Missouri State University Libraries
Records of the Retail Clerks Union,
Local 503
Volume: 2 cubic feet
Dates: 1954-1972 (Bulk 1959-1960)
Provenance
The majority of the records of the Retail Clerks Union, Local 503 were received prior to 1997.
Copyright
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).Access
The collection is unrestricted. Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be obtained from the Department of Special Collection and Archives. Citations should be as follows: Identification of the item, box and folder number, Records of the Retail Clerks Union, Local 503 [LA 20], Department of Special Collections and Archives, Missouri State University.
Biography/Historical Sketch
The Retail Clerks International Union (RCIU) was a labor union that represented retail employees. In 1890, the RCIU was chartered as the "Retail Clerks National Protective Union" by the American Federation of Labor. When it was chartered, the union was exclusively workers from the Clothing and Gents Furnishings and Shoe Store in Muskegon, Michigan.
Two years later, the RCNPU chartered with seven locals, and its membership spread throughout the Midwest, including stores in Indiana, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio and Illinois. By 1899, the union officially became international when a local union was chartered in British Columbia, Canada.
The Retail Clerks began with a membership of 3,000 and grew to over 50,000 by 1904 despite many early strikes. In spite of this strong early growth, their membership dropped to 5,000 during the Depression, which nearly wiped them out. As the result of aggressive membership drives and strong communication with employers, membership in the Retail Clerks soared in the post-Depression Era.
In June of 1954, the Retail Clerks Union, Local 503, was chartered in Springfield, Missouri, with approximately 15 members. By 1961, the membership averaged between 73 and 118 per month. The local members came from large department stores, women’s specialty apparel shops, grocery stores, lawn and garden shops, and local pharmacies.
Early in the Retail Clerks' history, they fought for better wages and shorter hours. Equal pay for equal work was also an issue early on, as women employees were strongly discriminated against.
Retail Clerks were the first to establish the principle of overtime pay. In 1888, for example, the average retail employee earned $10 per week for 86 hours of work while receiving no holiday or sick pay, no pension and no insurance.
Boycotting became the main tactic used by the union to force employers to enact better working conditions with fair hours, as well as better wages and equal pay for all employees. Local 503 employed this tactic on numerous occasions and made their boycotts obvious by picketing businesses such as Sears in 1960.
In 1974, a Professional Employees Division was established within the national Retail Clerks Union, which caused a rapid growth in membership both in health care fields and related professions. Three years later, the Boot and Shoe Workers Union merged with the union, forming the Footwear Division of the Retail Clerks.
The merger of the Retail Clerks and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union in 1979 united two union powerhouses, both with a long history of fighting for justice and economic security for working people. It was this merger that gave life to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
Sources:
UFCW, A Voice for Working America, About UFCW, About History of the Retail Workers, Jan. 5, 2006. http://www.ufcw.org/about_ufcw/where_we_come_from/industries/retail_clerk_history.cfm.
Retail Workers Union, Local 503 Collection, Special Collections and Archives, Missouri State University.
Scope and Content
The collection contains material on the Retail Clerks Union, Local 503. The information spans from 1954 to 1972, with the majority of the information being from 1959 and 1960. The collection is divided into six series, as outlined below.
Series I: Correspondence: General correspondence, including updates on the Sears boycott and the union advertising on the Today show, from 1959 to 1961. Weekly progress reports to the main union office on Local 503’s efforts to unionize the local grocery and retail stores from 1959 to 1961.
Series II: Financial: Correspondence, trustee’s monthly reports, receipt books, and federal tax records from 1957 to 1961. Receipts and disbursements ledgers and spreadsheets from 1954 to 1961.
Series III: Membership: Membership cards for 1959 to 1960, monthly lists of incoming members for 1959 to 1961, monthly membership summary sheets for 1959 to 1961, and 3 applications for membership from 1960 and 1961.
Series IV: Contracts and Agreements: Both contracts are with other Retail Clerks Unions and Roberts Hall Clothes, Inc., which was planning to open a business in Springfield in 1961.
Series V: General: Documents from the National Chain Store Committee in 1960, the Active Ballot Club from 1958 and 1960, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers from 1967, 1968, 1971, and 1972, and a rate conversion chart. Meeting attendance cards from 1958 to1959 and two sets of election ballot cards for 1959 and 1960.
Series VI: Publications: Order forms for paper supplies, Retail Clerks International Association newsletters from 1960, a Missouri State Labor Council Newsletter from 1960 and one from 1961, an explanation sheet on how to file a report and a pamphlet on boycotting Sears from 1960.
Container List
The container list for this collection is available in PDF format. Adobe Reader is required to view the container list.
