Title: David Kaplan Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1941-1965

Creator:

• Kaplan, David, 1905-

Call Number: Mss 233

Quantity: 2.2 c.f. (6 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of David Kaplan, a labor economist who organized the research department of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America and served as their chief economist. Included is personal correspondence and lecture material; correspondence, newsletters, reports, and legal and subject files from his work with the Teamsters, including files created as trustee of Milk Drivers and Dairy Employees Local No. 584; and a small amount of material from the Economics of Distribution Foundation, of which he was the first president. Correspondents include Dave Beck, Thomas Flynn, and Dan Tobin.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00233

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Chronology:

March 3, 1905	David Kaplan was born in Russia.
1919	The Kaplan Family having immigrated to the United States, David worked as a migrant farm worker in the West, then on a signal gang for the South Pacific Railroad, and on a freighter.
date unknown	Received an undergraduate degree from Commonwealth College, Arkansas.
1933	Received an M.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin.
circa 1933	Hired as an economist for the American Federation of Labor.
1934	Organized the Research Department of the International Association of Machinists.
1941	Organized the Research Department of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America. As chief economist of the Teamsters, his responsibilities included preparing wage analyses and arbitrating contract disputes and jurisdictional problems.
date unknown	Trustee of Milk Drivers and Dairy Employees, Teamsters Local #584, New York City.
date unknown	Served as administrative secretary for the Teamsters Retirement and Family Protection Plan.
1955	Appointed president of newly organized Economics of Distribution Foundation, jointly financed by the Teamsters and by private banking companies. The foundation prepared studies of the efficiency of economic distribution and developed ways in which labor and management could apply these studies to their specific needs. Kaplan believes that he can serve unions and industry by “attacking the cost problem which threatens to strangle both.”
1961	Served as teller in Grand Lodge Election for the Machinists.

Kaplan has also lectured extensively on economic topics to audiences at The Brookings Institution; Cornell, Rutgers, Princeton, and Harvard Universities; the 1961 meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association; and the 1963 Agribusiness Cruise sponsored by Garden State Publishing Company.

The David Kaplan Papers, 1941-1965, mainly relate to his work with the Teamsters, but also include some personal papers and two folders concerning his work for the Economics of Distribution Foundation. The are arranged in three groups: Personal Papers, Teamsters' Records (the largest), and Economics of Distribution Foundation records.

Among the personal papers are correspondence and lecture files, both arranged chronologically. The general correspondence includes requests for information on meetings from labor union officials, from members of university departments studying the labor movement and its relationship to different phases of U.S. society, and from federal government officials, especially in the Department of Labor and the Bureau of the Budget. One folder documents Kaplan's role on an advisory committee appointed by The Brookings Institution.

Kaplan's records of his association with the Teamsters Union include correspondence, legal files, newsletters, reports, and a subject file. Arrangement is by type of document and chronologically thereunder. The correspondence is comprised of two folders of general letters relating to meetings, jurisdictional problems, and Kaplan's relationship to other Teamsters' officials and members and to the American Federation of Labor. Separated from these letters is correspondence with Teamster executives Daniel Tobin, 1942-1952; Dave Beck, 1946-1957; and Thomas Flynn, 1948-1951.

This section of the papers also includes material on a few of the numerous reports prepared by Kaplan's Research Department and one cubic foot of his subject files. These indicate Kaplan's involvement in Teamsters' contract negotiations and jurisdictional disputes as well as his trusteeship of Local No. 584, Milk Drivers and Dairy Employees, and his tenure as administrative secretary of the Retirement and Family Protection Plan.

Only two folders specifically relate to Kaplan's presidency of the Economics of Distribution Foundation, but additional material is scattered throughout his Teamsters' records.

Acquisition Information

Presented by David Kaplan, New York, New York, June 8, 1966. Accession Number: M66-169

Processing Information

Processed by S.H.R. (Intern), October 26, 1972.

