Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Louis Weinstock was born in Hungary in 1903 and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He settled in New York City and in 1925 joined the Painters' Union, Local 499. Weinstock became one of the leaders of the "Rank and File" movement in District Council 9 of the International Painters and Paperhangers. He fought for Social Security and initiated the drive for unemployment insurance. Weinstock also led the Rank-and-File painters caucus in a fight against corruption in the union, defeating the corrupt leadership of the infamous Lepke-Gurrah racketeer gang and getting elected to the office of Secretary-Treasurer. In 1951, he was charged with conspiring to violate the Smith Act while teaching a trade union class; he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail. Weinstock retired from the union in 1963 and died in 1994 from heart failure.
Historical/Biographical Note
Louis Weinstock was born in Hungary in 1903 and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He settled in New York City and in 1925 joined the Painters' Union, Local 499. Weinstock became one of the leaders of the "Rank and File" movement in District Council 9 of the International Painters and Paperhangers. In 1926 Louis married Rose, also from Hungary and an activist in the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. During the Depression, Weinstock fought for Social Security and initiated the drive for unemployment insurance even though the American Federation of Labor (AFL) leadership was opposed to such policies. Weinstock, with the help of Harry Bridges of the West Coast Longshoremen (ILWU) and Elmer Brown of the Typographers Union (ITU) headed a committee to rally support from 3,000 AFL local unions and ultimately forced the reversal of the position of William Green, then head of the AFL Executive Council who was opposed to such reforms. During the struggle for the unemployed, Weinstock participated in hunger marches and led delegations to city councils, state capitols, and was part of the National Hunger March to Washington, DC in the early 1930s.
Weinstock also led the Rank-and-File painters caucus in a fight against corruption in the union. Weinstock defeated the corrupt leadership of the infamous Lepke-Gurrah racketeer gang and was elected to the office of Secretary-Treasurer, the highest office in District Council 9. He was elected Secretary-Treasurer in 1926 and for 11 years he served as either Secretary-Treasurer or President of District Council 9. Under the renewed democratic leadership the union initiation fee was reduced from $75 to $5 which increased membership, especially amongst minority and immigrant groups, and particularly among African Americans and Puerto Ricans. Additional benefits followed: increases in wages, better safety conditions, and shorter working hours.
Weinstock participated in numerous activities for both social change and for the Rank and File movement in District Council 9. His activism included attending the founding convention of the World Federation of Trade Unions in 1945. He was a delegate to the first World Peace Congress, held in Paris in 1949. He continued to work throughout his life on the important issues facing international trade unions. In 1950 Weinstock became the secretary of a May Day parade planning committee. In 1953 the permit for the parade was canceled because the U.S. Subversive Activities Control Board declared that the group must register under the McCarran Act for operating a "Communist front" organization. At this point in Weinstock's life he was defending himself against three separate federal prosecutions: the May Day charge of perjury for allegedly lying about the name of the organizing committee, a Smith Act charge of teaching anti-American labor history, and a McCarran Act charge branding him as a Communist.
On June 20, 1951 agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed up to take Weinstock to jail. He was charged with conspiring to violate the Smith Act while teaching a course on trade unionism in 1950. The Justice Department argued that some issues being taught could be viewed as advocating a violent overthrow of the U.S. government. In 1953 Weinstock was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail and $6,000 fine. He was released from prison in May 1957 and continued to pay off the $6,000 fine in monthly installments for the next 19 years. After his release from prison in 1957, he was reinstated into the District Council 9 and continued his trade as a house painter until a massive heart attack in 1963 forced him to retire. In the 1960s he served as a business manager for The Worker, a newspaper published by the Communist Party of the United States.
After retirement, Louis and Rose moved to Los Angeles where they remained active by working with the Los Angeles Committee for Trade Union Action and Democracy (TUAD) and also coordinated a Senior Citizens Organization. During the 1980s he was active with senior citizens' organizations and was a delegate to the World Conference on Aging, organized by the United Nations, held in Vienna, Austria. Louis Weinstock died on November 26, 1994 at the age of 91 from heart failure.
Sources:
Gersh, Adolph B., Occupational Hazards and the Painter.New York: New York District Council No. 9, B. of P. D. & P. of A., 1937.Hall, Burton H., editor. Autocracy and Insurgency in Organized Labor.New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1972.Montgomery, John Flournoy. Hungary: The Unwilling Satellite.New York: The Devin-Adair Company, 1947.The Struggle of the New York Painters for Human Conditions.New York: District Council 9, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, No Date.Zausner, Philip. Unvarnished: The Autobiography of a Labor Leader. New York: Brotherhood Publishers, 1941.
Arrangement
Most files are arranged chronologically within each series.
