Marc Kagan Research Collection on the Transit Workers Union
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Creator
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Abstract
Marc Kagan is a union activist and educator who was a member and leader of the Transport Union Workers (TWU) Local 100 from 1984 through 2010. Kagan's union involvement increased during the 1990s, and he joined the New Directions caucus challenging the leadership of the TWU. In 2000, New Directions leader Roger Toussaint was elected union president, and Kagan became his chief of staff. In 2010, Kagan left the union over a dispute concerning the 2002 contract he helped negotiate. This collection documents the general operations of the TWU during the late 1990s and early 2000s, as well as Kagan's personal membership in and relationship with the organization as both a union member and its chief of staff. The majority of materials document the negotiations surrounding the 2002 union contract including grievances and implementation issues, as well as concerns about sick leave, health benefits, safety issues, apprenticeship implementation, and child care support. The files are both paper and electronic, though the bulk of the records are paper.
Biographical Note
Marc Kagan is a union activist and educator who was a member and leader of the Transport Union Workers (TWU) Local 100 from 1984 through 2010. After graduating from Yale University, Kagan took a job as a mechanic and forklift operator at the 207th Street subway yard in Upper Manhattan. Kagan's union involvement grew during the 1990s, and he joined the New Directions caucus that challenged the leadership of the TWU. In 2000, New Directions leader Roger Toussaint was elected union president, and Kagan became his chief of staff. In 2010, Kagan left the union over a dispute concerning the 2002 contract he helped negotiate and became a history teacher at the Bronx High School of Science. He is the older brother of Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the general operations of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) during the late 1990s and early 2000s, as well as Kagan's personal membership in and relationship with the organization as both a union member and its chief of staff. Materials include memoranda, correspondence, oral histories, and newspaper clippings concerning negotiations about the 2002 union contract including grievances and implementation issues, as well as concerns about sick leave, health benefits, safety issues, apprenticeship implementation, and child care support. The electronic oral histories were conducted by Kagan and feature current and former TWU members on the subject of the New Directions opposition caucus and a 2005 TWU strike. The files are both paper and electronic, though the bulk of the records are paper.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Marc Kagan, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Marc Kagan Research Collection on the Transit Workers Union; TAM.679; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Marc Kagan in 2015. The accession number associated with this gift is 2015.057. Kagan donated an accretion of electronic oral history interview recordings in January 2023; the accession number associated with this gift is 2023.027.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. Born-digital materials have not been transferred and may not be available to researchers. Researchers may request access copies. To request that material be transferred, or if you are unsure if material has been transferred, 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
At the time of accessioning, materials were rehoused in acid-free boxes and some materials were rehoused in archival folders when the original folders showed significant damage. The order of the materials as maintained by the donor has been retained, and no arrangement took place. Folder titles are original to the donor, and have been transcribed directly into the inventory. Digital oral history interviews were viewed using a write-blocker, but have not been forensically imaged and preservation access derivates have not been generated.
In April 2023, an accretion of electronic oral history interview recordings was transferred from a hard drive to mounted network storage, and described. The collection was also renamed the Marc Kagan Research Collection on the Transit Workers Union to better reflect its content.
