Guide to the Retail Clerks Union Local 770 Scrapbook Collection
Special Collections & Archives
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8326
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Retail Clerks Union Local 770 Scrapbook Collection
Creator:
Retail Clerks International Union. Local 770 (Los Angeles,
Calif.)
Identifier/Call Number: URB.RCU
Extent:
12.18 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1942-1959
Abstract: The Retail Clerks International Union
(RCIU) Local 770 works to secure rights, negotiate wages, and resolve contract disputes for
California-based retail employees. Joseph T. DeSilva helped form the RCIU and led Local 770
as executive secretary for over 35 years. DeSilva realized the RCIU's political potential,
leveraging strikes and shrewd negotiation tactics for local union members. Local 770
supported women's rights, fair pay for African Americans and other minorities, labor
legislation, and worked to address concerns of the surrounding community. The Retail Clerks
Union, Local 770 Scrapbook Collection documents the union's organizational activities,
including union strikes, labor disputes, and worker-oriented political activity. The
collection consists of scrapbooks containing national and local newspaper clippings,
correspondence, pamphlets, magazines, photographs, campaign flyers, conference
documentation, and other materials. Scrapbooks roughly cover the years 1942 to
1959.
Language of Material: English
Historical Note:
The Retail Clerks International Union (RCIU) Local 770 worked to secure rights, negotiate
wages, and resolve contract disputes for California-based retail employees. The union was
initially conceived as the Retail Clerks National Protective Union in the late 1890s, but
eventually rebranded itself as the Retail Clerks International Association, and later, the
RCIU. Joseph T. DeSilva helped form the RCIU and led Local 770 as executive secretary for
over 35 years. DeSilva realized the RCIU's political potential, leveraging strikes and
shrewd negotiation tactics for local union members. Local 770 supported women's rights, fair
pay for African Americans and other minorities, labor legislation, and worked to address
concerns of the surrounding community.
The RCIU was affiliated with The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations (AFL–CIO) for much of its organizational tenure. As a result of this
affiliation, it gained greater collective bargaining power and political clout. Today, the
union remains active as the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) following a series of
mergers between The United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA) and The Amalgamated Meat
Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America (AMC & BW of NA) in 1979. In 2005,
disagreements with the AFL–CIO resulted in the withdrawal of the UFCW and other large-scale
unions from the federation, however in 2013, the UFCW re-affiliated with the AFL–CIO. The
UFCW now represents approximately 1.3 million workers throughout North America, across
industries such as health care, retail food, meatpacking and processing, agriculture, and
textile and manufacturing.
Scope and Contents
The Retail Clerks Union, Local 770 Scrapbook Collection documents the union's
organizational activities, including union strikes, labor disputes, and worker-oriented
political activity. The collection consists of scrapbooks containing national and local
newspaper clippings, correspondence, pamphlets, magazines, photographs, campaign flyers,
conference documentation, and other materials. Scrapbooks roughly cover the years 1942 to
1959, however some overlap dates and content with regards to union activities, pivotal
events, and salient figures.
Los Angeles and other Southern California unions and union activities are prominently
featured. Scrapbooks include news reportage on local strikes, wage and salary negotiations,
and the activities of particular union bodies (i.e., retail workers, garment workers, and
food clerks). Events such as the Los Angeles General Food Store Clerks Strike in 1947, the
63rd District Assemblymen Election of 1947, the 9
th Union
Industries Show in L.A., the 23
rd Convention of the Retail
Clerks International Association, and the proclamation of Retail Clerks International
Association Week in June, 1959 are included. News clippings documenting Joseph T. DeSilva's
labor contributions are accompanied by personal correspondences, photographs, and
organizational memos. Researchers, historians, and scholars broadly interested in the
history of labor unions in America and granularly in union activity in Southern California
will find this collection rich in historical content.
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Retail Clerks International Union, Local 770, AFL CIO, 06/05/1980
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Scrapbooks
Box 2, Item 1
Scrapbook,
October 1946-May 1947
Box 3, Item 1
Scrapbook,
December 1946-November 1947
Box 4, Item 1
Scrapbook,
February 1947-July 1948
Box 5, Item 1
Scrapbook,
January 1951-February 1957
Box 6, Folder 1
Loose items from Scrapbook
Box 6, Item 1
Scrapbook,
June 1959-August 1959