The Passaic Textile Strike of 1926

Finding Aid:

For Photographs, Novels and other Historical Ephemera Pertaining to The Passaic Textile Strike of 1926

By Andrew L. Blitzer, RutgersUniversity, Spring 2018

The AmericanLaborMuseum/

Botto House National Landmark

The AmericanLaborMuseum

Creator of the Collection: The AmericanLaborMuseum

Title of the Collection: Literary Resources in relation to the Passaic Textile Strike of 1926

RelativeDateRange: 1965-1990

Language: English

Physical Description of Resources: 3 Novels, 2 Magazines, 12 Oral History Transcripts, 2 Radio Broadcast CDs, 1 Radio Broadcast Transcript, 2 Draft Essays, 1 List of Unpublished Works, 1 Newspaper article

Repository: The AmericanLaborMuseum

Scope of the Contents of the Collection: Historical and other literary works which pertain to the Passaic Strike of 1926 and/or workers’ history concerning the early 20th century in New Jersey or more broadly, the United States. Novels by Leo Troy and David J. Goldberg discuss the development of organized labor, while Paul L. Murphy discusses the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike through a multitude of lenses which include an in-depth chronology of the events. The Dateline Journal as well as Labor’s Heritage provides an excerpt of those who lived during the striking period. The Radio Broadcast is an educational enactment of the events as well as scholarly perspectives on the strike. The Oral Histories are conducted by former AmericanLaborMuseum director Joe Doyle and Martha Stone Asher of strike leaders, Joseph Magliacano, Gustav A. Deak, Jack Rubenstein, and Martha Stone Asher. These works, as of the creation of this finding aid, are together housed in The American Labor Museum, but are unrelated by their placements in the museum.

Novels

1. David J.Goldberg, A Tale of Three Cities: Labor Organization and Protest in Paterson, Passaic, and Lawrence, 1916-1921, 1989. Quantity: x1

2.Paul L. Murphy, The Passaic Textile Strike of 1926, 1974. Quantity: x1

3.Leo Troy,Organized Labor in New Jersey, 1965. Quantity: x1

Newspaper

1. Dateline Journal Vol.83 No.7, Wednesday, February 24, 1999. Pg. 1 & 12. Quantity: x1

Magazines

1. Stuart B. Kaufman, Labor’s Heritage Vol. 2- Quarterly of the George Meanly Memorial Archives- No. 2, 1990. Quantity: 2

Radio Broadcast

1. David S. Cohen & Marty Goldensohn,Passaic On Strike, 2006. Radio Broadcast CDs. Quantity x2

2. David S. Cohen & Marty Goldensohn, Passaic On Strike, 2006. Radio Broadcast Transcript. Quantity x1

Oral History Transcript

1. Martha Stone Asher,Recollections of the Passaic Textile Strike of 1926, 1989 & 1990. Quantity: x1 & x1

2.Gustav A. Deak,Passaic Strike of 1926, Interviewer: Joe Doyle & Martha Stone Asher, 1986. Quantity: x1

3.Joseph Magliacano, Passaic Strike of 1926, Interviewer: Joe Doyle & Martha Stone Asher, 1987. Quantity: x1

4. Jack Rubenstein,Passaic Strike of 1926, Interviewer: Martha Stone Asher, 1987. Quantity: x10

Essays and Other Works

1.Charlotte L. Kates, The Passaic Textile Strike of 1926: Militant Unionism, The Trade Union Educational League, and Forging Labor Unity. Quantity: 1x

2.Monica M. Russo, Fighting For A Home: Immigrant Women in the Passaic Textile Strike of 1926 Quantity: x1

3.American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark Unpublished Work Quantity: x1

The AmericanLaborMuseum-Passaic Textile Strike Oral History Project: Black Binder

Creator of the Collection: The AmericanLaborMuseum Former Director Joe Doyle

Title of the Collection:Passaic Textile Strike Oral History Project

RelativeDateRange:1986-1990

Language: English

Physical Description of Resources: 6 Oral History Transcripts

Repository:The AmericanLaborMuseum

Scope of the Contents of the Collection: Oral history transcripts of four strike leaders of the Passaic Textile Strike of 1926. Three interviews were conducted between 1986 and 1987, by former director of the American Labor Museum Joe Doyle and Martha Stone Asher. These interviewees include: Joseph Magliacano, Gustav A. Deak, and Jack Rubenstein. The last transcript is a personal recollection by Martha Stone Asher, which also appears as an article in Labor’s Heritage Vol. 2 No. 2.

