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Robert Fitch Papers

Call Number

WAG.261

Dates

1905-2016, inclusive
; 1990-2005, bulk

Creator

Fitch, Robert, 1938-
Fitch, Robert, 1938- (Role: Donor)
LaTour, Jane (Role: Donor)

Extent

23.75 Linear Feet in 23 record cartons, 1 manuscript box, and 1 half manuscript box

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

Robert Fitch was an independent journalist, labor union organizer and professor of political sociology, urban studies and labor studies. He is the author of Ghana: End of An Illusion, Who Rules The Corporation?, The Assassination of New York and Solidarity for Sale as well as numerous articles in the Village Voice, the Nation, The Baffler, Newsday, Tikkun and other journals, magazines and newspapers. His books and articles largely focus on corruption within labor unions and local government in New York City. Fitch also taught and lectured at universities throughout New York City, including Long Island University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Queens College and LaGuardia Community College. The bulk of the collection consists of Fitch's research files on a variety of topics, including labor union corruption (particularly in relation to real estate deals and pension funds), political corruption, antisemitism, the development and government of New York City, and the history of labor unions. Also included are Fitch's handwritten notebooks and notecards, his speeches and writings are also present, lectures and syllabi from classes he taught at various institutions, cassette tapes containing copies of Fitch's show on WBAI-FM, optical media and a small amount of personal material.

Biographical Note

Robert Fitch was an independent journalist, labor union organizer and professor of political sociology, urban studies and labor studies. Born in December 1938 in Chicago, Fitch joined the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 5 at the age of 15 as a Laborer.

Fitch attended the University of Illinois, where he earned his Bachelors degree in History. After service in the Air Force, where he worked in military intelligence, Fitch enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley. While earning his Masters in History, he helped to found the Revolutionary Union (which later became the Revolutionary Communist Party) with Bob Avakian, H. Bruce Franklin and Stephen Charles Hamilton. During this period, he also served as the editor of Ramparts, and co-founded the magazine Socialist Revolution, which later became Socialist Review, and then Radical Society.

Fitch co-authored Ghana: End of An Illusion with his wife Mary Oppenheimer, while he was at Berkeley. Published in 1968, the book describes the events leading up to the 1966 overthrow of the Kwame Nkrumah regime. A second book, Who Rules The Corporation? was published in Japanese in 1978. In 1976, Fitch enrolled in the doctoral program of Sociology at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He received his Ph.D. in 1993, after completing his dissertation The Political Economy of New York City: Space, Class and Power, 1958-1992.

In 1980, Fitch began his career as a teacher, serving as an instructor at the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies at Empire State College (Saratoga Springs, NY), where he would teach until 1985. He also began to teach in New York University's Metropolitan Studies Department in 1981. In 1984, he was invited to be a Visiting Critic at Harvard University's Graduate School for Design. In 1985, he was offered a position as a Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Business at Chuo University's (Tokyo).

After returning to the United States, Fitch returned for a short period to the Metropolitan Studies Department at New York University in 1988. He also worked as an organizer for the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802 in New York City from 1989 to 1990 as well as an adviser to the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 1180.

Throughout the 1990s, he worked as a journalist, writing extensively for the Village Voice, the Nation, The Baffler, Newsday, Tikkun and other journals, magazines and newspapers. His articles from this period focus on corruption within labor unions, including election fraud, embezzlement of benefit funds and sweatshop conditions sanctioned by labor unions. In addition, he also pointed out corruption in local government, and the acquiescence of both government and labor to what he termed FIRE; finance, insurance and real estate interests, both on a local and national level. Many of these articles drew the ire of labor union officials and members, particularly those implicated by Fitch's exposes. His book The Assassination of New York, which expanded on these themes, was published by Verso in 1996.

During this time, Fitch also taught and lectured at universities throughout New York City, including Long Island University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Queens College and LaGuardia Community College (1993-2011).

In 2006, Public Affairs published his book Solidarity for Sale, which focused on union corruption, which Fitch argued had been a part of organized labor in the United States from its beginnings.

Fitch died at the age of 72 in March 2011.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into seven series: I: Subject Files, II: Writings, III: Speeches, IV: Personal Material, V: Cassette Tapes, VI: 2015 Accretion, and VII. 2016 Accretion.

Folders are arranged chronologically within each series.

Accretions to the collection added as Series VI and VII are arranged in the order in which they were received by the donor.

Scope and Content Note

The bulk of the Robert Fitch Papers consists of journalist, activist, union organizer, and professor Robert Fitch's research files on a variety of topics, including labor union corruption (particularly in relation to real estate deals and pension funds), political corruption, antisemitism, the development of New York City's government, and the history of labor unions. Also included in the collection are Fitch's handwritten notebooks and notecards, interviews he conducted, lectures and syllabi from classes he taught at various institutions, and some of his speeches and writings, including both drafts and published articles. Additionally, a small number of cassette tapes contain recordings of Crossing Wall Street, Fitch's show on WBAI-FM, as well as interviews he conducted with labor union members. There is also a small amount of personal material present in the collection, including correspondence, clippings, certificates and diplomas, files about Fitch's mother Jo, and profiles and tributes largely written after Fitch's passing in 2011.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Robert Fitch were transferred to New York University in 2006 by Robert Fitch. 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

Identification of item, date; Robert Fitch Papers; WAG 261; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to research visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Robert Fitch in 2006. The accession number associated with this gift is 2006.063.

Jane Latour sent an additional 3 boxes of Robert Fitch's papers in 2011. The accession numbers associated with this gift include 2011.028, 2011.124, and 2011.145.

In October 2015, Jane Latour also sent an additional 4 boxes of Robert Fitch's papers. The accession number associated with this gift is 2015.067.

In 2016, another accretion of two boxes was received by the university from Jane Latour. The accession number assigned to this gift is 2016.052.

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.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Born-digital materials have not been transferred and may not be available to researchers. Researchers may request access copies. To request that material be transferred, or if you are unsure if material has been transferred, 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.

Related Archival Material

AFSCME, District Council 37 Records (WAG 265) Burton Hall Union Democracy Oral History Project (OH 034) Carpenters for a Stronger Union Records (WAG 066) Kenneth Crowe Papers (WAG 088) Burton Hall Papers (WAG 087) International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 282, FORE (Fear of Reprisal Ends) Records (WAG 107) Jane LaTour Papers (WAG 317) James McNamara Papers (WAG 129) United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1456 Records (WAG 018)

Collection processed by

Hillel Arnold in 2012 with edits by Andrea Kutsenkow in 2016.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:37:58 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Original folder titles were revised for consistency and to inlcude full names of individuals and organizations. Series were created based on original order, with the exception of speeches and writings, which were placed in separate series because of their proportionately high research value in relation to the rest of the collection. If duplicate copies of an item existed in a folder, they were discarded.

In 2015, an additional four boxes were received and added to the collection as a new series based on previous arrangement decisions. Born digital items were rehoused as appropriate and stored separately.

In 2016, two more boxes were received and added to the collection as a new series that follows previous arrangement decisions.

Revisions to this Guide

October 2016: Edited by Andrea Kutsenkow to reflect 2016 accretion

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