Descriptive Summary |
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Creator: | International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers |
Title: | Records of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers, AFL-CIO (IUE) Local 401, Edison, NJ |
Dates: | 1950-2003 |
Quantity: | 2 cubic feet |
Abstract: | Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives became the final repository for the records and other ephemera of the IUE 401 Edison, NJ local chapter in early 2004. Local 401 was established to advocate the rights of Frigidaire Company employees. 401 also conducted business with Home Comfort Products, Edison Products Co., and White-Westinghouse. The following series have been created to group the documents: Administration, Contracts & Negotiations, Correspondence, Election, Health & Safety, and Newsletters. Included in the collection are materials from the national IUE, AFL-CIO and CWA, District Three IUE, Local 401 and 491 IUE, White Westinghouse, Frigidaire Company, Home Comfort Products and Edison Products Co. Company booklets, policies, meeting minutes and membership sign in books which relate to Local 401 are included as well. |
Collection No.: | MC 1197 |
Language: | English |
Repository: | Rutgers University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives |
Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives became the final repository for the records and other ephemera of the IUE 401 Local chapter in early 2004. The Edison, NJ chapter closed in 2003 when the Frigidaire Factory in Edison closed that same year. Local 401 was established to advocate the rights of Frigidaire Company employees. 401 also conducted business with Home Comfort Products, Edison Products Co., and White-Westinghouse. When the plant closed there was no need for Local 401.
Due to the lack of arrangement, missing documents and often mis-filing/labeling of documents it is difficult to put together a history of Local 401. The documents received present sporadic and disjointed snapshots of 401.
An exact date for the origin of Local 401 is unknown. The earliest document in the collection is a supplement between Local 401 Westinghouse Electric Corporation and IUE from 1950. The documents from the 1990's present the clearest picture of the local's functions as the most diverse and comprehensive information comes from this period. 401 was particularly involved with negotiations and meetings with, what they term, "the Company." The early 1990s saw the threat of a strike by Local 401. Thus much information regarding contracts and negotiations survive from this period.
A total of four presidents have been identified with rough dates of their term, Raymond Walling (1990-1995), Thomas Ruggiero (1995-1998, 1999-2001), Peter Wickersty (1998-1999), and Syed Shah (2003).
401 was active nationally as well. In 2002 401 attended the CWA National Convention, the 1992 25th IUE Constitutional Convention, and a 1998 IUE Leadership Conference.
The documents included in the collection range in date from 1950 to 2003 when the Frigidaire factory and Local 401 closed. The majority of documents, however, come from the 1990's and 2000-2001. One or two items are found from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. There is slightly more information from the 1980s. Judging from the order of documents received from Local 401 there was no systematic filing system kept. However, due to the abundance of information from the 1990s and relatively little information from the preceding period either a purge was done to the records prior to 1990, few items were kept and received and/or few documents were generated. It is important to note the dates on the folders encompass the documents inside but do also include gaps in documents.
The following series have been created to group the documents: Administration, Contracts & Negotiations, Correspondence, Election, Health & Safety, and Newsletters. Included in the collection are materials from the national IUE, AFL-CIO and CWA, District Three IUE, Local 401 and 491 IUE, White Westinghouse, Frigidaire Company, Home Comfort Products and Edison Products Co. Company booklets and policies which relate to Local 401 are included as well. The local IUE constitutions are also included. The majority of the collection relates to the functioning of Local 401 and the Frigidaire Company. Local 401 Executive Board meeting minutes as well as meeting minutes with Frigidaire management can be found in the collection and well as membership sign in books.
The records of IUE Local 401 are arranged in the following series:
Three cubic feet of material are being kept for a period of 5 years to satisfy legal requirements and should be discarded after April 2009. Materials in temporary retention include un-issued member cards, special voting cards, reports on per capita dues, contact cards and receipts and vouchers.
The entirety of this collection is open to research; however, personal information reflected in the documents may not be published with out the permission of those who are referenced.
When citing material from this collection please reference: Guide to the Record of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers, AFL-CIO (IUE) Subgroup: Local 401, Edison, NJ ca. 1950-2003 (MC 1197), Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries
Ten cubic feet were received from Local 401. Five cubic feet were discarded for a lack of relevance or as duplicates, three cubic feet have been retained unprocessed, for scheduled temporary term-retention, and two cubic feet have been retained for the permanent collection.
The records arrived at Rutgers University in disarray and no inherent order could be determined. After a cursory examination, series groupings were created. Folders were reorganized and grouped into these series. In some cases documents were already grouped in folders, they then were re-foldered in acid free folders and the title on the original folder was used. Occasionally, the titles on the folders did not reflect the folders' contents. Apparently file folders were re-used but not always re-labeled. Undated items are included at the end of folders. The folders are arranged alphabetically according to series followed by subject followed by date. Undated folders are included in the alphabetical listing.
