Mae and Harry Millstone Papers
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Mae Kaplan Millstone (1913-2009) was a newspaper section editor, union organizer, and activist for the labor movement and women's issues. Harry Millstone (1907-1999) was a union organizer, instructor, and activist for the labor movement. Mae and Harry met in Detroit while organizing with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and married in 1938. The Mae and Harry Millstone Papers contain material documenting their work and support for labor unions and the labor movement, both separately and together. Of note in this collection is a digital recording of the 2005 video interviews with Mae describing her life-long work and support for the labor movement, as well as her activism, dating from the 1930s to the 2000s. This collection also contains appointment books, as well as print material, training course manuals, and newsletters related to labor organizing. A scrapbook from the 1960s and subject files pertaining to women's issues document Mae's editorial work for the women's section of The Gazette and Daily in York, Pennsylvania. Family papers include travel diaries, ephemera, correspondence, and audio recordings and lyric sheets for labor movement-related songs.
Biographical Note
Mae Kaplan Millstone (1913-2009) graduated with a Master's degree in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University in 1934, and worked during the mid-1930s for the National Industrial Recovery Administration as a Special Investigator through the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. She moved to Detroit in 1936 where she met Harry Millstone (1907-1999), who was a unionizer for the CIO at the time. They married in 1938. In 1941 they moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania and Mae left the workforce to raise their two children, but continued to volunteer in consumer and voter registration activities. The family moved to York, Pennsylvania in 1961, where Mae became the editor of the women's section for The Gazette and Daily newspaper. She also stayed active in her community by co-founding the group York Action for Peace, and continued her support of the labor movement. She was also active in the York Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and volunteered for Planned Parenthood. Harry was employed by Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America for many years as a union organizer and retired in 1973. He continued to educate others, teaching various courses on union organizing at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies during the 1980s. In 1999 he received the Pillar of Labor from the Tamiment Library and Wagner Labor Archives.
Arrangement
Organized chronologically within three series:
Series I. Mae Kaplan Millstone
Series II. Harry Millstone
Series III. Family
Scope and Contents
The Mae and Harry Millstone Papers (dated 1910-2009) consist of materials created and collected by Mae and Harry Millstone over the course of their lives as they worked and advocated for labor unions and workers' rights. This collection also includes files related to specific jobs held by Mae and Harry, as well as material representing them as a family and their combined interests. Files in this collection document Mae's work in the 1930s as a government investigator of the working conditions of women and children workers, as well as her involvement with the U.S. Office of Price Administration Labor Advisory Committee during World War II. This collection also includes material accumulated by Harry during his time with the Army Service Forces for the Quartermaster at Camp Lee in the 1940s. Mae's later work in the 1960s and 1970s as a women's section editor for the York, Pennsylvania The Gazette and Daily is documented in a scrapbook and subject files. Of particular note in this collection are the digital recordings of Mae's video interviews with her son, in which she describes her work and activism thoughout her life. This collection also contains Mae's appointment books with daily entries dating from the late 1950s to the 2000s. Harry's work with Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America and other organizations is well documented in this collection through his promotional print material and ephemera. Harry's instructor course manuals for his classes on union organizing are also in this collection dating from the 1980s. The family material includes trip diaries, correspondence, and ephemera, as well as audio recordings and print lyrics of labor movement and peace movement-related songs.
Subjects
Organizations
People
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Mae and Harry Millstone were transferred to New York University in 2009 by David Millstone. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives. Please contact the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Mae and Harry Millstone Papers; WAG 303; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by David Millstone, 2009. The accession number associated with this gift is 2009.077.
Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures
Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. 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.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
A majority of the 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 Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives [special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596] with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Appraisal
The following audio and video carriers with commercial recordings were separated from the collection: "Tom Juravich--Rising Again"; "Michael Parenti-the US War on Yugoslavia"; "Noam Chomsky - Kosovo and Iraq"; "US Holocaust Memorial Museum: Witnesses to the Holocaust";"Uprising of 1934"; and "1983 pay equity."
About this Guide
Processing Information
Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Original caption information, when available, was transcribed onto the new folders and placed in brackets. Oversized material was placed in appropriate housing. Analog audio and audiovisual materials were assigned unique numbers, labeled, and physically grouped together into a new container.
4 carriers were forensically imaged. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the content.