	Series: Personal Papers
	Correspondence
	General
Box   1 Folder   1	1943, Feb.-1950, Dec.
Box   1 Folder   2	1951, Jan.-1955, May
Box   1 Folder   3	Brookings Institution, 1955, May-1959, June
	Lectures
Box   1 Folder   4	Cornell University, 1955, April 12
Box   1 Folder   5	Rutgers University, 1955, April 26
Box   1 Folder   6	Princeton University, 1956, June 13
Box   1 Folder   7	Industrial Relations Research Association, 1961, Dec. 29
Box   1 Folder   8	Garden State Publishing Co. Agribusiness Cruise, 1963, June 17
Box   1 Folder   9	Harvard University, 1963, Nov. 13-14
	Series: Teamsters Records	⇧
	Correspondence
	General
Box   1 Folder   10	1946, June-1953, March
Box   1 Folder   11	1954, Oct.-1960, Feb.
Box   2 Folder   1	Dave Beck, 1946, Sept.-1953, March; 1955, Feb.-1957, Dec.
Box   2 Folder   2	Thomas Flynn, 1948, Jan.-1951, July
Box   2 Folder   3	Daniel J. Tobin, 1942, Dec.-1952, Nov.
	Legal Files
Box   2 Folder   4	Cases sent to General Counsel, 1951, May 23
Box   2 Folder   5	International Longshoreman's Assoc. vs. Printing Pressmen's Union, 1938; 1942; 1948; 1951-1952
Box   2 Folder   6	International Three Man Board, 1949, Sept.-Oct.
Box   2 Folder   7	Teamsters Joint Council #62, Appeal of Connally vs. H. Cohen, 1951-1952
Box   2 Folder   8	Teamsters Local #789, 1947-1949
Box   2 Folder   9	Teamsters - Miscellaneous Appeals and Jurisdictional Disputes
Box   2 Folder   10	Newsletters, 1941-1945
	Reports
Box   2 Folder   11	Collective Bargaining Agreements, undated
Box   3 Folder   1	Rubber Situation, 1942-1943
Box   3 Folder   2	Shipbuilding Agreements-Pay provisions, 1941
Box   3 Folder   3	Shorter Work Hours, 1956, Sept.
Box   3 Folder   4	Steel Haul Operations, Eastern Conference Area, 1955, Spring
Box   3 Folder   5	Wage Stabilization, 1942, April-1943
Box   3 Folder   6	War Manpower Commission, 1942, Sept.-1943, April
	Miscellaneous
Box   3 Folder   7	1946, Oct.; 1951-1952; 1955-1956
Box   3 Folder   8	1957-1959
Box   3 Folder   9	Undated
	Subject File
Box   4 Folder   1	Associated Hospital Service of New York, 1951, March
Box   4 Folder   2	Construction Men's Association, Inc., 1944-1959
Box   4 Folder   3	Economic Cooperation Administration, 1949, May-1950, May
Box   4 Folder   4	Fourteen Cooperating Railroad Labor Organizations, 1941, May-Aug.
Box   4 Folder   5	Hoffman Beverage Co., 1954, Dec.
	International Association of Machinists - Grand Lodge Election
Box   4 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1961, March-Oct.
Box   4 Folder   7	Election Material, Results, & Complaints, 1958-1961, June
Box   4 Folder   8	Lackawanna Warehouse Company, 1955
	Milk Drivers and Dairy Employees, Teamsters Local #584, New York City
	Correspondence
Box   4 Folder   9	1955, Feb.-1956, Dec.
Box   4 Folder   10	1957, Jan.-1959, Sept; 1961, June-Dec.
Box   5 Folder   1	Collective Bargaining Agreements, 1955-1959
Box   5 Folder   2	Financial Records, 1949, Dec.-1955, Dec
Box   5 Folder   3	Minutes, 1955-1961
Box   5 Folder   4	Miscellany: clippings, election material, 1955-1961
Box   5 Folder   5	Supreme Court Hearings re Membership, 1955-1957; 1959; 1961
Box   5 Folder   6	Supreme Court Hearings re Membership, Briefs
Box   5 Folder   7	Wage and Load Survey, 1955-1956
Box   5 Folder   8	Port of New York Authority, 1949, Oct.-1952, Oct
	Retirement and Family Protection Plan
	Correspondence
Box   5 Folder   9	1951, April-1960, Dec.
Box   5 Folder   10	1961, Jan-1962, Dec.
Box   6 Folder   1	1963, Jan.-1965, March
Box   6 Folder   2	Reports, 1953; 1956-1959; 1964; undated
Box   6 Folder   3	Taxi Drivers Association, Inc., 1952-1954
	Series: Economics of Distribution Foundation Records	⇧
Box   6 Folder   4	Dumont - AFTRA Arbitration, 1955, Nov.-1956, Jan.
Box   6 Folder   5	Maritime Industry Study, 1956, March-1964, Jan.