Finding Aid to the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union Records,
1937-1980
MS 458A
Finding aid prepared by California Historical Society staff; revised by Marie Dunlap, 2010.
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105
415-357-1848
reference@calhist.org
© 2001, revised 2010
Title: Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union records
Collection Number: MS 458A
Date (inclusive): 1929-1982
Creator:
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 2 (San Francisco, Calif.).
Extent:
3 boxes and 14 audiocassettes
(1.6 Linear feet)
Contributing Institution:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105
415-357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in English.
Abstract: Records and papers documenting the history, internal affairs, external relations, organizing efforts, and labor actions of
the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union in San Francisco between the years 1937 and 1982, especially
during the 1937, 1941-1942, 1978-1980, and 1980 culinary strikes. Collection contents include union histories; contracts;
arbitration records; correspondence; minutes; by-laws; flyers; bulletins; official and rank-and-file newspapers; newspaper
clippings; oral history transcripts and original sound recordings; audiocassettes; and ephemera.
Information for Researchers
Restrictions on Access
Collection is open for research, with the following exception: Picket line interviews restricted unless release indicated.
Inquiries concerning these materials should be directed, in writing, to the Director of Research Collections, North Baker
Research Library.
Technical Requirements
Use of the audiotapes may require the creation of listening copies for some recordings.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the California Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the California Historical Society 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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union Records, MS 458A, California Historical
Society.
Related Collections
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 110 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 283 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 30 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 41 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 44 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 48 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union. Local 9 (San Francisco, Calif.)
Bars (Drinking establishments)--Employees--Labor unions--California--San Francisco.
Hotels--Employees--Labor unions--California--San Francisco.
Restaurants--Employees--Labor unions--California--San Francisco.
Strikes and lockouts--California--San Francisco.
Audiocassettes.
Bylaws.
Minutes.
Oral histories.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Oral histories were collected for the California Historical Society by Lucille Kendall, a member and officer of the Hotel
& Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union, in the early 1980s. Excerpts from union minutes were compiled by
Kendall for the California Historical Society in 1980. No other donor information is available.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Processing Information
Processed by California Historical Society staff.
History
Chartered in 1891 by the American Federation of Labor, the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union
has represented culinary workers in San Francisco since the turn of the twentieth century. The union conducted sporadic labor
actions throughout the early part of the century, culminating in the city-wide 1937 hotel strike, which was called after the
Hotel Employers' Association refused to recognize the collective bargaining rights of 150 clerical employees. Settled by arbitration
after 87 days, the 1937 hotel strike established the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union as a
major player in the San Francisco labor movement and represented the beginning of many culinary officials' labor careers.
After the five-year contract between the union and the Hotel Employers' Association expired in 1941, another major culinary
strike was called over disputed contract terms. This strike was settled by the War Labor Board in 1942.
In the 1970s, a series of mergers consolidated the organization of the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International
Union in San Francisco. In the early 1970s, Locals 30 and 48, representing San Francisco waiters and waitresses, were merged,
forming Local 9. Then, in 1975, all of the affiliated San Francisco locals were merged into the newly chartered Local 2. These
locals were: Local 110, representing miscellaneous workers; Local 9, representing waiters and waitresses; Local 41, representing
bartenders; Local 44, representing cooks; and Local 283, representing hotel workers.
In 1978, a successful strike was called against San Francisco restaurant chain Zim's, resulting in increased wages and other
benefits for restaurant workers. This was followed by a major hotel strike in 1980, waged against 36 San Francisco hotels
represented by the Hotel Employers' Association, upon the expiration of the hotel workers' five-year contract. After 29 days,
the 1980 strike was settled and a new contract ratified. While Local 2 president Charles Lamb claimed victory for the union,
the strike and its controversial settlement revealed divisions between union leadership and some rank-and-file members.
Bibliography
This bibliography of works documenting the history of the Hotel & Restaurant and Bartenders International Union in San Francisco
is taken from the legacy finding aid for the collection.
Robert Edward Lee Knight,
Industrial Relations in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1900-1918
Van Dusen Kennedy,
Arbitration in the San Francisco Hotel and Restaurant Industries
Lucile Eaves,
California Labor Legislation
Edward Eaves,
A History of the Cooks and Waiters Unions of San Francisco. Unpublished master's thesis, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 1980.