Sponsor Note
Repository
Series I. Mae Kaplan Millstone, 1920s-2009, inclusive
Extent
Extent
Extent
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series contains material related to the work and activism of Mae Kaplan Millstone. Early files include a small amount of school papers from the 1920s and 1930s. Reports, charts, and notes in this series document her work in the mid-1930s as an investigator for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Bureau of Women and Children regarding work environments and compliance. Mae's engagement calendars include daily entries of her life and work dating from 1959 to 2005. This series also includes Russian and Chinese language class papers, exercises, and audio recordings. Mae's scrapbook in this series contains women's sections of the York, Pennsylvania The Gazette and Daily from 1962, which was early in her tenure as editor. The subject files in this series were accumulated by Mae during the 1970s, either for use as part of her editing work or as personal reference files. These files reflect issues Mae perceived as affecting and impacting women, including affirmative action, contraception, the Equal Rights Amendement (ERA), feminism, health, religion, sports, and gender descrimination in the workplace. Her files include material on issues that not only affected her directly, but also affected women of color, and women living and working in countries outside the United States including China, Central America, South America, and Japan. These files typically contain press clippings, booklets, and brochures, and include a 1971 copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves. Mae's involvement in the national and York Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) is illustrated through her collection of organizational publications, photographs, event notices, and print material dating from the 1970s to 1980s. An event program and planning notes for a 1998 banquet in her honor hosted by the York Chapter of NOW is also in this series. Other honors and awards include a 1947 War Service Award for her work serving on the U.S. Office of Price Administration Labor Advisory Committee; and a parade program for her role as Grand Marshall for the 2005 York Labor Day Parade. Of particular note in this series is a digital recording of a 6.5 hour long 2005 video interview conducted by her son, David Millstone, in which Mae reflects on her personal life, work, and life-long activism in support of women's issues, world peace, and the labor movement.
Processing Information
Select creator-supplied titles containing sexist language were identified in this series, but have been retained to convey important contextual information regarding time and place in which the documents and titles were created.
Early School Class Papers, 1920s-1930s, inclusive
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Bureau of Women and Children – Home-Work Compliance Investigations with Charts, Notes, Reports, Correspondence, 1935-1937, inclusive
Job Searches -- Correspondence, References, 1935-1945, inclusive
Publications -- International Press Correspondence, 1935-1937, inclusive
Publications -- IPA News Bulletin, 1936, inclusive
Publications -- In Fact, 1944, inclusive
Publications -- The Minority of One, 1964, inclusive
Publications -- I. F. Stone's Bi-Weekly, 1970-1971, inclusive
Publications -- Pennsylvania Commission for Women News, 1976-1977, inclusive
Publications -- Womenews and New Directions for Women, 1977-1980, inclusive
Publications -- The Defense Monitor, 2000-2003, inclusive
Correspondence, 1945, 1955, inclusive
Correspondence, 2002-2003, inclusive
War Service Award, Photograph, and Letter -- for Serving on the U.S. Office of Price Administration Labor Advisory Committee, 1947
Booklet -- The Everyday Tensions in a Woman's Life, 1956
Russian Language Classes -- Exercises and Quizzes, 1958-1960, inclusive
Engagement Calendars, 1959, 1962, inclusive
Engagement Calendars, 1965-1966, inclusive
Engagement Calendars, 1967, 1969, inclusive
Engagement Calendars, 1971-1984, inclusive
Engagement Calendars, 1985-2000, inclusive
Engagement Calendars, 2001-2005, inclusive
York Action for Peace -- Statement of Purpose, 1962
Scrapbook with Women's Sections from the York, Pennsylvania The Gazette and Daily, 1962
Subject Files -- [Affirmative Action / Legal Aspects], 1976-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Bibliographies] Re: Working Women, 1976-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Black Feminists], 1971-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Central / South American] Women's Issues, 1974-1977, inclusive
Subject Files -- [China] Women's Issues, 1973-1975, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Contraception / Abortion], 1968-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Court Decisions] Re: Working Women and Discrimination, 1973-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Courtship, Marriage, and Family], 1973-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Declining Birth Rate], 1977
Subject Files -- [Education - Athletics], 1973, 1977, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex], 1973-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)], 1970-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Equal Rights Struggles], 1976-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Famous Women], 1971-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Federal Status] -- Equal Employment, 1964-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Feminism], 1972-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [He and She], 1971-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Health Problems], 1976-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- Department of [Health, Education, Welfare (H.E.W.) Guidelines / Rulings], 1976
