George Nicolau Papers
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Abstract
This collection consists of attorney George Nicolau's arbitration decisions and awards. George Nicolau has worked as a labor arbitrator since the 1970s, most notably serving as the chief arbitrator for Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1995. Nicolau's arbitration decisisons are mostly dated between 1970 and 2010, and cover a variety of trades including the airline, entertainment, communications, health, and sports industries.
Biographical Note
George Nicolau (born 1925) is a veteran labor arbitrator and attorney. After serving in the Second World War as a bomber navigator in the 8th Air Force, he began practicing law. In the mid-1960s, he worked for the federal government in the administration of the Peace Corps and Office of Economic Opportunity.
By the 1970s, Nicolau was mostly working as an arbitrator, a profession he continues to practice after his official retirement. He is most famous for being the chief arbitrator for Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1995. However, his arbitration spans many fields, including the airline, entertainment, health, and sports industries.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials from the first accession contains arbitrations files, which are indexed and arranged either alphabetically or by union. The files from the accretion in 2013 are grouped thematically by trade and described at the box-level. The container list may not reflect folder labels, but rather folder contents.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the arbitration opinions and awards of arbitrator George Nicolau. The files in this collection address a wide variety of labor disputes with particular concentrations in entertainment, airline, education, communications, and health unions.
An additional donation of arbitration awards was added to the collection in 2013. These materials center heavily on airline and basketball disputes, but also contain awards relating to broadcasting, health care, maritime, communications, theatre, and transportation unions. The majority of these decisions date between 1990 and 2010.
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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 George Nicolau was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; George Nicolau Papers; WAG 250; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by George Nicolau in 2002. The accession number associated with this gift is 2002.014. An additional donation was made in 2013. The accession number associated with this gift is 2013.043.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to June 2019 are unknown. In 2019, the collection was prepared for offsite storage. Materials were placed in new acid-free boxes with spacers. Original folders were retained when possible. If the original folder was kept, loose labels were stapled to ensure accurate titling and prevent loss of information. Where appropriate, materials were rehoused in new acid-free folders. If present, original folder titles were used. Preservation photocopies were made of original folders if notes were present on the folders. Loose paper materials were placed in archival folders. Materials in boxes 16-22 were described with a box list.
