March 13, 1978 Session

Introduction

More on Stetin's Resignation in 1935 as Union Organizer
Scope and Content Note: Friction between Local 1733 and the Federation made it difficult for Stetin to find work in a dyeing plant; local union leaders unsuccessfully attempted to oust him. He resumed work as an organizer with the Dyers Federation about the time of the second UTW convention.

Violent Strike in Derby, Connecticut, 1936
Scope and Content Note: Stetin jailed, along with four other strikers, for retaliatory thugging. Federation could send no bail money, but one of the strikers carried enough money for bail. On another occasion Stetin jailed overnight, tried, and finally freed for a beating he was not involved in. Examples of employer-sponsored violent acts used to discredit the Union. Willard Uphaus and the Religion and Labor Foundation finally helped settle the strike.

Anecdote Regarding Stetin's Second Jailing; Made Embarrassing Reference to It Twenty Years Later

Strike in West Warwick, Rhode Island, 1937
Scope and Content Note: Sister plant to the one Stetin worked for in Paterson. Owner used Stetin re-employment letter against him (See 1:2, 11:55). Stetin jailed again; union headquarters across from jail, and strikers fed him very well.

Formation of TWOC
Scope and Content Note: All Dyers organizers assigned to work under Hillman, with paychecks coming from TWOC.

What TWOC Meant to Members of UTW
Scope and Content Note: Dyers and Hosiery Federations felt that ultimately a bigger UTW would result from TWOC.

Formation of TWOC Did Not Receive Unanimous Support from All UTW Members, Particularly the Crafts

Introduction

Jack Rubenstein's Letter to Frank Gorman after 1934 Strike, Criticizing Conduct of the Strike

Stetin Requested Transfer to New Jersey to Work with Carl Holderman
Scope and Content Note: Request made of Hillman in Spring, 1937; reply came from Sol Barkin in the affirmative, with proviso that Stetin maintain loyalty to TWOC. Stetin transferred first to New York for several weeks.

Anecdote Regarding Strike on Coney Island, Summer

Began TWOC Work in New Jersey in August, 1937
Scope and Content Note: Worked in New Jersey until November, 1943.

More on Strikes in Rhode Island, 1937, Including One Loss
Scope and Content Note: Sit-down strikes in West Warwick.

TWOC Organizers
Scope and Content Note: 650 figure inflated. Amalgamated Clothing Workers (ACW) contributed much.

Early Successes of TWOC
Scope and Content Note: Stetin sees it as a period of an “industrial revolution.” Conditions were much better for organizing in 1937 than they had been in 1934. There was a functioning committee and sufficient funds.

TWOC/TWUA Use of Government Agencies in Organizing
Scope and Content Note: Leadership felt it was the best approach, due to the past history of strikes in textiles.

Weaknesses of TWOC
Scope and Content Note: Became an institution too fast; ambitious leadership pushed for a constitutional organization which led to the immediate introduction of politics into textile unionism. Organizing the unorganized is not and can not be a democratic process.

Politics at the 1939 Convention
Scope and Content Note: Carl Holderman a good case in point. One of the outstanding tacticians in American labor movement; interested in being an officer of the Union.

If TWOC Had Existed for a Longer Period of Time, Many More Textile Workers Would Have Been Organized

Frank Gorman's Leftist Politics Eliminated Him from Top TWOC Leadership Post; a Good Man Though

Thomas McMahon Also an Able Man

Membership of TWOC/TWUA in 1939
Scope and Content Note: Approximately 230,OO0 at 1939 convention.

Collecting Per Caps in the Early Days
Scope and Content Note: ACW helped set up dues system, and there was an unusual record of full payments. Many open shops, however.

Belief, at 1939 Convention, in Complete Organization of the Industry

Why William Pollock Chosen at 1939 Convention
Scope and Content Note: Fact that Philadelphia was a big textile area with 10,000 plus members.

Why TWUA Able to Get So Many Good Staff People
Scope and Content Note: The struggle for the South; both Rieve and Baldanzi brought people from their Federations; social consciousness; the drama of strikes and violence - young people wanted to be where the action was.

Anecdote Concerning 1913 Silk Strike and Stetin's Father

Structure of TWUA
Scope and Content Note: Local unions and joint boards set up along the lines of ACW, though ACW had more control over locals and joint boards because of master agreements. Regional offices required in TWUA because of localized conditions. Combination of ACW, Baldanzi, Rieve, Hillman, Dubinsky, Zimmerman, the Mine Workers - all played roles in first getting it started.

