Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union vs. Cannon Mills scrapbooks

Collection

Identifier: L1995-09

Staff Only

Scope and Contents of the Scrapbooks

The Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) vs. Cannon Mills Scrapbooks contains three scrapbooks, newspapers and clippings, and printed material, 1976-1991. The scrapbooks cover textile industry issues such brown lung, ACTWU's involvement in other mills, and Kannapolis' problems with illiteracy and crumbling infrastructure. The bulk of materials in the ACTWU vs. Cannon Mills Scrapbooks fall between 1976-1981.

Scrapbook 1 contains newspaper articles and printed materials, 1980-1981, regarding Kannapolis' educational and economic conditions, the possible sale of Cannon Mills out of the Cannon family, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Scrapbook 2 contains newspaper articles and union and management materials, 1980-1991, regarding anti-union sentiment, Kannapolis' politics and police department, and occupational changes due to brown lung. Scrapbook 3 contains newspaper articles, flyers, and company memoranda, 1976-1980, regarding Cannon Mill's policies; Cannonball Express, a periodical created by pro-union Cannon Mill employees; and dust control.

Dates

1976-1991
Majority of material found within 1980 - 1981

Creator

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

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 about Cannon Mills

Kannapolis, North Carolina, near Charlotte, was the home of Cannon Mills, a major textile company. Kannapolis had been created as a company town in 1906, and was the site of a number of unsuccessful organizing efforts over the years. Cannon Mills was sold in 1982, and a major organizing effort (1984-85) by the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) followed. On October 10, 1985, ACTWU lost the unionization vote. In December, the mills were sold again, to Fieldcrest Mills. ACTWU narrowly missed organizing the mill's workers with another vote in 1991. The company was sold again in 1997, and ACTWU's successor, the Union of Needletrades Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), won a vote to organize the plant in 1999. In 2003, the parent corporation declared bankruptcy and the plant closed.

Extent

3.22 Linear Feet (in 4 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

The Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) vs. Cannon Mills Scrapbooks contains three scrapbooks of printed material, 1976-1991, when the union attempted to organize Cannon Mills (Kannapolis, N.C.). The scrapbooks cover textile industry issues such brown lung, the ACTWU's involvement in other mills, and Kannapolis' problems with illiteracy and crumbling infrastructure. The bulk of materials in the ACTWU vs. Cannon Mills Scrapbooks fall between 1976 and 1981.