnigen (1939-1946).

Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island Photographs (PHOTOS 013)

Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island Lantern Slides (PHOTOS 024)

Collection processed by

Mary Allison Farley with the assistance of William Huang

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-12 11:53:01 -0500.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English.

Processing Information

In 1989, approximately 4 linear feet of non-print material including photoprints, buttons and badges, 200 glass lantern slides, bumper stickers, posters and scrapbooks of newsclippings have been separated from the printed records and added to two related collections: the Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island Photographs (PHOTOS 013) and the Union Label and Service Trades Council of Greater New York and Long Island Lantern Slides (PHOTOS 024).

In May 2014, excess contents from Box 14 were placed into Box 26 due to preservation concerns.

Additional decisions regarding physical interventions for this collection prior to 2019 have not yet been recorded. In 2019, when preparing boxes 16-24 for offsite storage, a hardcopy of the 1989 finding aid was found with a container list for Boxes 1-15, which was added as Series I through XI. The folder numbering and container lists may not be up to date. Boxes 16-24 have been added as Series XII: Accretion. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes in preparation for offsite storage. The contents of boxes 25-27 have not yet been inventoried or surveyed at the time of the 2019 offsite prep, but the boxes may include items from 2000, 2003, and undated accessions.

Revisions to this Guide

May 2019: Updated and edited by Jasmine Sykes-Kunk for compliance with DACS and ACM Required Elements for Archival Description

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