A selective sampling method was used to preserve examples of routine material such as election announcements, publicity/propaganda, employee relieve letters, and incident reports. These items did not seem to provide information about Local 401 but are important to identify as being significant to the life of Local 401. Duplicates, which made up a significant portion of the records, were eliminated as was routine material not having any specific value. These included leadership binders not related to the IUE, Frigidaire, Home Comfort Products, or Edison Products Co.; receipts and vouchers prior to 1998: miscellaneous office paperwork and mail regarding ordering union jackets, bibles, bible stands, etc.
Staples were not removed from attached items as the documents are relatively recent in creation and were most likely attached with stainless steal staples. Paperclips, however, were removed and the attached items were then micro-foldered in acid free paper. Dates and/or headings are included on the micro-folders to identify the contents.
Bernhardt, Debra. How to Keep Union Records: A Guide for Local Union Officers and Staff. Labor's Heritage Press (Silver Spring, MD), 1993. This guide was useful for determining series, items to be kept, items to be discarded, records retention and dates governing temporary retention. Examples of records retention in other repositories are also included in the guide.
I. Administrative, 1963-2003 | |||||||||||
Files related to the general functioning of Local 401. The majority of the documents in this series relate to meetings, conferences, and national IUE issues. | |||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||
1 | 1 | CWA National Convention 2002 | |||||||||
2 | District #3 IUE Constitution ca. 1963 | ||||||||||
3 | Ed Fire (International President) 1997 | ||||||||||
4 | 25th IUE Constitutional Convention Amendments Nov. 1992 | ||||||||||
5 | IUE AFL-CIO News, Memoranda and President's Report 1994 | ||||||||||
6 | IUE Leadership Conference 1998 | ||||||||||
7 | Job Destruction Penalty Act 1996 | ||||||||||
8 | Labor Employment Action Project (1 of 2) 2003 | ||||||||||
9 | Labor Employment Action Project (2 of 2) 2003 | ||||||||||
10 | Local 401 Arbitration Hearing Apr.-July 2000 | ||||||||||
11 | Local 401 Committees 1998-1999 | ||||||||||
12 | Local 401 Constitutions n.d. | ||||||||||
13 | Local 401 Cora Epps vs. Franco Cortes 1996-1997 | ||||||||||
14 | Local 401 Executive Board Minutes 1993-1994 | ||||||||||
15 | Local 401 Executive Board Minutes (1 of 2) 1994-1995 | ||||||||||
16 | Local 401 Executive Board Minutes (2 of 2) 1996-1998 | ||||||||||
17 | Local 401 Executive Board 1997 | ||||||||||
18 | Local 401 Executive Board Sign in Register 1984-1990 | ||||||||||
19 | Local 401 Executive Board Sign in Register 2000-2002 | ||||||||||
20 | Local 401 Financial Procurement Committee 1993-1999 | ||||||||||
21 | Local 401 Financial Reports 1992-1999 | ||||||||||
22 | Local 401 Grievance Forms 1997-2001 | ||||||||||
23 | Local 401 IUE Membership Sign in Book 1976-1997 | ||||||||||
24 | Local 401 Meeting Materials (Dec.) 1992 | ||||||||||
25 | Local 401 Meeting Materials (Jan. 6) 1993 | ||||||||||
26 | Local 401 Meeting Materials (Jan.) 1994 | ||||||||||
27 | Local 401 Meeting Materials (Nov. 2) 1994 | ||||||||||
28 | Local 401 Meeting with the "Company" 1996-1997 | ||||||||||
29 | Local 401 Meeting with the "Company" 2000 | ||||||||||
30 | Local 401 Meeting with the "Company" 2001 | ||||||||||
31 | Local 401 Meeting with Ruth Slater and Irma Lopez 1996 | ||||||||||
32 | Local 401 Member Lists 2003 | ||||||||||
33 | Local 401 New Employees 1997-1998 | ||||||||||
34 | Local 401 Recreation Materials 1973-1993 | ||||||||||
35 | Local 401 Relieve Letters 1996-2003 | ||||||||||
36 | Local 401 Retirements 1991-1998 | ||||||||||
37 | Local 401 Staff Lists 1995-1996 | ||||||||||
38 | Local 401 Summer School 1997-2003 | ||||||||||
39 | Local 401 Zsuzsanna Csizmadia vs. Thomas Ruggiero 1996 | ||||||||||
40 | Local 491 Grievance against Edison Products Co. 1963-1981 | ||||||||||
41 | Per Capita- Fund-Transfers-Dues Restructuring 1992 | ||||||||||
42 | Westinghouse Booklets n.d. |
