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Connie Kopelov Papers

Call Number

WAG.064

Date

1942-2009, inclusive

Creator

Kopelov, Connie
Kopelov, Connie (Role: Donor)
Siegel, Phyllis (Role: Donor)

Extent

3.5 Linear Feet
in 3 record cartons and 1 manuscript box.

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

Connie Kopelov (1926- 2016), a pioneer in both labor and women's education and history, held positions in various labor and labor-related organizations including the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, later the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, the Workers Defense League and the New York Labor History Association. In 1972, Kopelov participated in the New York Trade Union Women's Seminar that led to the 1974 founding conference of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). In 1975, Kopelov was elected Vice-President of the newly chartered New York City Chapter of CLUW and continued to hold positions in the organization throughout her life. The collection reflects Kopelov's involvement in labor and women's organizations, most notably her involvement in the New York City Chapter of CLUW, and include correspondence, organizational papers and notes, news clippings, newsletters, leaflets, speeches, photographs, and publications.

Historical/Biographical Note

Connie Kopelov (1926-2016) was born April 14, 1926 in the small industrial town of Kokomo, Indiana, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. After graduating from Northwestern University in 1947 with a BA in political science, Kopelov worked for the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, a citizens' educational organization led by Adlai Stevenson and Louise Leonard Wright, whose mission was to encourage internationalism. In 1955, Kopelov left Chicago for New York City, where her political activism and involvement in the labor movement would develop quickly.

Kopelov worked briefly for Morris Novick, who was then working as a media consultant for the Frank Edwards Radio News Program sponsored by the American Federation of Labor. She next worked, until 1957, as Executive Director of the New York City Freedom Agenda Program. The Freedom Agenda forums, which originated with the League of Women Voters, were initiated to explore civil liberties issues in the aftermath of McCarthyism and in particular to generate discussion on the Bill of Rights. In the next phase of her career Kopelov began a long period of dedication to labor education. From 1957 to 1962 she served as Education Representative for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. In 1962, she became the Associate National Education Director for the Amalgamated (later the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union). Kopelov conducted resident leadership institutes and legislative conferences for rank-and-file ACTWU members in various regions of the country. She also wrote legislative and environmental policy newsletters for the union. In 1967, Kopelov took a yearlong leave of absence to accept a Senior Fulbright Fellowship to do research on workers education in Britain. From 1977 to 1979, she served as Director of Education for the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees (Local 1199). She planned numerous staff development seminars and conferences, and conducted teacher-training programs for Local 1199 throughout the Northeast.

In addition to her labor education work, Kopelov has been a strong feminist voice for working women's issues and women's history. In 1972, Kopelov participated in the New York Trade Union Women's Seminar, a series of seminars for staff and rank-and-file unionists originated by Barbara Wertheimer under Cornell University's New York City labor program. The conference coincided with national discussions on women and labor that led to the formation of Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). CLUW's mission was to address the specific problems facing women in labor and to offer educational, organizational, communication, and political/legislative components on a national level. Kopelov served on the CLUW National Planning Committee, and, in 1975, she was elected Vice-President of the newly chartered New York City Chapter of CLUW. Along with chairing several committees, Kopelov contributed a host of articles and speeches on women's history topics to CLUW journals, newsletters, and conferences. In 1974, Kopelov chronicled the formation of CLUW in her thesis, "Trade Union Women and Women's Rights," for which she earned a Master's Degree from Goddard College. Kopelov further affirmed her commitment to women's history when she participated as a CLUW representative in the 1979 Institute on Women's History at Sarah Lawrence College. At this conference, the idea for a national Women's History Month took form. In 1981, Kopelov again represented CLUW in the Women's Funding Coalition, envisioned as a "United Way" to fund women's organizations through payroll deductions.

In March 1982, Kopelov joined the staff of the Workers Defense League, an advocacy organization for workers' rights founded in 1936. She directed a number of projects including a Speakers Bureau to disseminate labor history on college campuses, a pioneering unemployment insurance advocacy training course, and an employee rights-on-the-job project. Kopelov designed curricula to train speakers, stewards and organizers and prepared resource materials for participants in job training, immigrant, and adult education programs. Kopelov's later projects include editing the annual Labor History Month calendar of the New York Labor History Association, conducting walking tours of women's labor history in New York City, and contributing articles on women in labor history to a wide range of publications. She was an adjunct lecturer on labor history at Cornell University and New York University.

She has been the recipient of a number of awards and honors, including NYC-NOW's Susan B. Anthony Award and the John Commerford Labor Education Awatrd of the New York Labor History Association.

In 2011, she and her partner Phyllis Siegel were the first same sex couple to be married in New York.

Arrangement

The files are grouped into 3 series: I) Connie Kopelov Biographical and Activity Files; II) Coalition of Labor Union Women Files; III) Subject Files.

Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series. Series IV has not been arranged by an archivist.

Scope and Content Note

The Connie Kopelov Papers contains correspondence, writings and speeches, publications, leaflets, notes, clippings, photographs, and other materials, from the mid 1960s to the early 2000s. The bulk of the collection is made up of material from Kopelov's activities in the New York City chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), which includes meeting minutes, correspondence, and conference proceedings. Kopelov was also active in multiple community, labor, and women's organizations; most of the materials from these organizations are found in Series III. This collection is rich in material on women's rights in the workforce, in addition to other labor and feminist activism in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Connie Kopelov, the creator of this collection, were relinquished and transferred to the public domain in 2014 by Connie Kopelov. These materials are governed by a Creative Commons CC0 license, which permits publication and reproduction of materials accompanied by full attribution. See, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Connie Kopelov Papers; WAG 064; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials are located at the Tamiment Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Connie Kopelov in several donations, beginning in 1987. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 1988.006, 1988.011, 1988.013, NPA.1997.025, NPA.2000.246, NPA.2000.319, NPA.2003.019, NPA.2005.034, NPA.2005.044, NPA.2006.057, and NPA.2008.026.

Another donation was made by Phyllis Siegel in 2014. The accession number associated with this gift is 2014.159.

One audiocassette tape was found in the repository; provenance is unknown. The accession number associated with this material is 2015.005.

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu, (212) 998-2630 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Appraisal

Published books found in the library collection were removed.

Separated Material

Connie Kopelov's MA thesis, "Trade Union Women and Women's Rights" (Goddard College, 1974) has been catalogued and placed in the Tamiment Library book collection (HD6079.2.U5 K66 1974a).

An oral history interview with Connie Kopelov (conducted by Debra Bernhardt, 1981) is available at the Tamiment Library in the New Yorkers at Work Oral History Collection (OH.001).

Collection processed by

Jessie Wilkerson, Series IV processed by Nicole Greenhouse

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:06:27 -0500.
Language: Description is in English.

Processing Information

Photographs were separated from this collection during initial processing and were established as a separate collection, the Connie Kopelov Photographs (PHOTOS 042). In 2013, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the Connie Kopelov Papers.

In 2014, materials in Series IV were rehoused and put into archival folders.

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from kopelov.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