Ira Cross,
A History of the Labor Movement in California
Matthew Josephson,
Union House, Union Bar
Scope and Contents
This collection comprises Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union records and papers documenting the
history, internal affairs, external relations, organizing efforts, and labor actions of the San Francisco union between the
years 1929 and 1982. Collection contents include union histories; contracts; arbitration records; correspondence; minutes;
by-laws; flyers; bulletins; official and rank-and-file newspapers; newspaper clippings; oral history transcripts and original
sound recordings; audiocassettes; and ephemera.
Contracts and arbitration records consist of agreements between the union and San Francisco employers' associations for the
years 1937-1938, 1942, 1947, 1954, 1967-1968, 1971-1972, 1975, 1977, and 1980. Compiled by union official Lucille Kendall
in 1980, excerpts of union minutes summarize the proceedings of the Local Joint Executive Board between the years 1929 to
1978. Correspondence (1973-1980) comprises official communications and memoranda from the union to its members. Election materials
document union elections between the years 1976 and 1979. Also included are union constitutions and by-laws for the years
1961, 1971, 1976, and 1977-1978, as well as copies of the
Local 2 Voice,
Local 2 Action Reporter,
ARF News, and
Local 2 Action Retorter, spanning the years 1975 to 1980.
Mainly consisting of official and rank-and-file communications and publications, strike-related records document the origins,
conduct, resolution, and aftermath of the culinary strikes of 1937, 1941-1942, 1978-1980, and 1980 in San Francisco. The strike
of 1980 is particularly well-documented. Recorded and compiled by union official Lucille Kendall, oral history recordings
and transcripts represent interviews with rank-and-file union members who participated in the strikes of 1937, 1941-1942,
and 1980. Some interviews of 1980 strikers are restricted. Also included are sound recordings of 1980 picket lines and the
August 12, 1980 contract ratification meeting.
Arrangement
This collection is not organized into series. In general, materials are arranged by format (e.g., "Contracts and Arbitration
Records"). Strike-related materials are grouped together in rough chronological order.
Box 1, Folder 1
Background History of Union and Manuscript Guide
circa 1980-1981
Box 1, Folder 2
Contracts and Arbitration Records
1937-1947
Box 1, Folder 2a
Contracts and Arbitration Records
circa 1954-1980
Box 1, Folder 3
Minutes
1933-1952
Scope and Contents
Contains excerpts of Local Joint Executive Board minutes, compiled by union official Lucille Kendall. The board was composed
of three delegates from each San Francisco local affiliated with the Hotel & Restaurant and Bartenders International Union.
Box 1, Folder 6
Election Material
1976-1979
Box 1, Folder 7
Election Campaigns
1976-1979
Box 2, Folder 8-8a
Official Publications
1975-1980
Scope and Contents
Includes union newspapers: the
Local 2 Voice (March 1976-July 1978),
Local 2 Action Reporter (July 1979-May 1980), and
Local 2 Reporter (December 1978-April 1979). Some copies of the
Local 2 Voice are addressed to Lucille Kendall.
Box 2, Folder 9
Rank-and-File Publications
1975-1979
Scope and Contents
Contains rank-and-file correspondence, flyers, leaflets, and newspapers, including
ARF News and the
Local 2 Action Reporter.
Box 2, Folder 10
Newspaper clippings and periodicals
circa 1947-1978
Box 2, Folder 12-12a
1941-1942
Scope and Contents
Includes the
A.F. of L. Hotel Worker.
Box 2, Folder 12b, Cassettes 56.11-56.13
Interviews of 1937, 1941-1942 Strike Participants
1981
Scope and Contents
Includes interviews with union members Sam Jaye and Helene Jaye.
Original sound recordings of interviews with Sam and Helene Jaye are stored separately on cassettes 56.11, 56.12, and 56.13.
Box 2, Folder 14
Official Communications
1980
Box 2, Folder 15
Hotel Employers Association Communications
1980
Scope and Contents
Includes Hotel Employers' Association membership list.
Box 2, Folder 18
Unofficial Publications
1980
Box 3, Folder 21, Cassettes 56.1-56.7, 56.14
Picket Line Interviews and Recordings
1980
Scope and Contents
Includes sound recordings of picket line noises, recorded in August 1980.
Original sound recordings of picket line interviews are stored separately on cassettes 56.1-56.5 and 56.14.
Box 3, Folder 22, Cassettes 56.8-56.10
Back to Work Vote
1980
Scope and Contents
Includes sound recordings of the August 12, 1980 contract ratification meeting.
Box 3, Folder 24
Post-strike Material
1980-1982
Box 3, Folder 26
Pension Fund Trustees Correspondence
1979-1980
