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New York City Immigrant Labor History Project Oral History Collection

Call Number

OH.014

Date

1972-1976, undated, inclusive

Creator

Gutman, Herbert G. (Herbert George), 1928-1985 (Role: Donor)

Extent

41.3 Linear Feet in 99 manuscript boxes, 1 record carton, 1 cassette box, and 1 CD box.
495 Reels
12 audiocassettes
222 interviews

Language of Materials

Materials are in English, with Italian, Spanish, and Yiddish spoken in a small number of interviews.

Abstract

The New York City Immigrant Labor History Project was led by Herbert Gutman, a professor of history at the City College of New York (CCNY), between 1972 and 1976. The project sought to reexamine immigrants' and migrants' patterns of cultural adaptation to urban and industrial life in the early 20th century in order to challenge the prevailing theories in social history at the time. The collection consists of 222 interviews with Eastern European, Irish, Italian, Russian, Scandinavian, and West Indian immigrants and Black and Puerto Rican migrants, most of whom settled in New York, New York between between 1900 and 1930. Topics discussed in the interviews include education, childhood, and early life in the narrators' countries and states of origin; arrival at Ellis Island and first impressions of New York City; assimilation; women's roles in the workforce and in the household; courtship, marriage, and family life; processes of acquiring and retaining work; job responsibilities, wages, and working conditions; ethnic and racial makeup of different workforces, factories, and shops; labor unions and organizing in different industries; ethnic and racial relations in the community and the workplace; living conditions in different neighborhoods in New York City; politics; leisure activities; and religion.

Historical Note

The New York City Immigrant Labor History Project was led by Herbert Gutman, a professor of history at the City College of New York (CCNY), between 1972 and 1976. The project sought to reexamine immigrants' and migrants' patterns of cultural adaptation to urban and industrial life in the early 20th century in order to challenge the prevailing theories in social history at the time. Gutman designed the project to combine traditional historical research methods with the relatively new approach of oral history. By documenting the lives of immigrants and migrants who settled in New York, New York between 1900 and 1930 and compiling data on their family relationships, work patterns, and associational lives, Gutman hoped to reveal the ways in which people from rural, non-industrial areas adapted to the structured environment of the factory and the crowded city.

Between 1973 and 1975 almost 230 oral history interviews were conducted with Eastern Europeans, Irish, Italian, Russian, Scandinavian, and West Indian immigrants; Black and Puerto Rican migrants; and the children of immigrants and migrants. The interviews were conducted by faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in CCNY's Department of History. Gutman oversaw the entire project and taught courses designed to prepare the student interviewers for conducting the oral histories. Virginia Yans-McLaughlin, then assistant professor of history at CCNY, co-managed the project with Gutman and directed undergraduate student interviewers. Three junior faculty members, Leon Fink, William Eric Perkins, and Ari Joel Perlmann, conducted interviews and taught courses related to the project. Ronald Grele, an oral historian, served as a consultant and provided direction on the oral history interviews and conducted training sessions for the interviewers.

The project staff worked closely with labor unions, cultural organizations, and nursing homes in New York City, including the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union; the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1814; the Kingsbridge Heights Nursing Home; Local 1199 Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union; the National Council of Jewish Women; and the Workmen's Circle Home for the Aged. These organizations facilitated meetings between project staff and interested members or residents and allowed the project staff to arrange and conduct interviews.

Arrangement

The interviews are listed in alphabetical order by last name of the narrator(s) or topic covered in the recording. Unnamed interviewees are listed under Unidentified.

Scope and Content Note

The New York City Immigrant Labor History Project Oral History Collection consists of 222 interviews with Eastern European, Irish, Italian, Russian, Scandinavian, and West Indian immigrants and Black and Puerto Rican migrants, most of whom settled in New York, New York between 1900 and 1930. Topics include education, childhood, and early life in the narrators' countries and states of origin; arrival at Ellis Island and first impressions of New York City; assimilation; women's roles in the workforce and in the household; courtship, marriage, and family life; processes of acquiring and retaining work; job responsibilities, wages, and working conditions; ethnic and racial makeup of different workforces, factories, and shops; labor unions and organizing in different industries; ethnic and inter-racial relations in the community and the workplace; living conditions in New York City neighborhoods; politics; leisure activities; and religion.

The interviews capture the narrators' pre-industrial experiences as a way of exploring their adaptation to life in an urban, industrial environment by covering all aspects of their life experiences. They record the narrators' memories from their childhoods through to the time of the interviews. The majority of the narrators were in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, with at least two narrators being over 100 years old. The interviews contain recollections of the narrators' countries and states of origin; their reasons for emigrating or migrating; their working and family lives in New York City and elsewhere in the United States (US); their union and political activity; and religious, ethnic, or social organizations to which they may have belonged.

The narrators include first and second generation immigrants and migrants; men and women; members of the Jewish and Christian faiths; and anarchists, communists, Democrats, socialists, and Republicans. Occupations represented in this collection include garment workers, fur workers, longshoremen, musicians, household employees, cooks, carpenters, dancers, union organizers, electricians, elevator operators, and taxi drivers. Labor unions represented in this collection include the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America; Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America; Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union; International Fur and Leather Workers Union; International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union; International Longshoremen's Association; International Union of Operating Engineers; Local 1199 Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union; New York City Taxi Drivers Union Local 3036; United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America; United Furniture Workers of America; and United Hatters of North America. Cultural, ethnic, and social organizations discussed include the Carroll Park Senior Citizens Center; Congress of Italian Americans Organization; Council Workshop for Senior Citizens sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women; Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center; and the Workmen's Circle.

