John Francis O'Donnell Papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
John Francis O'Donnell (1907-1993) was a New York City labor lawyer for 55 years. Over the course of his career, O'Donnell achieved many victories for transit and postal workers. The bulk of O'Donnell's papers relate to his work as general counsel for the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), though his work with the American Postal Workers Union and various other unions also comprises a significant portion of the collection. O'Donnell's daughter, Eileen Ginn, used his papers when researching for her biography on O'Donnell, and some of her correspondence and research files, including a number of oral histories she conducted, are present in the collection.
Historical/Biographical Note
John Francis O'Donnell (1907-1993) was a New York City lawyer who achieved many victories for labor unions over the span of his 55-year career, particularly for striking transit and postal workers. Born in Donegal, Ireland, O'Donnell was a supporter of the Irish Republican Army. Around age 20, British authorities caught O'Donnell carrying a pistol. He moved to New York to avoid getting into any further trouble with the British government.
O'Donnell worked various odd jobs after moving to New York, including elevator operator, grocery store clerk, and writer of newspaper editorials for The Irish Echo. He attended night classes at Fordham University, earning his law degree in 1937. O'Donnell formed a law partnership with Asher Schwartz in 1948 and later formed an affiliated law firm in Washington specializing in labor law and union clients.
In the 1930s, O'Donnell became an aide and friend to City Councilman Michael J. Quill, who would go on to found and lead the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU). O'Donnell began serving as the TWU's general counsel in 1948, a role he held until his death. He played a key role in the 1980 New York City transit strike, helping to secure pay increases for bus and subway workers.
In addition to his work with the TWU, O'Donnell was the chief lawyer for the American Postal Workers Union. In this role, he sought to protect postal workers' retirement benefits and attacked the use of part-time workers, as workers feared part-time work would threaten full-time positions.
O'Donnell's daughter, Eileen Ginn, wrote a biography of O'Donnell, A Man from Bruckless, published in 2010.
Arrangement
Although materials in Boxes 1-5 have not been arranged intellectually by an archivist, Tamiment staff members may have altered the original physical arrangement of these boxes.
Photographs in Box 6 are arranged chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains legal documents, correspondence and memoranda, notes, speeches, photographs, and publications chronicling the life and work of John Francis O'Donnell. The bulk of the materials relate to O'Donnell's work as general counsel for the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), though his work with the American Postal Workers Union also comprises a significant portion of the collection. Additionally, there is material on O'Donnell's legal work with various other unions, as well as his involvement with the Irish Republicanism movement.
O'Donnell's daughter, Eileen Ginn, used these papers in the research for her biography of O'Donnell, and some of her correspondence and research files are present in the collection. She conducted a series of oral history interviews with her father and those who knew him, and her recordings and transcripts are included in the collection.
Subjects
Organizations
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 John Francis O'Donnell and Eileen Ginn, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; John Francis O'Donnell Papers; WAG 170; Box number; Folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Some materials may have been removed from the Transport Workers Union of America Records (WAG 235) by Tamiment staff in 1985 to form the John Francis O'Donnell Papers (WAG 170). The accession number 1985.015 is associated with these materials.
Eileen Ginn, John O'Donnell's daughter, made an additional donation of materials in 2011. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 2011.081 and 2011.105.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. 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, (212) 998-2630 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Separated Materials
Over a dozen volumes of the Transport Workers Union of America's convention proceedings and reports from the 2011 donation were separated for library cataloging, along with four volumes of the periodical TWU Express and four Irish Republican pamphlets.
Other Finding Aids
A more detailed inventory of the contents of the collection is available at the Tamiment Library. A partial inventory of Eileen Ginn's oral history interviews is also available at the Tamiment Library.
About this Guide
Processing Information
In 2011, a Tamiment staff member did some initial rough arrangement and description of the collection. Some of the folder titles and annotations on the folders were provided by this staff member.
Photographs separated from this collection at the time of accessioning were established as a separate collection, the John Francis O'Donnell Photographs (PHOTOS 285). In 2014, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the John Francis O'Donnell Papers (WAG 170).
Repository
View Inventory
Box 1, circa 1930-1969, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
This box primarily consists of legal documents from a variety of O'Donnell's labor cases and other legal matters, primarily concerning the Irish community, that he was involved with during the 1930s and early 1940s, such as the consolidation of the Donegal Association, Inc. The box also contains minutes from 1966 and 1967 meetings of the Columbia University Seminar on Labor, which O'Donnell presided over as chair.
Box 2, 1921-2000, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
About half of the materials in this box are correspondence and legal documents related to O'Donnell's work on behalf of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) during the 1970s through the 1990s, including a few folders pertaining to specific locals. His work with several other unions is also documented, though to a much lesser extent.
The other half of the box contains information on O'Donnell's family history and biographical information on O'Donnell's early life and education, compiled by Eileen Ginn for her biography of O'Donnell. Ginn's correspondence and notes written in the course of conducting her research are also included. O'Donnell gave numerous speeches, often in the form of radio broadcasts, on Irish Republicanism and other topics, and transcripts and notes he made in preparation for his speeches are also present.
Box 3, 1936-1999, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
This box mainly pertains to O'Donnell's legal advocacy for the TWU and the American Postal Workers Union in the 1980s and 1990s. The TWU materials relate mostly to specific locals and the TWU's collective bargaining agreement with the New York City Transit Authority and the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority. TWU constitutions from the 1940s to 1980s are also present. Additionally, there is a small amount of material related to the Utility Workers Union of America and the Communications Workers of America, as well as court transcripts of the 1951 open hearings before the Mayor's Special Transit Committee on the transition to a forty-hour work week.
A 1936 letter from Irish Republican Army leader George Gilmore to O'Donnell, along with a typed transcription (likely created by Ginn), is also included.
Box 4, circa 1960-1999, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
This box contains O'Donnell's copies of the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority's "Exhibits for Contract Negotiations" from 1967, 1969, and 1976; the New York City Transit Authority's "Exhibits for Contract Negotiations" from 1959, 1961, 1963, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1978, and 1980; and the New York City Transit Authority's "Economic Fact Book" from 1967 and 1969. Also included in this box are countless other copies of various reports, collective bargaining agreements, and constitutions and by-laws concerning or produced by the American Postal Workers Union, the Utility Workers Union of America, and other unions.
Box 5, circa 1990-2006, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
This box contains recordings of oral histories that Eileen Ginn conducted with O'Donnell and those who knew him as part of her research for her biography of O'Donnell. The recordings are on DVDs, CDs, and cassette and microcassette tapes. Transcripts of some of the interviews are also included.
Box 6, circa 1940-1999, inclusive
Scope and Content Note
This box contains photographs of O'Donnell, mainly giving speeches or making presentations on behalf of the TWU.
