Asian Garment Workers in New York City Oral History Collection
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection consists of interviews of garment workers who came to New York City from Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and California. Interviews are primarily with International Ladies Garment Workers' Union members and staff (especially Local 23-25) and its successor organization the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), but one interview is with a garment manufacturer. Topics covered include emigration to the United States, working conditions, joining the ILGWU, major strikes, the effects of globalization on the garment industry and unions, and unique challenges in organizing in the Asian-American community. The majority of the interviews were taken in 1989 by Bichiluyen Nguyen of NYU's History Department. Interviews were taken in English, Chinese or Vietnamese, and indexes or transcripts exist in English for all interviews.
Historical/Biographical Note
NYU undergraduate Bichiluyen Nguyen, herself a Vietnamese immigrant, conducted five of the interviews as part of an internship in the History Department in 1989. In 2003, five additional interviews regarding the labor movement in the Chinatown garment shops were taken by Winifred Chin, a visiting scholar at the Asian/Pacific/American Institute.
Arrangement
Access compact disks are arranged alphabetically. Master cassettes, indexes, and transcripts are arranged according to an archivist-devised numbering system.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of ten interviews with garment workers who came to New York City from Vietnam, China, the Philippines, and California. Interviews are primarily with International Ladies Garment Workers' Union members and staff (especially Local 23-25) and its successor organization, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE). One interview is with a garment manufacturer. Topics covered include emigration to the United States, working conditions, joining the ILGWU, major strikes, the impacts of globalization, and unique challenges in organizing in the Asian-American community.
Subjects
Organizations
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Bichiluyen Nguyen or Winifred C. Chin are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from repository. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Asian Garment Workers in New York City Oral History Collection; OH 018; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Bichiluyen Nguyen donated the interviews with Paul Bui, Shui Mak Ka, Connie Ling, Katie Quan, and Kieu Tran in 1989. "The Asian-American Labor Movement: An Oral History of the Organization of the Chinatown Garment Shops" and the Muzaffar Chishti interview were deposited with Tamiment by Winifred Chin and the Asian/Pacific/American Institute in 2004. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 1950.056 and 2014.005.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Collection rehoused and labeled sometime after 1989. Entire collection digitized in 2013-2014, and a full finding aid was written at this time. Additional material from the Chin donation was located in 2014 and the finding aid updated accordingly.
Repository
View Inventory
Paul Bui, Mar 15, 1989, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Content Note
Interview includes discussion of Bui's youth in Vietnam, immigration to the United States, the clothing business that Bui owned in the Bronx, and his views on challenges contracting with clients and negotiating with unions.
Muzaffar Chishti, May 21, 2004, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
The interview discusses Chishti's work with undocumented workers during his years as director of the Immigration Project at the ILGWU. Topics include the union's activities to aid such workers, social and legal concerns, and lobbying activities.
Shui Mak Ka, Apr 25, 1989, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Content Note
Interview includes discussion of Ka's youth and education in China and Hong Kong and her work in the People's Republic of China there as a doctor. Also covered are different working conditions in textile industry in Chicago and New York, strikes in early 1980s, disputes with Italians, and worker wages.
Connie Ling, May 12, 1989, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Content Note
Interview includes discussion of youth in Philippines and Hong Kong, immigration to United States, activities as a business agent for union, and strike in Chinatown shops.
Katie Quan, Apr 20, 1989, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
Interview includes discussion of strikes in the 1980s, union's education department, Coalition of Labor Union Women, new immigrants, and real estate in New York City and Chinatown.
Kieu Tran, Mar 15, 1989, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Content Note
Topics discussed include youth in Vietnam, conditions in factories and for textiles workers who work at home, wages, and employment with Paul Bui's Princess Mai Company.
"The Asian-American Labor Movement: An Oral History of the Organization of the Chinatown Garment Shops" (Includes interviews with Jay Mazur, Wing Fong Chin, Edgar Romney, and May Chen), Mar 2004, inclusive
Language of Materials
Scope and Content Note
"The Asian-American Labor Movement: An Oral History of the Organization of the Chinatown Garment Shops" is a four-interview project compiled by Winifred Chin, a visiting scholar at New York University's Asian/Pacific/American Institute. The resulting document contains transcribed interviews with Jay Mazur, Wing Fong Chin, Edgar Romney, and May Chen, all who were involved with UNITE or its predecessor ILGWU. It also includes Jay Mazur's "Globalization and Governance" and "Globalization's Dark Side" as attachments. Subjects discussed include the 1982 labor rally in Columbus Park, the effects of globalization on the garment industry and unions, and unique challenges in organizing in the Asian-American community. An audio recording of the interview with Wing Fong Chin is also available.
