Sidney Jonas Papers
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Abstract
Sidney Jonas, a labor union organizer, began his career by organizing shoe-workers. In 1934, he was appointed as a fieldworker for the United Shoe and Leather Workers Union. In 1936, United Automobile Workers (UAW-CIO) president, Homer Martin, appointed Jonas as his personal representative and director of the Northeast Region of the UAW-CIO. Jonas worked in this capacity until 1938. The collection consists of correspondence, clippings detailing Jonas' work as an organizer, minutes of the Committee for Industrial Organization Convention in Boston (1937) and the North Jersey Council for Industrial Organization, and a script for a theatrical production.
Historical/Biographical Note
Sidney Jonas was born in Poland in 1905 and immigrated to the United States in 1922. He began his career as a labor union organizer by organizing shoe-workers. As a member of the Young Workers League (later the Young Communist League), he was affiliated with the Lovestone faction in the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). When Lovestone was expelled from the CPUSA in 1930, Jonas, along with other Lovestonites, resigned from the Party to form the Communist Oppositionists of the United States.
In 1934, he was appointed as a fieldworker for the United Shoe and Leather Workers Union, with assignments in New York, Massachusetts and the Midwest.
After meeting him at an American Federation of Labor convention in 1936, United Automobile Workers president Homer Martin appointed Jonas as his personal representative and director of the Northeast Region of the UAW-CIO. Jonas worked in this capacity until 1938.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically
The files are grouped into 1 series:
Missing Title
- I, General Files, 1934-1938.
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of correspondence to Jonas from officials of the United Shoe and Leather Workers Union and the United Automobile Workers of America, including letters of introduction to other union officials in the Northeast and Midwest, telegrams, and personal greeting cards. Clippings relating to Jonas's work as an organizer, primarily for the UAW, are also included. Minutes of the Committee for Industrial Organization Convention in Boston (1937) and the North Jersey Council for Industrial Organization are also present. A script for a theatrical production entitled "Shop Strife," written by Jonas and Frederick Wright, is also included.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Sidney Jonas were transferred to New York University in 1982 by Sidney Jonas. 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
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Sidney Jonas Papers; WAG 021; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Sidney Jonas, 1982. The accession number associated with this gift is 1983.010.