Organized into 7 series:
- I, Personal
- II, Correspondence
- III, Writings
- IV, Subject Files
- V, Resource Materials
- VI, Ancillary Materials
- VII, Photographs
Scope and Content Note
The papers and photographs of Louis Weinstock document his life from the 1920s to his death in 1994. The collection includes personal artifacts as well as an extensive amount of material from his involvement with the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers. The collection is organized into seven separate series: personal, correspondence, writings, subject files, resource materials, ancillary materials, and photographs.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
People
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 Louis Weinstock was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from John Weinstock and Susan Weinstock Gould.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs; WAG 013; 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
Donated by Louis Weinstock's children, Dr. John Weinstock and Susan Gould, in 1995. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 1995.028, 1995.029 and NPA.1998.008.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Photographs from this collection were established as a separate collection in 1998, the Louis Weinstock Photographs (PHOTOS 077). In March 2013 PHOTOS 077 was reincorporated into the Louis Weinstock Papers and Photographs.
Edition of this Guide
Repository
Series I: Personal
Biographical file, undated, inclusive
Scrapbook, 1930-1939, inclusive
Awards and Invitations, 1942-1992, inclusive
Awards (oversize), 1943, inclusive
Rose Weinstock file (wife), 1951-1959, inclusive
Attorneys' Records: Sacher, Abt, Forer, & Rein, 1953-1956, inclusive
Birthday Celebrations, 1973 , 1983 , 1988, inclusive
Financial Records/Receipts, 1986-1991, inclusive
Causes & Issues, 1989-1993, inclusive
Memorials, Obituaries, 1994, inclusive
Series II: Correspondence
Letters from Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, 1961, inclusive
Correspondence, 1932-1947, inclusive
Correspondence, 1950-1969, inclusive
Correspondence, 1970-1989, inclusive
Correspondence, 1990-1993, inclusive
Correspondence (orphan), undated, inclusive
Series III: Writings
Speeches, circa 1943, inclusive
Draft of Memoir, undated, inclusive
Notes for Memoir, 1989, inclusive
Weinstock Memoirs Publishing Committee, 1989-1992, inclusive
Margaret S. Mahler Institute, Grant for Memoir, 1992, inclusive
Series IV: Subject Files
C.P.U.S.A., 1920-1939, inclusive
Communist Party USA: "The Economic Crisis, 1930, inclusive
C.P.U.S. A. articles, 1980, inclusive
C.P.U.S.A., undated, inclusive
Hunger March Materials-news clips, press releases, 1931, inclusive
Hunger March-originals, undated, inclusive
National Hunger March to Washington-Analysis, 1932, inclusive
Cincinnati Rank & File Conference-Proceedings, 1932, inclusive
Unemployed Organizer Newsletters, 1933, inclusive
AF of L Trade Union Committee for Unemployment Insurance and Relief, 1932-1933 , 1935, inclusive
Tom Mooney articles, 1932, inclusive
Workers Alliance of America, 1930-1949, inclusive
American Labor Party, 1944-1946, inclusive
US Dept. of Labor-Painters Vacation Hearing, 1945, inclusive
Painters Vacation Hearing, Local 186 New Haven, Connecticut, 1945, inclusive
May Day materials, 1950-1989, inclusive
Supreme Court Opinions-Smith Act, 1951, inclusive
Smith Act-Defense Committee, 1951-1954, inclusive
Smith Act Support for Weinstock-Correspondence, 1952, inclusive
Smith Act Trial Report, 1952-1953, inclusive
Smith Act-Court Proceedings, 1953, inclusive
Federal Correctional Institution-Danbury, Rand Connecticut, 1955-1957, inclusive
Correspondence in Prison-Danbury, Connecticut, 1955-1957, inclusive
Record of Smith Act Cases, 1956, inclusive
Receipts of Payment to the Dept. of Justice, 1950-1959, inclusive
Smith Act Materials, 1951-1976, inclusive
U.S. Court of Appeals Re: Smith Act, undated, inclusive
Walter- McCarran Law, 1954, inclusive
American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, 1956-1957, inclusive
District Council #9, 1932-1988, inclusive
Examination of DC #9's Accounts, Stuart Chase, CPA, 1925-1927, inclusive
Local Union 499, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, & Paperhangers, 1934, inclusive
New York District Council, 1936 , 1946 , 1947, inclusive
NYS Conference Buffalo, New York, 1938, inclusive
Rank & File" Program, 1938-1940, inclusive
Local Union 848, (Weinstock's Home Local), 1940-1949, inclusive
CIO-PAC, 1944, inclusive
NC-PAC, undated, inclusive
Union Insurance Policies, 1944-1946, inclusive
Lemkin v Weinstock, Rarback v Weinstock, 1945-1946, inclusive
Expulsion from the Painters' Union, 1945-1950 , 1967, inclusive
Local Union 442, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, & Paperhangers, 1946, inclusive
