New York Hard Hat News Records
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Abstract
The New York Hard Hat News was a quarterly newspaper primarily for construction workers in the New York metropolitan area, published between 1989-1993 and 1997-2002. The newsletter covered topics of concern to workers in the building trades, with an emphasis on efforts to increase union democracy, job site safety, and combat corruption in labor unions and in the construction industry. The New York Hard Hat News Records date between 1958 and 2002, with the bulk of the material created between 1988 and 2002. The collection contains paper and born-digital materials created and assembled by editors Jane LaTour and Guy Robinson in order to prepare and print the newsletter, including clippings, research files, correspondence, drafts, and administrative files.
Historical Note
The New York Hard Hat News was a quarterly newspaper primarily for construction workers in the New York metropolitan area, published between 1989-1993 and 1997-2002. The newsletter covered topics of concern to workers in the building trades, with an emphasis on efforts to increase union democracy, job site safety, and combat corruption in labor unions and in the construction industry. The New York Hard Hat News was started in 1989 by Dan Gilroy, with Guy Robinson taking over as editor in 1992. Both Gilroy and Robinson were members of the Union Brotherhood of Carpenters Local Union 608 in New York City. The newsletter was revived in 1997 by Robinson and Jane LaTour. LaTour is a journalist and labor activist in New York City.
Arrangement
The paper materials in this collection have not been arranged by an archivist, except where it was necessary to rehouse oversize material into appropriately sized housing. The remaining paper materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor. Related born-digital material and paper material have been arranged together intellectually.
Scope and Contents
The New York Hard Hat News Records document the work of editors Jane LaTour and Guy Robinson to publish the newsletter. The collection contains editorial files, clippings, research files, correspondence, drafts, issues of the New York Hard Hat News, and administrative files. The collection dates between 1941 and 2002, with the bulk of the material created between 1993 and 2002. Materials include clippings from mainstream and labor periodicals, paper and born-digital drafts and publication ready articles written for the New York Hard Hat News, correspondence between the editors and writers, research materials for articles, and general research files maintained by Robinson. The editorial files include material gathered and created for individual issues, notebooks containing research and article material, and editorial policies. Robinson's research files contain information on general labor issues in New York City and nationwide, specific trades, labor unions, and corruption in labor unions and the construction industry. Contributor files are listed by contributor name and contain correspondence and drafts of articles. The collection also includes grant applications, meeting agenda and minutes, financial documents, and scanned images used in the newsletter.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by New York Hard Hat News were transferred to New York University in 2002 by Jane Latour and Guy Robinson. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu, (212) 998-2630.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; New York Hard Hat News Records; WAG 212; box number; folder number; or electronic record identifier; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Jane LaTour and Guy Robinson, 2002. The accession number associated with this gift is 2002.036.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.
Appraisal
Duplicate clippings and publications were deaccessioned.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Materials were rehoused in acid-free folders when the original housing was inappropriate. Oversize materials were rehoused in larger folders. The original inventory for the collection was edited to improve access to the collection.
18 floppy disks were forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. New York University Libraries follows professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.