Subject Files -- [Homemaking], 1976-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Homosexuality], 1976-1977, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Income], 1976-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Industrialized Countries] -- Women Working, 1974-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [International -- United Nations Women's Year, Other], 1974-1976, inclusive
Subject Files -- [International] -- Women's Issues, 1975-1977, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Japan, Korea] -- Women's Issues, 1975-1977, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Labor Department] -- Working Women, 1973-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Labor Struggle] -- Women, 1968-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Mental Health / Alcoholism], 1973-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Motherhood], 1976
Subject Files -- [Organizations] -- Women's, 1972-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Paid Employment] -- Women, 1972-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Psychology -- Consciousness Raising], 1975-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Publications] -- Women's Issues, 1974-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Role of Women], 1973-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Sex Stereotyping], 1974-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- Sexual [Discrimination], 1970-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Sexuality], 1972-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Socialist / People's Democracies], 1974-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Sociology -- Changing Lifestyles], 1973-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Sex Stereotyping in Schools], 1975-1976, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Third World Undeveloped Countries], 1973-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Violence Against Women, Abused Wife, Rape], 1974-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Women and Crime], 1973-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Women and Religion], 1973-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Women in Literature], 1973-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Women in Politics], 1973-1979, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Women in Sports], 1974-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Women in in the Arts], 1974-1978, inclusive
Subject Files -- [Women's Studies], 1973-1978, inclusive
Chinese Language Classes -- Written Lesson Exercises, 1972
Chinese Language Classes -- Verbal Lesson and Mae Practice, 1972
National Organization for Women (NOW) -- York Chapter / Women's Action York (WAY) -- Clippings, Event Poster, Promotional Material, Photograph, Publications, and Program and Notes for Banquet Honoring Mae, 1972-1978, 1998, inclusive
National Organization for Women (NOW) -- Pennsylvania -- Promotional Material, Publications, 1973-1977, 1980, inclusive
National Organization for Women (NOW) --National -- Promotional Material, Press Releases, Publications, 1975-1979, inclusive
Bibliographic Notes and Research on Women in Labor, 1980s, inclusive
Mae Letter Addressed to Senators Regarding Abortion Rights, 1982
Certificate of Appreciation -- AFL-CIO Community Services, 2003
Grand Marshall of the York Labor Day Parade -- Mae Program and Photograph, 2005
Mae Oral History Interview Conducted by Son David Millstone -- Video Recording, 2005
Digital materials
Mae Oral History Interview Conducted by Son David Millstone -- Descriptions of Interview Topics for Each DVD, 2005
Mae Oral History Interview Conducted by Son David Millstone -- VHS Copies, 2005
Memorial Program and Obituary -- Mae, 2009
Photographs -- Mae, undated, inclusive
Notes and Draft of Article on Women in Thailand, undated, inclusive
Ephemera -- Bumper stickers, Postcards, Print Items for Various World Peace and Labor Organizations, undated, inclusive
Series II. Harry Millstone, 1942-1987, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series contains material accumulated by Harry during his service in World War II and his career as a labor organizer and instructor. His early files date from the mid-1940s, and document his time serving in the Army Service Forces at Camp Lee. These files include camp fact sheets, orientation newsletters, training manuals, and bulletins. Harry also wrote articles and presentations related to labor unions and organizing in the late 1950s-early 1960s including an analysis of the Playtex organizing drive and a radio script of a panel discussion he hosted for Wise Potato Chips. A large portion of this series is union organizing-focused fliers, bulletins, and handouts from the 1960s and early 1970s that were distributed by Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America. Some of this print material focused on specific organizing committees for companies including Heinz, Playtex, and Ore-Ida. A plaque for his 1973 retirement and cufflinks and tie clip from Amalgamated are also in this series. Harry also taught instructional courses in the 1980s at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, and this series contains course manuals for topics including white collar organizing, collective bargaining, and advanced organizing techniques.