The interviews include women who never worked outside the home, both married and unmarried; women who left the workforce permanently after marriage and childbirth; women who returned to the workforce after the birth of each of their children; and others who returned only after all of their children had entered primary school or entered the workforce themselves. Some narrators settled first in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, and Illinois before moving to New York. Others immigrated to other European countries or Cuba before immigrating to the US. Some returned a number of times to their countries of origin before settling permanently in the US. There are interviews with people who became heavily involved in the labor movement while others did not concern themselves with union activity.

The collection includes 11 compilations of excerpts from interviews, based on a specific topic, such as ethnicity, politics, and neighborhoods. There are also recordings of roundtable discussions with potential narrators at the Council Workshop for Senior Citizens on 125th Street in Manhattan, New York and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Local 22.

Transcripts, indices, interview fact sheets, subject cards, and summaries are available for many of the interviews and are noted in the container summary when available. An electronic version of all transcripts, indices, interview fact sheets, subject cards, and summaries are available by request. Many of the transcripts do not contain the full interview. The indices contain subject terms or phrases with the corresponding time on the recording at which they are discussed. Some of the summaries contain a brief description of what is discussed at a certain time in the recording; others contain synopses of interview highlights without the corresponding time notes. The interview fact sheets contain information relevant to the interests of Gutman and the project staff and were filled out by the narrators; a small amount of these were received with the donation. The subject cards contain the same sort of information as the indices and summaries, but are typed on index cards and separated into subjects such as family, work, and education before and after immigration.

Subjects

Topics

Internal migrants -- Interviews.; Internal migrants -- Faith.; Internal migrants -- Family relationships.; Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York -- Economic conditions.; Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York -- Faith.; Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.; Emigration and immigration -- Social aspects -- History.; Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York -- Social conditions -- 20th century.; Jews, European -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Immigrants -- United States -- History -- 20th century.; Clothing workers -- Labor unions -- New York (State) -- New York.; Immigrants -- Family relationships -- New York (State) -- New York.; Fur workers -- Labor unions -- New York (State) -- New York.; Fur workers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Americanization.; Clothing workers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Irish -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Textile workers -- Labor unions.; Romanians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Polish people -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Russians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Ukrainians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Scandinavians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Women household employees -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Working class -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Women employees -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Stevedores -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Women clothing workers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; West Indians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Italians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews.; African American men -- Interviews; Labor unions -- Organizing -- New York (N.Y.); African American women -- Interviews; Emigration and immigration -- Archival resources.; Emigration and immigration -- History -- United States.; Internal migrants -- Economic conditions.; Women internal migrants -- United States.; Internal migrants -- Social networks.; Emigration and immigration -- Economic aspects.; Labor union members -- United States -- Interviews.; Internal migrants -- Social conditions.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Herbert Gutman were transferred to New York University by Herbert Gutman. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from Tamiment Library. Please contact special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Per donor agreement, researchers may not use the names of the interviewees in any publication or public presentation.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; New York City Immigrant Labor History Project Oral History Collection; OH 014; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Herbert Gutman, date unknown. The accession number associated with this gift is 1950.071.

Custodial History

The recordings for 16 interviews listed in this inventory are missing from the collection. 14 of these have transcripts, summaries, indexes, and/or subject cards. The interviews are noted as missing in the inventory. Further, any interview for which a master recording was missing was digitized from existing user copies on audiocassette.

The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives holds signed release forms for Jacob Newman, Stella Bialon, Caroline Lavecchia Cappeletti, Maria Fischetti, Sylvia Greenfield, Filomena Ognibene, Helen Rothman, Alfonso Icolari, Isidore Opochinsky, and Hersh Rabinowitz. The repository does not hold a release form for the remaining interviews.

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. 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 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

All duplicate reels were deaccessioned where a best copy could be determined. Mold contaminated reels were deaccessioned after digitization. Following digitization and publication to the web, all audiocassette access copies were discarded.

Until May 2016, the interview with Myra Page was included in this collection. During processing, it was determined that it was created as part of the Oral History of the American Left Collection (call number OH.002) and was transferred to that collection.

Separated Materials

Until May 2016, the interview with Myra Page was included in this collection. During processing, it was determined that it was created as part of the Oral History of the American Left Collection (call number OH.002) and was transferred to that collection.

Related Archival Materials

For more information about Herbert Gutman, see the Herbert George Gutman papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Existence and Location of Copies

All paper interview transcripts, summaries, subject cards, and fact sheets found in Box 1 of the collection are digitized and available electronically by request. Additional electronic transcripts are noted in the recording scope and contents note and are also available by request.

Collection processed by

Megan O'Shea, Jennifer Gargiulo, and Victoria Messana

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-10-09 14:41:21 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

108 interviews in the collection were described using existing transcripts, indices, or summaries. The remaining interviews were described after listening to at least 45 minutes of audio per interview; this included the first 20 minutes of each interview, as well as an additional 10-25 minutes throughout the recording.

In March 2021, the collection level scope note as well as many item level biographical and historical notes were edited to correct language around descriptions of race, religious identity, undocumented immigration, women's work, slavery and to correct grammatical errors.

Revisions to this Guide

June 2018: Updated by Kelly Haydon to reflect the incorporation of digital objects streamed through the finding aid
October 2019: Edited by Nic Caldwell to update rights information
March 2021: Updated by Megan O’Shea to correct language around descriptions of race, religious identity, undocumented immigration, women’s work, slavery and to correct grammatical errors

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