Workers United, Southern Region records

Collection

Identifier: L2019-03

Staff Only

Scope and Contents of the Records

Workers United, Southern Region Records, 1980-2013, consist of contracts, grievances, negotiation materials, correspondence, constitutions and videotapes. Most of the material comes from the "Bi-County" area that overlaps northern North Carolina and southern Virginia, although other areas covered by the Southern Region of Workers Unite and its predecessors are documented.

Dates

1980-2013

Creator

Workers United. Southern Region (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use. Born digital materials may contain restricted content and require review by Special Collections and Archives staff prior to access.

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.

Biographical Note

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations. It merged with the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) in 1976 to form the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU), which merged with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union in 1995 to create the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged in 2004 with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. After a bitter internal dispute in 2009, the majority of the UNITE side of the union, along with some of the disgruntled HERE locals left UNITE HERE, and formed a new union named Workers United, led by former UNITE president Bruce Raynor. At various times, the Southern Region of Workers United and its predecessors covered Virginia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.

Extent

6.25 Linear Feet (in 5 boxes)

9.84 Megabytes (from 7 floppy disks)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Workers United, Southern Region Records consist of contracts, grievances, negotiation materials, correspondence, constitutions and videotapes, 1980-2013. Workers United grew out of a series of older textile workers unions including ILGWU, UNITE!, UNITE HERE, ACTWU, ACWU, and TWUA.

Arrangement

The records retain their original order.

Technical Requirements

Born digital contnet must be accessed in the Special Collections Reading Room. Access to this material requires an appointment and at least 48 hours advanced notice. Consult Special Collections staff for assistance. Files are stored in the Special Collections preservation system and can be made available by request on a reading room computer, subject to any restrictions deemed necessary after department review.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Workers United, SEIU, courtesy of Chris Bauman, March 5, 2019.

Related 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

Processed by Hal Hansen at the file level, March 2019. Digital materials processed by Katherine Fisher and Hal Hansen, September 2019. Floppy disks imaged and physical media discarded for preservation and access purposes.