Oral History Transcript

1. Martha Stone Asher, Recollections of the Passaic Textile Strike of 1926, 1990. Quantity: x2

2. Gustav A. Deak, Passaic Strike of 1926, Interviewer: Joe Doyle & Martha Stone Asher, 1986. Quantity: x2

3. Joseph Magliacano, Passaic Strike of 1926, Interviewer: Joe Doyle & Martha Stone Asher, 1987. Quantity: x1

4. Jack Rubenstein, Passaic Strike of 1926, Interviewer: Martha Stone Asher, 1987. Quantity: x1

The American Labor Museum- Martha Stone Asher and Joseph Grauso Collection- Acid Free Box

Creator of the Collection: Martha Stone Asher & Joseph Grauso

Title of the Collection:Passaic Textile Strike of 1926 Collection

RelativeDateRange:1926-1940

Language: English

Physical Description of Resources: 7 Newspapers, 5 Magazines, 55 Photographs donated by Martha Stone Asher, 10 Photographs donated by Joseph Grauso, 1 Identification Badge, 1 Employee Pin

Repository:The AmericanLaborMuseum

Scope of the Contents of the Collection:This collection is a combination of donated materials by Martha Stone Asher and Joseph Grauso which pertain to the period of the Passaic Textile Strike of 1926. The collection documentsthe duration and events of the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike through photography, newspapers, and magazines. The multitude of photographs are placed in six different folders. Folders 1-5 consist of photographs donated by Martha Stone Asher; these photographs appear with descriptions on The American Labor Museum website. Folder 6 contains International Newsreel photographs donated by Joseph Grauso. The 5 magazines are of the 1926 Hell in New Jersey publication published by the General Relief Committee of the United Front Committee; the quality of these vary. The Newspapers are of the Textile Strike Bulletin and Relief Bulletin, which were written by the Passaic Textile Strikers. This collection also contains two ephemera an ID Badge from Botany Mills, Passaic, New Jersey, and a Worker’s Pin from Forstmann-Huffman Mill, Garfield, New Jersey.

Photographs

Folder 1. P.26.17.85, P.26.49.85, P.26.42.85, P.26.27.85, P.26.47.85, P.26.20.85, P.26.21.85, P.26.9.85, P.26.50.85, P.26.44.85, P.26.14.85, P.26.28.85

-Hell in New Jersey cover photo, 25 Dayton Avenue, & early photographs: February, 1926.

Folder 2. P.26.52.85, P.26.53.85, P.26.13.85, P.26.15.85,P.26.25.85, P.26.59.85,P.26.16.85, P.26.4.85, P.26.8.85, P.26.39.85, P.26.34.85

-Great War Veterans, Gas Masks, Picket Lines, & Raising Funds Outside of Passaic.

Folder 3.P.26.23.85, P.26.37.85, P.26.22.85, P.26.26.85, P.26.46.85, P.25.24.85, P.26.31.85, P.26.6.85, P.26.38.85, P.25.10.85, P.26.43.85

-Strikers’ Arrests, Striker Tactics, & Police Tactics.

Folder 4.P.26.55.85, P.26.54.85,P.26.19.85, P.26.1.85, P.26.29.85, P.26.45.85, P.26.48.85, P.26.56.85,P.26.41.85, P.26.33.85, H56.85

-Bloody Tuesday, Medical and Family Conditions, & GeneralReliefCenters.