Introduction

Stetin's First Official Position with TWUA
Scope and Content Note: Business agent and organizer for the New Jersey Joint Board, beginning in August, 1937. Holderman was manager and state director. Lived in Camden.

Anecdote Concerning Creation of and Stetin's Becoming Manager of the South Jersey Joint Board in 1940
Scope and Content Note: Stetin insisted on clearing it with Holderman. Office in Camden. Peak of about 3500 dues-paying members.

Stetin More Closely Identified with New Jersey State Directorship Than with Dyers Federation
Scope and Content Note: Working for TWOC presented broader opportunities than just working within Dyers locals. Also, Joe Knapik, with whom Stetin had disagreements, had become president of the Dyers. When Stetin became a member of the Executive Council in 1944, replacing Holderman, he was not thought of as another representative of the Dyers Federation.

Stetin Succeeded Holderman as New Jersey State Director in 1943
Scope and Content Note: Holderman resigned because of his differences with Rieve. Activities as State Director included coordinating the locals and joint boards and directing the organizing within New Jersey.

TWUA Constitution and the International Union
Scope and Content Note: International Union needed more authority; too much freedom had been granted to each area, which resulted in politicking.

Authority of the International Union Vs. Local Autonomy
Scope and Content Note: Despite this authority, there was considerable local autonomy, particularly in the stronger divisions of the Union.

Joint Boards Paying Their Own Way
Scope and Content Note: There was no significant amount of friction between those joint boards who paid their own manager and those whose managers were paid by the International. During 1950-52 fight, source of paycheck (Local or International) was not a factor in how people lined up. Joint Board manager on International payroll could play local off against International (and vice versa) to get his own way.

Sidney Hillman after the Formation of TWUA Retained Little Influence

In 1940 TWUA Contracts Improved, But There Were Many Lost Opportunities, Especially Concerning Organizing

Again Reiterates That TWUA Became a Political Institution Too Fast

John L. Lewis' Departure from Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO)
Scope and Content Note: The general sentiment was that Lewis was mistaken. There was much ill feeling toward him afterward.

People Began Maneuvering for Positions within the Union after the War

Few Changes in the Industry Had an Effect on TWUA; Political Environment after the War Did Affect TWUA
Scope and Content Note: Union kept growing, until the end of the war and Taft-Hartley. After that, the Union and the general labor movement declined in popularity, both with its members and with the public. Employers' offensive, union malpractices, Lewis' defiance of the government, all contributed to this decline in favor.

Causes of the Weakening of the Labor Movement
Scope and Content Note: The media tranquilized the workers into believing the worst about the working class and labor unions. Industry was shifting to anti-union areas, and Taft-Hartley gave management the legal backing to fight unionism.

Introduction

World War II Helped Low-Wage Industries Like Textiles
Scope and Content Note: TWUA leaders active in War Labor Board (WLB) and this a crucial factor in closing the wage gap and making TWUA a leader in fringe benefits.

Rieve Wanted to Avoid Strikes Whenever Possible

With WLB Machinery, Labor's Job Was Made Easier

Organizing in the Wartime Period
Scope and Content Note: A lost opportunity. Situation could have been different if TWOC had continued through the war.

Complete Organization of Textiles
Scope and Content Note: It was never expressed that complete organization of the industry might not be possible.

Hosiery Federation and TWUA
Scope and Content Note: The raise in per caps was a real issue, not just an excuse. Rieve did not want to take them on. After the break, neither the Federation nor TWUA organized hosiery workers, the industry shifted South, and the hosiery division lost many members. Hosiery workers went from highest paid to lowest paid textile workers.

Votes on Executive Council in Favor of Hosiery Federation's Request for Separate Charter from CIO

Rieve Did Not Wish to Fight with Hosiery People after They Left TWUA and Thus Made No Effort to Organize Hosiery Workers

Return of Hosiery Workers to TWUA in 1965

Dyers Federation Resented the Fact That Hosiery Federation Was Permitted to Go Its Own Way

Dissolution of Dyers Federation
Scope and Content Note: Problems developed between the leaderships of the Federation and the International Union; Baldanzi's constant interference with the Federation caused much friction with the Federation leadership. At one point, Baldanzi ran for president of the Dyers against Knapik and was defeated by one vote. Mariano Bishop, a Dyer from Fall River, helped defeat him.

Certain Unethical Practices Were Occurring within the Dyers, on the Federation Level

Stetin's Split with Baldanzi in 1950-1952 Fight Was Based on Unethical Practices

Opposition to Dissolution of Dyers
Scope and Content Note: There was considerable opposition, but not enough to pull out as the Hosiery Federation had done.

