United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 815T (Morristown, Tenn.) records

Collection

Identifier: L2007-04

Staff Only
Not requestable

Scope and Contents of the Records

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Local 815T (Morristown, Tenn.) records, 1962-2005, consist primarily of materials created and maintained by the local's leadership. The records include meeting minutes, documentation of contract negotiations and strikes, election records, and grievances. The bulk of the records were created when the union was United Textile Workers of America (UTWA) Local 815 and include correspondence and printed material about the UTWA's merger into UFCW in 1996. In addition to files created by Local 815/815T officers, the records include some files created by James Altom, UTWA's Tennessee Area Director. Those materials reflect his organizing efforts and other UTWA units including Local 272, which represented workers at the Shelby Williams Industries plant in Morristown.

Dates

Creation: 1962-2005

Creator

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Local 815T (Morristown, Tenn.) (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use. Access to materials containing personally identifiable information (box 2-3) restricted for 75 years from the date of creation.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Historical Note

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 815T represented textile workers at a nylon plant in Morristown, Tennessee. American Enka Corporation opened the plant in 1947 and operated it until 1985, when Badische Corporation bought American Enka, renaming its American operations BASF Corporation Fibers Division. Lenzing Fibers Corporation purchased in plant in 1992 and later sold it to Liberty Fibers, which declared bankruptcy and closed the plant in 2005. Originally, the plant's workers affiliated with the United Textile Workers of America (UTWA) as Local 815. A number of other textile plants were in the area and UTWA's area director was based in Morristown. UTWA merged with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) in 1996 and the local was redesignated UFCW Local 815T.

Extent

10 Linear Feet (in 8 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 815T represented textile workers employed by the America Enka Company in Morristown, Tennessee. The records include meeting minutes, strike and protest organization materials, union membership and leadership rosters, member resignation records, union election records, business contracts, grievances, arbitration, and negotiations, benefits information, trial records, and records of the union local’s history with both the UFCW and the UTWA.

Arrangement

The records retain their original order.

Location

Off-site storage.

Acquisition Information

Donated by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 815T, August 2007.

Related Archival Materials

The Southern Labor Archives contains numerous collections created by various unions representing workers in the textile industry. These collections include union records from the International Ladies Garment Workers (ILGWU), Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers (ACTWU), United Textile Workers of America (UTWA), Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA), Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Workers (UNITE), and its successors UNITE HERE and Workers United.

Processing Information

Original box-level processing by John Thompson, Fall 2013. Finding aid revised and material reorganized by Hal Hansen and Bill Hardesty, August 2024. Meeting minutes and other volumes moved from box 4 to box 1. Unrestricted files from box 1-3 moved to box 4. All restricted files (primarily grievances) moved to box 2-3.