Folder 5.P.26.51.85, P.26.5.85,P.26.7.85, P.26.57.85, P.26.12.85, P.26.18.85,P.26.40.85, P.26.30.85, P.26.11.85, P.26.32.85

-Child Strikers, International Workers Aid, Victory Playground, Relief Gala, & United Textile Workers’ parade.

Folder 6.H.84.10.85, H.84.1.85, H.84.2.85, H.84.3.85, H.84.4.85, H.84.5.85, H.84.6.85, H.84.7.85, H.84.9.85, H.84.8.85

-International Newsreel photographs

Magazines

1. General Relief Committee, Hell in New Jersey: Story of the Passaic Textile Strike Told in Picture, 1926. Quantity: x5

Newspapers

1. United Front Committee, Textile Strike BulletinVol. 1 - No. 04,Passaic, N.J., Monday, March 15, 1926. Quantity: x1

2. United Front Committee, Textile Strike BulletinVol. 1 - No. 05,Passaic, N.J., Monday, March 22, 1926.Quantity: x1

3. United Front Committee, Textile Strike BulletinVol. 1 - No. 06,Passaic, N.J., Wednesday, March 31, 1926.Quantity: x1

4. United Front Committee, Textile Strike BulletinVol. 1 - No. 07, Passaic, N.J., Wednesday, April 7, 1926.Quantity: x1

5. United Front Committee, Textile Strike BulletinVol. 1 - No. 09, Passaic, N.J., Wednesday, April 21, 1926.Quantity: x1

6. United Front Committee, Textile Strike BulletinVol. 1 - No. 14, Passaic, N.J., Friday, May 28, 1926.Quantity: x1

7. United Textile Workers, Relief BulletinVol. 1 - No. 02, Passaic, N.J., Saturday, November 6, 1926. Quantity: x1

Ephemera

1.Anna Babyak, Botany Worsted Mills Identification Badge, ID Quantity: x3: 7-22-1929, 8-1-1930, 11-1-1940

2.Forstmann-Huffmann Woolen Mill: Employee pinQuantity: x1

Complementary Resources

Scope of the Resources:The resources listed here are works pertaining to the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike which are not located or directly affiliated with The American Labor Museum. The first is Rutgers University. This institution contains a plethora of literary works and primary sources about the strike. The second are internet sources which provide access to primary or secondary works in respect to the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike. *The American Labor Museum has no direct affiliation with any of these institutions or websites, please direct any concerns or questions towards these facilities.

Rutgers University- Alexander Library

1. Mary Heaton Vorse & International Labor Defense, Passaic, 1926.

2. Mary Heaton Vorse, The Passaic Textile Strike, 1926-1927, 1927.

3. General Relief Committee, Hell in New Jersey, 1926.

4. United Front Committee, Textile Strike Bulletin, 1926. (Vol. 1- No. 8 & Vol.1-No. 23)

5. Albert Weisbord, Passaic; the story of a struggle against starvation wages and for the right to organize, 1976

6. Paul L. Murphy, The Passaic Textile Strike of 1926, 1974.

7. Botany Worsted Mills, Minute Books, 1889-1945.

Internet Resources

- Part 1 of the Textile Strike Bulletin digitized. With exception to Textile Strike Bulletin No. 1 & 3 contains No. 2-13

- Part 2 of the Textile Strike Bulletin digitized. Contains Textile Strike Bulletin No. 14-19

- Part 3 of the Textile Strike Bulletin digitized. Contains Textile Strike Bulletin No. 20-24.

- With exception to Reel 5, the complete silent video coverage of the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike film.

-The 1926 Passaic Textile Strike Fifth Reel.

-Exclusively, the prologue to the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike film.

- Free to view digital copy of Mary Heaton Vorse, The Passaic Textile Strike, 1926-1927, 1927.

Final Note:

*Please contact The American Labor Museum to establish an appointment if you wish to view any of their resources. The 55 photograph collection of the 1926 Passaic Textile Strike, donated by Martha Stone Asher, is available for viewing on The American Labor Museum Website.

Rutgers Undergraduate of History: Andrew L. Blitzer