Suit Concerning Dyers Treasury
Scope and Content Note: Certain commitments were made by the leadership regarding financial contributions to Dyers locals which were not lived up to.

Payne as Director of Dyers Division
Scope and Content Note: Political decision by Rieve to allow him some influence within the Dyers. Dyers were consulted; Rieve was very persuasive.

Rash of Appeals to the International Union by Northern New Jersey Dyers in Late 1940s
Scope and Content Note: Outgrowth of the friction within the Dyers Federation.

Dyers Federation Led the Industry in Fringe Benefits
Scope and Content Note: Militancy won them excellent fringe benefits, better wages, and lighter workloads (by resisting new technology), but all of this also had a detrimental effect because the industry for the most part moved out of the metropolitan area. Leadership was not strong enough to realize that too much militancy in the matter of resisting technology would drive the industry out.

Introduction

Peculiar Problems and Characteristics of the Dyeing Industry
Scope and Content Note: Dyers have dirty, grimy jobs because of the use of chemicals, dyestuffs, etc.; dye factory conditions generally more difficult. Many foreign-born workers in the dyeing industry; especially Italians, many of whom had experience with trade unionism in Italy and many of them were anarchists. Ethnic homogeneity made organizing easier for the Dyers.

Sentiment in TWUA for a Labor Party
Scope and Content Note: Independent political action never progressed very far, although there were some attempts. In Paterson, 1935, Stetin's local supported a mayoral candidate on a third party ticket. Stetin always interested in independent political action.

Labor's Nonpartisan League and the Political Action Committee
Scope and Content Note: Nonpartisan League very active in Paterson; units in every ward. Almost destroyed in 1940 by John L. Lewis endorsement of Wendell Wilkie; Lewis an “egomaniac.” Political Action Committee formed because of feeling that labor and liberal elements had suffered a defeat in 1942 elections.

Anecdote Concerning 1943 TWUA Convention
Scope and Content Note: Stetin wanted to support Roosevelt on a third party ticket; Rieve took the floor to oppose Stetin's suggestion. There was not much support for Stetin's idea in the convention.

Even If Truman Had Lost in 1948, There Was Not Enough Sentiment within the CIO to Start Up a Labor Party

Differences of Opinion Between the Political Action Committee of the TWUA and That of the CIO
Scope and Content Note: One difference could have been over the tariff issue.

TWUA Role in Expelling Communists from the CIO
Scope and Content Note: Baldanzi was not a leader in this regard, he merely followed the line that Murray decided upon.

Taft-Hartley and Its Provision for Anti-Communist Affidavits
Scope and Content Note: TWUA was willing to go along with this, as Communists had always been an irritant within the textile industry.

Stetin's Opinion of CIO Communist Purge
Scope and Content Note: Expulsion was unfortunate because the Communist issue had kept the labor movement alive; there had been a type of competition between Communists and non-Communists, which was healthy.

Expulsion of Unions for Corruption and Communism
Scope and Content Note: In retrospect, Stetin feels the entire union should not have been expelled, only the bad elements within the union. It was courageous, however, to get rid of all that income.

Appeal of Charges by Two Communists from Paterson at 1948 TWUA Convention
Scope and Content Note: They were from Stetin's local union, where they had been creating problems for the local; meetings were very long, as they argued every issue.

Changes in the TWUA Constitution at 1948 Convention
Scope and Content Note: Requirement that the International office must approve a strike or a boycott; passed supposedly to protect the Union under Taft-Hartley. From 1962 to the present the International never disapproved a strike which the local people had approved. Opposition to these changes was insignificant.

The Impact of Taft-Hartley and Other Causes for the Decline of TWUA
Scope and Content Note: Right-to-work laws weakened the Union, especially in the South. Taft-Hartley, and the growing power and influence of big business, were major causes for the decline in membership. The four horsemen: automation, importation, liquidation, and migration were major factors contributing to the weakening of TWUA and the labor movement.

Position of TWUA within the CIO by the Late 1940s
Scope and Content Note: Very significant; Rieve was a vice president and was highly regarded by labor and political leaders.

Consideration of Rieve to Succeed Murray as CIO President

Decision Making on Allocation of TWUA Resources
Scope and Content Note: Top officers would initiate a program which the Executive Council approved; but often Union administration was carried on by the President, who merely reported his actions to the Executive Council.

By Late 1940s TWUA Losing Big NLRB Elections and Winning Small Ones
Scope and Content Note: Big employers had more money to spend to defeat TWUA.

Wisconsin Representation at TWUA Conventions
Scope and Content Note: Between 1939 and 1948 representation dropped from 30 to 7 delegates; this due to the hosiery industry's sharp decline.