Wolfgang, Myra, 1914-1976

Ernest Goodman Papers

drice — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:49:05 -0400

A founding member of the Detroit Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Ernest Goodman served as NLG President, and formed the nation’s first (known) interracial law firm: Goodman, Crockett, Eden and Robb. He was deeply involved with the labor movement and some of its most bitter union organizing struggles and remained committed throughout his career to serving the common man, with clients ranging from Communists, Black Panthers, prison inmates, and African-Americans during the civil rights movement.

Part I of Mr. Goodman’s papers reflect his involvement in civil rights, constitutional law and labor issues, focusing on the Michigan Smith Act trial, the Sherrill School desegregation case, and the Black Panther trial for the murder of a Detroit Police officer.

Part II reflects his activities as counsel in controversial cases, particularly first amendment and civil rights cases, courts martial, deportation and denaturalization, and the 1971 Attica prison uprising. These papers further focus on the events, places, and people who influenced both his personal life and a career spent in service to social justice for the common man.

Part III (Two storage boxes) focuses on various cases, mainly from the 1980s-1990s, Goodman's writings, his work with Wayne State University Law School, and Estonian family correspondence.

Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union Local 24 Records

aorchard — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:57:18 -0400

A Detroit-area labor union, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 24 represented people in the service industry from 1916 until 2004 when it became an affiliate for the organization UNITE HERE. The union started modestly in 1916 when a small group of waiters successfully applied for a charter in the AFL-affiliated Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union (also known as HERE, Hotel & Restaurant Employees, along with the Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Workers) and were given the title Local 705. Local 705 endured a tumultuous early history, due to the effects of the Prohibition Era and then the Great Depression. This lasted until the mid-1930s when the union expanded beyond wait staff and bartenders. Between 1937 and 1947, bellmen, doormen, maids, and other hospitality workers helped swell membership from 500 to 11,000. The larger numbers allowed the union to campaign for civil rights in local businesses, notably desegregating wait staff at the Detroit Athletic Club in 1941 and combating sexist policies at the Playboy Club in the 1960s. Myra Wolfgang, former Chief Executive officer of Local 24 and Vice-President of the International Union, came to represent the union’s continued stance for social inclusion in the workplace. Her outspoken and militant push for women’s equality in the service industry made her a national figure and the iconic leader in the local union’s long history. By 1973, Local 705 transformed into HERE Local 24. In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees to form UNITE HERE, altering the Detroit union’s name to UNITE HERE Local 24. UNITE HERE Local 24 now represents thousands of employees in Metro Detroit’s hospitality sector.

The Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union Local 24 Records are comprised of materials from Local 24 and its various incarnations in addition to items regarding affiliated unions. The collection is divided into two series, Organizational Records and Publication Materials, and Audiovisual and Oversize Materials. The membership ledgers and books listing members and dues payments make up the oldest and largest section of the organizational records. Also of note are the meeting minutes from various councils within the HERE chapter and original artwork from their Hotel-Bar-Restaurant Review newspaper

The audiovisual series primarily contains photographic stills. Common topics depicted in the photos are the annual Waiters and Waitresses Race, the Bartenders Mixed Drink Competition, HERE annual conventions, local meetings, union elections, strikes of area businesses, Hotel-Bar-Restaurant Review photographs, and executives Louis Koenig and Myra Wolfgang. Other notable subjects include a prison release party for Jimmy Hoffa and demonstrations against the local Playboy Club. The audiovisual series also contains photographic negatives of many of the stills as well as several artifacts. Oversize materials include larger original artwork from the Hotel-Bar-Restaurant Review, panoramic photographs, and a commemorative scrapbook.

Myra Wolfgang: New inductee to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame

aergas — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 11:54:35 -0400

The Reuther Library salutes Myra Wolfgang as she is inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame this month.

Almost 40 years after her death, Myra Wolfgang stands among the giants in Detroit’s labor movement. Her involvement in labor organizing began not long after graduating from Northern High School in Detroit in 1931. By the age of 23, she was leading strikes and directed organizing drives in local businesses, through the local chapter of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union (today known as UNITE HERE!). She first received national publicity for organizing a “pink-collar” sit-down strike among women workers at the Woolworth’s department store in Detroit in 1937. read more »

Subject Focus: Women in Labor Unions

drice — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:44:25 -0400

“We didn’t come here to swap recipes!” Those words, uttered by Myra Wolfgang during the first Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) convention in 1974 set the tone for an agenda aimed at increasing women’s involvement and influence in labor unions. Coming on the heels of landmark legislation such as the Equal Pay Act (1963), the Civil Rights Act (1964), and the Equal Employment Opportunities Act (1972), the formation of CLUW institutionalized the long-held ambitions of individual female union members to participate more fully in the labor movement. read more »

(27061) Cavanagh, Organized Labor, 1960s

eclemens — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 12:20:09 -0500

A group photo of Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh with Senator Phil Hart (left), Governor G. Mennen Williams (second left), Governor John Swainson (center left), John Lesunski (center), Walter Reuther (center right), Senator Pat McNamara (second right), Gus Scholle (right), and Myra Wolfgang.

(31514) Myra Wolfgang, Frank Murphy, ca. 1930s

mwallace — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 11:30:03 -0500

Frank Murphy (in profile) stands with Myra Wolfgang, location unknown, ca. 1930s. Wolfgang was the Recording Secretary of Detroit Waiters Local 705, which is now UNITE HERE Local 24. In the late 1930s, Governor Murphy appointed her manager for the domestic and personal service division of the Michigan Employment Security Commission. Wolfgang was a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) in 1974.

(33748) Myra Wolfgang

gstrassel — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 14:36:24 -0400

Photo of Myra Wolfgang signing a document for the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union.

(33749) Portrait of Myra Wolfgang

gstrassel — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 14:42:00 -0400

Portrait of Myra Wolfgang.

(33750) Michigan Senate resolution

gstrassel — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 14:47:23 -0400

State of Michigan Senate Concurrent Resolution no. 414, honoring Myra Wolfgang after her passing away in 1976. The resolution was adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in 1976.