DC #9, Re: Dan French, 1978 , 1990-1991, inclusive
IBPAT Pension Plan, 1988, inclusive
4th District Western Conference of Painters & Tapers, 1988-1991, inclusive
26th General Convention Reporter, 1989, inclusive
News Clips- Corruption DC #9, 1990-1991, inclusive
Painters Local Union 913 v Monroe, etc., 1991, inclusive
William Duva, Int.'l Rep-personal papers, 1992, inclusive
Social Security, Medicare, & Healthcare, 1980-1999, inclusive
Senior Citizens-materials, 1986-1991, inclusive
Health Care Reform, 1990, inclusive
Series V: Resource Materials
Articles and Journals, 1930-1955, inclusive
Corruption Sources, 1930-1991, inclusive
National Committee Minutes, 1932 , 1934, inclusive
Unemployment Sources, 1932-1945, inclusive
Flyers, 1933-1981, inclusive
News and Opinion: NYC Building Trades, 1944 , 1946, inclusive
International Sources, 1945-1990, inclusive
Rank and File Painter, Painters' Rank and File, The Voice etc…, 1946-1970, inclusive
UAW-CIO Report on Racketeering and Gangsteriism, 1949, inclusive
NY Law Journal, Labor Union Expulsion of Communist Party Member, 1950, inclusive
Daily News, 1951, inclusive
10th World Trade Union Congress, Havana, Cuba, 1982, inclusive
Retirement Sources, 1983-1989, inclusive
Joe Hill News, 1989, inclusive
Issues of Boomerang, United Electrical Workers of Chicago, undated, inclusive
Programme of Economic and Social Demands, WFTU-Draft, undated, inclusive
Fact Sheet on Senator McCarthy, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes, undated, inclusive
MyersonNotes, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes, undated, inclusive
Myerson Notes-Cold War, undated, inclusive
Myerson printed material- Research, undated, inclusive
Myerson bibliography, undated, inclusive
Myerson correspondence Re: Abt, 1977-1990, inclusive
ACTWU Archives, 1986 , 1987 , 1990, inclusive
Myerson Contacts for Interviews, 1990, inclusive
Myerson Correspondence with Weinstock, 1991-1992, inclusive
Orphan Documents, 1932-1991, inclusive
Articles/News Clips, Communist Pary, 1929-1990, inclusive
Press Releases, Hunger March & Work Sharing, 1931-1970, inclusive
Clips and Newspaper Articles, Hunger March & Work Sharing, 1931-1970, inclusive
Articles on Painters, News Clips, & Press Releases, 1931-1966, inclusive
Articles on Racketeering, News Clips, & Press Releases, 1937-1947, inclusive
Articles on Hungary-News Clips, 1946-1994, inclusive
News Clips/Articles, 1981-1992, inclusive
News Clips (Orphan), undated, inclusive
Series VI: Ancillary Materials
Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, 80th Congress, 1948, inclusive
Subversive Activities Control Board, 1950-1959, inclusive
Legal Documents, US Court of Appeals, undated, inclusive
Legal Documents, US Supreme Court, 1950-1959, inclusive
Series VII: Photographs, 1920s-1980s, inclusive; 1940-1949, bulk
Scope and Content Note
Three-hundred-twenty-six black and white prints and 59 color prints, including images of these individuals: Warren K. Billings, "Mother" Ella Reeve Bloor, Fidel Castro, Joseph R. Curran, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Hugo Gellert, Gus Hall, Dorothy Healy, Fiorello LaGuardia, William O'Dwyer, Mike Quill, and Paul Robeson. Notable subjects depicted include May Day parades in New York City, and demonstrations protesting against the Korean War. Photographers include Hungarian immigrant photographers John Albok and Gabriel Hackett, Alexander Archer, and one photograph credited to A.H. Greene of the Film and Photo League.
1920s?, circa 1920-1930, inclusive
1930s?, circa 1930-1940, inclusive
1940s - Restaurant souvenir photographs, circa 1940-1950, inclusive
1940s?, circa 1940-1950, inclusive
1950s?, circa 1950-1960, inclusive
1960s?, circa 1960-1970, inclusive
1970s?, circa 1970-1980, inclusive
1980s?, circa 1980-1990, inclusive
Congress Syndical Mondial, Berlin, 1986, inclusive
1990s?, circa 1990-1994, inclusive
Reference photocopies of photographs of Louis and Rose Weinstock in passports and labor union membership books, 1928-1980, inclusive
Photocopies of unidentified photographs (possibly family, friends, and political colleagues), undated
Photograph album (disassembled) of the Fot, Hungary orphanage, circa 1960-1970, inclusive
General
This item was presented to Louis Weinstock in memory of his visit to the orphanage on November 4, 1966. Captions are handwritten in Hungarian. Nineteen pages long (with photographs on both sides of the pages), it is arranged in original page order (indicated by an assigned page number written in pencil in square brackets on both sides of the pages). The album also includes a dedicatory note that accompanied the album, and a sample page of the original interleaving papers in the album has been retained.