II. Contracts and Negotiations, 1950-2001 | |||||||||||
Files include local and national IUE agreements, contracts and negotiating material. Westinghouse, Frigidaire and Edison Products Company contractual negotiations and agreements are also represented. | |||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||
1 | 44 | Agreements between Edison Products Company and IUE 1983-2001 | |||||||||
45 | Agreements between Frigidaire Company, Home Comfort Products, and IUE Local 401 1988-2001 | ||||||||||
46 | Agreement between IUE and WCI 1980 | ||||||||||
47 | Agreement between White-Westinghouse and IUE Locals 401, 491, 680, 711, 744, and 746 1983 1986 | ||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||
2 | 1 | Home Comfort Products and Local 401 1989-1994 | |||||||||
2 | Home Comfort Products and Local 401 1995-1996 | ||||||||||
3 | Local 401 Language Changes and Contract Proposals 1998 | ||||||||||
4 | Local 401 Negotiation Materials 1992-1995 | ||||||||||
5 | Local 401 Strike Paper Negotiation 1992-1995 | ||||||||||
6 | Local Supplements between Local 401 to Agreement between Westinghouse Electric Corporation and IUE 1950-1956 | ||||||||||
7 | Union 1998 Local Contract 1998 |
III. Correspondence, 1976-2003 | |||||||||||
Files include correspondence to and from Presidents, letters to IUE locals from IUE national, letters issued from presidents to the Executive Board and members. | |||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||
2 | 8 | To IUE Locals from IUE National 1987-2001 | |||||||||
9 | To Local 401 Executive Board 1990-1997 | ||||||||||
10 | To Local 401 Members 1976-1999 | ||||||||||
11 | President Raymond Walling 1990-1995 1986 | ||||||||||
12 | President Peter Wickersty 1998-1999 | ||||||||||
13 | President Thomas Ruggiero 1995-2001 | ||||||||||
14 | President Syed Shah 2003 | ||||||||||
15 | Miscellaneous 1995-2001 |
IV. Elections, 1991-2003 | |||||||||||
Files include election results and campaign propaganda for Local 401. | |||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||
2 | 16 | Local 401 Election Propaganda 1996-1998 | |||||||||
17 | Local 401 Election Propaganda and Results 2001-2001 | ||||||||||
18 | Local 401 March Election Results 1998 | ||||||||||
19 | Local 401 March Election Protest 2001 1986 | ||||||||||
20 | Local 401 Re-Run Election 2002 | ||||||||||
21 | Local 401 Results 1992-2003 | ||||||||||
22 | Local 401 Shop Steward Election Materials (1 of 2) 1991-1995 | ||||||||||
23 | Local 401 Shop Steward Election Materials (2 of 2) 1996-2003 | ||||||||||
24 | Local 401 Trustee Election Materials 1992-2002 |
V. Health and Safety, 1983-2003 | |||||||||||
Files include materials relating to insurance, company safety programs and committees, community service and incident reports. | |||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||
2 | 25 | Carmelo Martinez Interview 1995 | |||||||||
26 | Local 401 Donation to the Needy 1992-1999 | ||||||||||
27 | Edison Products Company Insurance (1 of 2) n.d. | ||||||||||
28 | Edison Products Company Insurance (2 of 2) n.d. | ||||||||||
29 | Electrolux 2000-2003 | ||||||||||
30 | Family Leave of Absence Act (FLOA) April 1990 | ||||||||||
31 | Forklift Operation and Powered Trucks Aug. 1997 | ||||||||||
32 | Incident/Injury Reports 1983-2001 | ||||||||||
33 | Insurance Benefits 1991-2000 | ||||||||||
34 | Motor Vehicle Task Force Jan. 1995 | ||||||||||
35 | New Jersey Department of Labor 2003 | ||||||||||
36 | Procedures and Committees 1989-1996 | ||||||||||
37 | Rights and Duties of Unions under the Americans with Disabilities Act 1992 | ||||||||||
38 | Safety Eyewear-Glasses 2001 | ||||||||||
39 | Vision 2000 Training and Related Materials 1986-1994 |
VI. Newsletters, 1993-2003 | |||||||||||
Files include national newsletters and memoranda, as well as local and District Three newsletters. Newsletters received from other organizations are also included. | |||||||||||
Box | Folder | ||||||||||
2 | 40 | Current Events IUE-CWA 2001-2003 | |||||||||
41 | District 3 (1 of 3) 1993-1995 | ||||||||||
42 | District 3 (2 of 3) 1996 | ||||||||||
43 | District 3 (3 of 3) 1997-2001 | ||||||||||
44 | Other 1998-2003 | ||||||||||
45 | Voice of 401 1985-1992 |