Description
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.
Background
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.
Restrictions
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of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.
Availability
The collection is open for research use.