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The Bitterest Battle: The ILGWU and Unionization in the Kansas City Garment District
Kyle Anthony
"The history of the Donnelly Garment Company and its battle with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) is one that defies conventional understandings of American life in the Great Depression. It is a story of a female entrepreneur succeeding in an era of economic paralysis, and one of a union failing to organize a factory in a period when workers won substantive rights. ILGWU president David Dubinsky, Nell Donnelly Reed, and Senator James A. Reed were the principal figures in a contest to organize a single garment factory, a legal battle that came to represent much larger questions: what responsibility did employers have for their employees? To what extent would women, having recently won voting rights, take on a prominent role in the world of business and work? Was the federal government's support of unions allowing foreign radicalism to seep into American free markets?
In assessing these questions, an exploration of what ILGWU president David Dubinsky referred to as "the bitterest battle," a battle that culminated in several courtroom trials and appeals, reveal how a reputable and respected union leader, a uniquely self-made female entrepreneur, and a retired senator in his twilight years, came to embody the strains of Depression-era politics and society."
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Kidnapping of Nell Donnelly
Jason Roe
Nell Donnelly and her chauffeur, George Blair, were kidnapped on December 16, 1931.
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Donnelly Garment Company vs. International Ladies Garment Workers Union, et al.
Kansas City Public Library
A collection of documents related to the Donnelly Garment Company vs. International Ladies Garment Workers Union, et al., collected and published online by the Kansas City Public Library.
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Women Executives Are Just People
Dora Albert and Nelly Don
An interview of Mrs. Paul F. Donnelly, also known as Nell "Nelly Don" Donnelly. The interview was conducted and written by Dora Albert.
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PHS Booster - Articles
The Booster
Digital reproduction of microfilmed articles and "Nellie's Nook" sections of The Booster, a Pittsburg High School publication, from the years 1930-1949.
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Kansas City a Field for Textile Industry: Making Great Strides in Development of Style Merchandise
Nell Q. Donnelly
An article written for the Kansas Citian about Kansas City's fit into the textile industry in the future.
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The Story of a Modern Business Romance
Nelly Don
How a young housewife found a million dollar business at the end of her apron string.
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