Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the National Maritime Union
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Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The National Maritime Union, which represented workers in the merchant marine, was formed in 1937 in a split from the International Seamen's Union. The National Maritime Union merged with the Seafarers International Union of North America in 2001. The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the National Maritime Union of America contains a variety of documents on the National Maritime Union, including newspaper clippings, flyers, brochures, biographical material, convention proceedings, chapter and ships' meeting minutes, correspondence, and other items. Material in the collection dates from 1937 to 2005.
Historical Note
The National Maritime Union, which represented workers in the merchant marine, was formed in 1937 in a split from the International Seamen's Union. The International Seamen's Union was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). At its first convention in 1937, the National Maritime Union (NMU) joined the Committee for Industrial Organizations (CIO). The union was led by Joseph Curran, who served as NMU president until 1981. By 1946, the NMU had 46 branches and 73,000 members. In 2001, the NMU merged with the Seafarers International Union of North America, which originally represented West Coast merchant mariners.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically within the series.
Organized in one series.
Scope and Contents
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the National Maritime Union consists of materials relating to the activities of the Union. Material includes a variety of documents such as newspaper clippings, flyers, brochures, biographical material, convention proceedings, chapter and ships' meeting minutes, correspondence, and other items, and dates from 1937 to 2005. Much of the collection focuses on the leadership of Joseph Curran, who served as president of the National Maritime Union (NMU) from 1937 to 1981. The bulk of the material dates from 1944 to 1952 and consists of transcripts of ship, local port, and national meetings concerned with the struggle to remove Communist and other leftist influences from the union. Also well documented are internal conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s, including efforts led by Joe Morrisey. The collection also includes two histories of the union and materials documenting the activity of NMU dissident member Henry Spira.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
Conditions Governing Access
Edward Hendrickson NMU Papers in Box 4 contain sensitive materials and are restricted to researchers.
The rest of the materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials in this collection have been compiled by the Tamiment Library through various donations.
Gary D. Will donated a membership book from the National Maritime Union of America in 2013. The accession number associated with this gift is 2014.100.
Stanley Postek donated Edward Hendrickson NMU Papers in 1987. The accession number associated with this gift is 2018.071.
Custodial History
The provenance of this material is varied. Items were obtained through purchases, donations, standing orders with publishers, arrangements with labor unions and other organizations, exchanges with other libraries, and through ongoing collecting by Tamiment staff. Some of the papers are personal in nature - correspondence, campaign materials, and may have come from James Morrissey or one of his colleagues.
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25th Anniversary Dinner, 1962, inclusive
Agreements: Collier Companies, 1946-1948, inclusive
Agreements: Companies and Agents, 1944-1963, inclusive
Agreements: Inland Boatmens Division, 1941, inclusive
Agreements: Ocean-Going Dry Cargo Vessels, 1972-1984, inclusive
Agreements: Ocean-Going Tanker Vessels, 1978-1984, inclusive
Agreements: Tanker Companies, 1946-1958, inclusive
Agreements: Various, 1943, 1955, inclusive
Arbitration, 1946, inclusive
Bell, The, Apr 1971, inclusive
Benefits, 1947-1952, undated, inclusive
Benefits: Pamphlets and Publications, 1953, 1957, undated, inclusive
Blacklisting, 1950, inclusive
Board of Trustees, 1960, inclusive
Boston Branch Minutes, 1938, inclusive
Call, The, 1966-1969, inclusive
Circular Letters, 1942, 1959, undated, inclusive
Collective Bargaining Agreement, 1968, inclusive
Committee for Democratic Unionism, undated
Committee for the Administration Team: Curran Retirement, 1973, inclusive
Committee for Union Democracy, 1970, inclusive
Constitutions, 1937, inclusive
Constitutions, 1945-1949, inclusive
Constitutions, 1951-1959, inclusive
Constitutions, 1960-1980, inclusive
Contract: "Currans Sellout Agreement" - "Flip Flop Fink", 1972, inclusive
Convention, 1947, inclusive
Convention, 1949, inclusive
Convention, 1957, inclusive
Convention, 1960, 1963, inclusive
Convention Proceedings 16th (I), 1972, inclusive
Convention Proceedings 16th (II), 1972, inclusive
Convention: Presidents Report, 1980, 1984, inclusive
Cooks: Stewards Bulletin, undated
Correspondence: Union Members, 1968-1973, inclusive
Curran, Joseph: Pamphlets and Publications, 1949-1969, inclusive
Curran, Joseph: "Flip Flop Fink", 1972, inclusive
Dinko, Andy, 1970-1975, inclusive
Education Department: Pamphlets and Publications, 1944-1949, inclusive
Education Department: Pamphlets and Publications: Spanish Language, 1947-1948, inclusive
Elections, 1950, inclusive
Elections, 1954-1973, inclusive
Elections, 1969, inclusive
Elections, 1973, inclusive
Election: Morrissey, 1973, inclusive