Army Service Forces at Camp Lee -- Training Packets, Fact Sheets, Booklets, 1942-1945, inclusive
U.S. Department of Labor -- Labor Management Brochures and Booklets, 1959-1963, inclusive
Writings and Speeches -- Automation Speech -- Support Documents, Research, Script, and Related, 1959-1965, inclusive
Writings and Speeches -- A Report on the Virginia Watermen of the Chesapeake Bay, 1967-08-08
Writings and Speeches -- Articles on Mexico Industry, 1967
Writings and Speeches -- Unknown Typescript of Fiction Story About Factory Worker in Macon, Missouri, undated, inclusive
Writings and Speeches -- "The Playtex Organizing Drive, An Analysis", undated, inclusive
Writings and Speeches -- Wise Potato Chip Radio Interview -- Script with Harry Interview, undated, inclusive
Amalgamated -- Food Employees Union -- Print Material, 1960s, inclusive
Amalgamated -- General Print Material, 1960s, inclusive
Amalgamated -- Draper Worker Organizing Committee -- Print Material, 1962, undated, inclusive
Amalgamated -- Leas and McVitty Employee Organizing Committee -- Print Material, 1965
Amalgamated -- Ore-Ida Workers Organizing Committee -- Print Material, Radio Script, 1965-1966, inclusive
Amalgamated -- Allied Kid Workers Organizing Committee -- Print Material, 1966, undated, inclusive
Amalgamated -- Letter and Agreement with General Organizers Association, 1967
Amalgamated -- Dakota City IBP Workers Organizing Committee -- Print Material, 1969
Amalgamated -- Playtex Workers Organizing Committee -- Print Material, Notes, 1972
Amalgamated -- Heinz Office and Technical Organizing Committee -- Print Material, 1972
Amalgamated -- Plaques -- "Creed of the Butcher Workman" and Harry's Retirement Proclamation, 1973
Amalgamated -- Pair of Cufflinks and Tie Clip, undated, inclusive
AFL-CIO Department of Organization -- Handbills and Leaflets, 1960s, undated, inclusive
AFL-CIO Department of Organization -- Quality Circles: An Organizing Manual, circa 1982, inclusive
United Steel Workers of America and Staffman's Organizing Committee -- Agreement, Letters, Print Material, 1968-1972, inclusive
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) AFL-CIO -- Organizing Leaflets, Convention Organizing Report, New Member Kits, 1971-1984, undated, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Organizing and the Law, Part II -- Course Manual, Notes, 1975-1976, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Planning Calendar, 1977-1979, inclusive
Educational Programs -- ACTWU Organizing Institute -- Course Manual, 1978-12-03-1978-12-08, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Support Material on Biltmore Plaza Union Organizing Committee for Unknown Course, 1979
Educational Programs -- Collective Bargaining: Negotiating Techniques -- Course Manual, 1979-01-28-1979-02-02, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Advanced Organizing -- Course Manual and Instructional Slides, 1980s, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Understanding the Building Trades -- Learning Guide, August 1981
Educational Programs -- White Collar Organizing -- Course Guide, 1982-11-07-1982-11-12, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Organizing II -- Course Guide, 1983-10-02-1983-10-07, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Advanced Organizing Techniques -- Course Guide, 1984-03-05-1984-03-15, inclusive
Educational Programs -- International Chemical Workers Organizing Seminar -- Course Guide, 1984-02-21-1984-02-24, inclusive
Educational Programs -- International Chemical Workers Organizing Seminar -- Course Guide, 1987-04-20-1987-04-24, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Graphic Communications International Union Leadership Seminar -- Course Guide, 1985-03-24-1985-03-29, inclusive
Educational Programs -- George Meany Center for Labor Studies -- Course Catalog, 1986-1987, inclusive
Educational Programs -- "Human Relations and Job Motivation" Paper -- Course Research, undated, inclusive
Educational Programs -- Instruction Exercises -- Trivia Questions and Answers, undated, inclusive
Publications -- RUB Sheet and S.T.I.R. Report -- Issues and Indexes, undated, inclusive
AFL-CIO Food and Beverage Trades Department -- Informational Booklets, Manuals, 1981
AFL-CIO Food and Beverage Trades Department -- Organizing the 80s, Reducing Delay -- Informational Manual, circa 1981, inclusive
International Chemical Workers Union -- 2 Writing Pens, undated, inclusive
Series III. Family, 1910-2008, inclusive
Extent
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series contains material related to Mae and Harry's shared interests as a couple and a family. A scrapbook in this series contains clippings, photographs, and ephemera related to Mae and Harry's accomplishments, the Union 211 softball team, City League Teams in Williamsport, PA, and various local and national union rallies and parades. The majority of the material dates from the early 1940s through the 1960s. Travel-related diaries, loose notes, and a collection of hotel stationary date from the 1970s to early 1980s with destinations which include Morocco, the Philippines, Italy, England, Quebec, and Greece. In this series is a small collection of correspondence, as well as assembled files containing memorial service information and obituaries for friends and fellow labor movement supporters. Labor movement-themed song recordings and printed lyrics are in this series, and also a play program and sound recording for Needles and Pins.
