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Los Angeles J. P. Stevens Boycott Committee
1975-1980
MSS 030
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Title: Los Angeles J. P. Stevens Boycott Committee Records,
Date (inclusive): 1975-1980
Collection number: MSS 030
Creator:
Los Angeles J.P. Stevens Boycott Committee
Extent:
8 letter boxes, 2 legal boxes
3 1/3 linear feet
3 1/3 linear feet
Repository:
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Los Angeles, CA 90044
Abstract: The office files of the Los Angeles J. P. Steven Boycott Committee, headed by Michael Linfield and Linda Paquette, document
the strategies and activities of the national boycott campaign in Los Angeles against the textile manufacturer in the South,
J.P. Stevens & Co., one of the most egregious labor law violators in this country. This grassroots movement with backing from
the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) culminated in a Public Hearing at the L.A. City Council Board of
Public Works on June 26, 1979 that barred the company as an "irresponsible bidder" from doing business with the city. In October
1980 J.P. Stevens signed a contract with the ACTWU at the Roanoke Rapids plant.
Language:
English.
Los Angeles J.P. Stevens Boycott Committee
The collection is available for research only at the Library's facility in Los Angeles. The Library is open from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Researchers are encouraged to call or email the Library indicating the nature of their research
query prior to making a visit.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Researchers may make single
copies of any portion of the collection, but publication from the collection will be allowed only with the express written
permission of the Library's director. It is not necessary to obtain written permission to quote from a collection. When the
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research gives permission for publication, it is as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Los Angeles J. P. Stevens Boycott Committee Records, Southern California Library for Social Studies
and Research, Los Angeles, California.
The Los Angeles office of the J. P. Stevens Boycott Committee was established in early 1976 by the Amalgamated Clothing and
Textile Workers Union and managed by Michael Linfield and Linda Paquette. (In that year, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers
Union of America had merged with the 500,000 members of the Textile Workers Union to form the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile
Workers Union.) Additional support came from the AFL-CIO Labor Committee Workforce which established the Labor Committee for
Justice for J. P. Stevens Workers. The Committee supported the boycott with strategy development, publications and staff.
In the 1970s, J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc. was the second largest company in the U.S. textile industry with $ 1,400,000,000 in
annual revenues, 45,000 employees and 85 plants. After Word War II, the company closed many of its northern plants and moved
to the South, mainly to the Carolinas, in order to avoid unionization. None of the textile mills operated under union contract.
From 1963, when the company first attempted to crush a union organization drive, through 1977, the National Labor Relations
Board processed over 100 cases of labor violations and grievances for unfair labor practices, health and safety conditions
and race and sex discrimination. In October 1980, after 17 years of battling in the courts, through government agencies, on
picket lines and with a nationwide boycott, the ACTWU reached a tentative agreement on a contract with J.P.Stevens & Co.
The collection represents the office files of the J.P.Stevens Boycott Committee and Labor Committee for Justice for J.P. Stevens
in Los Angeles, including letters and memos, copies of legal documents, surveys of department stores holding J.P. Stevens
products, files on organizations and religious groups supporting and participating in the boycott, fliers, newspaper clippings
and magazine articles, brochures and newsletters, and photographs.
The bulk of the materials are dated between 1976 and 1980; a few research and background items date from 1972 and 1974.
Arrangement
The original order of the files was loosely alphabetical with duplicates of clippings and fliers in many folders. The collection
has been extensively re-organized and duplicate items have been removed. The collection is divided into 8 series:
1. BOYCOTT COMMITTEE,
2. GOVERNMENT,
3. J.P. STEVENS & CO.,
4. ACTWU,
5. STORES,
6. ORGANIZATIONS (incl. UNIONS),
7. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, and
8. PHOTOGRPAHS.
One poster " Real vs. Reel - Norma Rae Speaks Out" has been added to the Poster Collection.
Related Material at the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Title: Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) Collections
Date:
Physical Description:
5 linear feet
Title:
Date:
Physical Description: