Subseries:
File 7A: Research Division, 1918-196021 boxes
Files of Solomon Barkin, Director of Research, include his papers from the period
when he was office manager. Subjects are so varied that listing them might mislead a
researcher. The file contains both raw date and finished reports. Some of these
reports are tabulations of data compiled by Barkin, while others are memoranda or
narrative reports. His reports to the Executive Council were not supported with as
much detail as reports to outside groups, such as congressional committees.
Some of the papers in the file pre-date the formation of TWOC and TWUA, including
transcripts of the National War Labor Board hearings in 1918 and 1919, the Passaic
strike of 1926-1927, and the Philadelphia strike of 1930. There are briefs prepared
and presented by Barkin before the Wage and Hour Board in support of a forty cent
per hour minimum wage in the textile industry. Statistics on wages, production, and
profits in many branches of the industry are filed with counter briefs and
statements presented by employers in the wage and hour hearings of 1938.
Although wages, production figures, and profits, are the major content of the
statistics, they also include information about manpower and material shortages
during World War II. They also include information on competitive prices of raw
materials and finished goods from foreign sources; projected market conditions;
worker productivity; accidents and compensation; insurance and retirement;
membership figures and organizing data.
Other than wage and contract negotiations, research information was used for
educational purposes, for organizing campaigns, press releases, for the use of
government agencies, or to support the union's positions and policies on tariffs,
war production, and foreign policy.