Cornell University Library Digital Collections

Policy for District Financing

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Title:
Policy for District Financing
Collection:
International Workers’ Order (IWO) and Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO)
Set:
Black Jewish Relations
Conferences, Conventions, Meetings
Popular Front Years
Creator:
The Organization Committee, National Organization Department
Date:
1938-1939
Site:
New York, New York, United States
Address (Creator):
80 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York
Identifier:
5276b49f16_13
Organization:
International Workers Order
Transcription:
5 copies; 1 Shipka; 1 Bedacht; Rest Benjamin's
Language:
English
Work Type:
organization files
reports
drafts (documents)
immigrants
proposals
historical figures
political ideologies and attitudes
communism
Subject:
Organizational History of IWO/JPFO
Popular Front
IWO JPFO- Reports, Meetings, and Conferences
Fraternal Orders- Lodges, Activities
Youth
Black Jewish Relations
National Sections
Membership- Benefits, Insurance, Organizing
Americanization
Description:
6 pages. Report is an internal document with heavy markups and edits concerning lodges in 1938-39 and improving them organizationally and politically. Discusses National office subsidies of State organizations with clear goal of having State and City organizations (committees) be economically self-sufficient. Emphasis is on a reorganization turning District (State) workers into Field Organizers. Details state and city organizations and numbers of members. Details dollar amounts. Can see efforts put into North East cities, Youth division, Education Department, Polish and "Negro" organizing. Contains redacted list of organizers' names such as Irving Stein (Chicago). Proposes that the Organization Department be in charge of all other Departments. Apparently written in anticipation of the 1940 Convention and of new by-laws in January. May be connected to other proposals from this period to organize more outside of New York and focus on English speaking lodges as opposed to National Sections.
Note:
One of a series of documents proposing a reorganization
Note:
The Jewish People’s Fraternal Order was the largest ‘national’ section of the International Workers Order (IWO) which focused on cultural awareness and celebration, mutual support especially in health insurance coverage, and anti-fascist activities. The IWO also gave particular emphasis to supporting the rights and interests of African Americans. Documents include language and representations which comprise the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that Cornell University or its staff endorse or approve of negative representations or stereotypes presented.
Cite As:
International Workers Order (IWO) Records #5276. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University
Archival Collection:
International Workers Order (IWO) Records, 1915-2002 (KCL05276)
Box:
49
Folder:
16
Rights:
The copyright status and copyright owners of most of the images in the International Workers Order (IWO) Records Collection (Kheel Center #5276) are unknown. This material was digitized from physical holdings by Cornell University Library in 2016, with funding from an Arts and Sciences Grant to Jonathan Boyarin. Documents include language and representations which comprise the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that Cornell University or its staff endorse or approve of negative representations or stereotypes presented. Cornell is providing access to the materials as a digital aggregate under an assertion of fair use for non-commercial educational use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Cornell would like to learn more about items in the collection and to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information as to rights holders. Please contact the Kheel Center at kheel_center@cornell.edu

About the collection

This bilingual project conserves, digitizes, and curates a portion of Cornell's International Workers Order (IWO) archives and most especially those of its Jewish division, known as the Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO). The IWO was founded in 1930 as an immigrant fraternal order that provided high-quality, low-cost health and burial insurance and other benefits for members. The origins of the IWO / JPFO arise from a decade of splits (1920-1930) concerning the U.S.S.R., the Bolshevik Revolution and Communism that consumed the Jewish Federation of Socialists and the Arbeter Ring (Workmens' Circle) groups associated with Eugene V. Debs' Socialist Party. While the vast majority of the IWO's members--200,000 at its peak right after World War II--did not belong to the Communist Party of the United States of America, the IWO's politics and leadership were largely aligned with those of the Party. The IWO was legally disbanded in 1953 due to the Cold War "Red Scare." This closure followed on a famous and unprecedented court case: its insurance funds and records were seized by New York State's Insurance Department. The presence of a goodly portion of the IWO's archives in the Kheel Center's 5276 Catherwood Library collection at Cornell's Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) School is a direct result of that seizure.