Ronnie Sandler Collection, 1942-2016; undated, bulk 1990-1998

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Summary

Abstract:
This collection documents the work of Ronnie Sandler, an activist in the tradeswomen's movement. Much of Sandler's work focused on expanding women's access to fields where they had not traditionally been employed, such as building trades and transportation. The bulk of the collection focuses on Sandler's efforts to organize with tradeswomen's organizations to access funds from the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, in order to train women for nontraditional jobs; reports, contracts, proposals and other documents regarding various Compliance U.S.A. projects, a company Sandler founded that consulted on employment and civil rights related matters for construction projects; and material related to Northeast Women in Transportation (NEWIT) and consulting projects. The collection contains organizational papers and correspondence related to these organizing efforts, as well as numerous manuals and reports related to women's employment; documents generated by various tradeswomen organizations; and materiral related to tradeswomen events and conferences. For digitized material related to all tradeswomen archives collections please consult the Tradeswomen Archives Project.
Extent:
27 boxes and 16.28 Linear Feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Background

Scope and content:

The papers and audiovisual materials comprising the Ronnie Sandler collection (1942-2016; undated, bulk 1990-1998) document her career as an active member of the tradeswomen's movement.

Much of the correspondence and organizational materials in this collection are related to Ronnie Sandler's efforts to organize with other tradeswomen's organizations to access funds from the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, to train women for non-traditional jobs. These efforts include lobbying members of congress, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Labor, and state transportation agencies. ISTEA, which was signed into law in 1991 and expired in 1997, contained a provision in which ¼ of 1% of funding received by states could be used to train women and minorities for transportation jobs. As the executive director of Northern New England Tradeswomen Inc. Sandler also participated in coalition of organizations called Northeast Women in Transportation (NEWIT) that was dedicated to making ISTEA funds available for job training for women. NEWIT organized conferences called IT'S ISTEA TIME and ISTEA II to strategize how to secure these funds from transportation agencies throughout the United States. Also included are reports, contracts, proposals and other material from Compliance, U.S.A.- a company founded by Sandler.

The bulk of this collection consists of reports and manuals; as well as Compliance U.S.A. and NEWIT project contracts and proposals; and other consulting projects such as: Better Jobs for New Hampshire Women, CareerInRoads, On-The-Job-Training Program, and projects through the New Hampshire and Maine Departments of Transportation. The most frequent topics addressed in the reports and manuals are: ISTEA, women in non-traditional jobs, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Some of the documents are official statistics or reports from government agencies but the bulk of the manuals are from tradeswomen's organizations like NEWIT.

Formats include organizational records, calendars, promotional materials, scholarly articles, business cards, newsletters and other publications, newspaper clippings, books, correspondence, receipts and financial documents, handwritten notes, photographs, VHS tapes, and tote bags.

Biographical / historical:

Ronnie Sandler grew up in northern New England and earned a BA in psychology and education from Franconia College in New Hampshire in 1971. In 1972 Sandler began her career as a carpenter in New Hampshire, and would later go on to become a union activist in her chosen profession. In 1976 she became the first woman to join a trades union in Michigan when she became a member of the Detroit local of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. While in Michigan Sandler started a program called STEP-UP for Women, to prepare women for successful entrance into apprenticeship programs. In 1985 she created another iteration of this program in Vermont with funding from the Vermont Department of Education.

In 1987 Sandler founded Northern New England Tradeswomen Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women enter nontraditional careers. As executive director of Northern New England Tradeswomen Inc. Sandler was an active member of a coalition called Northeast Women in Transportation (NEWIT). This coalition was created to help the member organizations and other women's advocates learn about accessing funds from the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, to train women for jobs in the transportation industry. Sandler worked with NEWIT to put on several conferences about accessing ISTEA funds to involve more women in transportation careers. Sandler went on to start the firm Compliance U.S.A. which consulted on employment and civil rights related matters for construction projects.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Pat Williams as part of the Tradeswomen Archives project at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).
Processing information:

Collection processed by Evan Tucker, 2016.

Arrangement:

Arranged in seven series:

  1. Series I. Correspondence (1989-2001)
  2. Series II. Organizational Materials and Notes (1978-2000; undated)
  3. Series III. Consulting Projects and Compliance U.S.A. (1988-2012; undated)
  4. Series IV. ISTEA/NEWIT (1990-2002; undated)
  5. Series V. Tradeswomen Organizations, Events, and Programs (1970-2016; undated)
  6. Series VI. Reports and Manuals (1977-2013; undated)
  7. Series VII. Publications, News Media, and Promotional Materials (1943-2006, bulk 1989-2006)
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions on this collection except where noted at folder-level.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Location of this collection:
University Library, 5th Flr (5039)
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, CA 90747, US
Contact:
(310) 243-3895
archives@csudh.edu
Website