Election: Morrissey, Jim v. Curran-Wall, 1961-1973, inclusive
Election: Morrissey v. Curran - Notes, undated
Elections: Morrissey - Panama, 1973, inclusive
Elections: Panama, 1973, inclusive
Fighting Fund, 1963, inclusive
Financial Report, 1941-1943, inclusive
Financial Reports, 1949-1953, inclusive
Financial Reports, 1953-1957, inclusive
France: Port and Dock Union, 1950, inclusive
General Counsel: Pamphlets and Publications, 1946, undated, inclusive
History, 1956, 1967, undated, inclusive
History: "The Communists and the NMU" by Peter Filardo, NYU., undated
Independent Caucus, 1949, undated, inclusive
Inter-Office Memoranda, 1968, inclusive
Joseph Curran Building, 1963-1964, inclusive
Joseph Curran Scholarship Program, 1961, inclusive
Labor Organization Financial Report, 1962-1972, inclusive
Litigation, 1969, inclusive
Local 153, 1961, inclusive
Local 333, 1963, inclusive
Local 342, 1966, inclusive
Local 670: Stationary Engineers, Firemen, Maintenance and Building Service Union, undated
Local 1735, 1953-1956, inclusive
Marine Leasing Inc: Dual Wage Standards, 1967, inclusive
Mariner's Magazine, 1952, inclusive
Meetings: at Sea, Various Ships, 1968-1969, inclusive
Meetings: General, 1968-1971, inclusive
Meetings: Joint, 1968-1969, inclusive
Meetings: Regular Membership, 1946, inclusive
Meetings: Regular Membership, 1949-1972, inclusive
Membership, 1953, undated, inclusive
Membership Committee, 1947-1954, undated, inclusive
Morrissey, James: Correspondence, 1967-1970, inclusive
Morrissey, James: Ibrahim v. Curran et al, 1980, inclusive
Morrissey, James: Papers, circa 1972, inclusive
Morrissey, James: Campaign (I), 1973, inclusive
Morrissey, James: Campaign (II), 1973, inclusive
National Council, 1946, inclusive
National Council, 1947-1948, inclusive
National Council: Meeting Proceedings, 1953, inclusive
National Council: Meeting, 1966, inclusive
National Council: Meeting, 1969, inclusive
National Council: President's Report: Joe Curran, 1947, inclusive
National Council: Subcommittee on Policy Enforcement, 1946, inclusive
National Headquarters: Correspondence, 1947-1971, inclusive
NMU Democracy: Anti "Curran-Wall Machine", 1973, inclusive
National Shipping Rules, 1958, 1978, inclusive
Newsletter, 1965-1973, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1944, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1947, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1948, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles: "How Our Seamen Bounced the Commies" The Saturday Evening Post, 1948, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1949, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles: Strike, 1949-1950, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1950, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1959-1963, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1965-1966, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1967, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1968, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles: Curran Leadership Issues, 1968, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1969, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1970-1971, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1972-1973, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1973-1974, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 1975, inclusive
Newspaper Clippings and Articles, 2005, undated, inclusive
New York Port: Union Book Selling Racket, 1954, inclusive
Pamphlet, Clippings: "Our Visit to the U.S.S.R.", 1960, inclusive
Pamphlets and Publications, 1939-1945, undated, inclusive
Pamphlets and Publications, 1944-1961, inclusive
Panama, 1968, inclusive
Panama Elections: Circular Letters, undated
Pension and Welfare Plans, 1950-1955, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans, 1956-1960, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans, 1972, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans: Retirement Planning Publications, 1958-1962, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans: Clippings and Articles, 1967, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans: Clippings and Articles, 1968, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans: Clippings and Articles, 1969, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans: Memoranda and Minutes, 1961-1966, inclusive
Pension and Welfare Plans: Report: United States Department of Commerce, 1971, inclusive
Perry, William: Pension, 1966-1972, inclusive
The Pilot: Rank and File:, 1953, inclusive
Pilot, Education and Publicity Department: Pamphlets and Publications, 1946-1947, inclusive
Pilot, Education and Publicity Department: Pamphlets and Publications: Spanish Language, 1947, inclusive
Port Light/Port Lite, 1947, 1972-1973, inclusive
Port of New York, 1947-1954, inclusive
Press Clippings, 1971-1972, inclusive
Rules: Shipping, 1950-1972, inclusive
S.S. Arlene, 1966, inclusive
S.S. Eric K. Holzer, 1970-1972, inclusive
S.S. Santa Paula, 1968, inclusive
S.S. Santa Rosa, 1969, inclusive
"Seasons Greetings" Cards, 1943, 1965, inclusive
Smith, Ferdinand C.: Defense Committee, 1948, inclusive
Spanish Language material, 1937-1973, inclusive
United Rank and File Committee, 1950-1967, unrated, inclusive
Union Leadership: Anti-Curran, 1969, inclusive
Union of Office and Professional Workers, 1948-1950, inclusive
United Seamen's Service, 1965, inclusive
Wages, 1964-1969, inclusive
Wages: Disbursements to Officers and Employees, 1967-1972, inclusive
Wirtz v. National Maritime Union, 1968, inclusive
Edward Hendrickson NMU Papers, 1937-1969, inclusive
Conditions Governing Access
Repository permission is required for access - contains health records.
