Part Of
Harry Simon fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 23
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Harry Simon fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
23
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1931-[198-]
Physical Description
25 cm of textual records
17 photographs (6 negatives)
Admin History/Bio
Harry Simon (1909-1993) was born in Russia on 15 July 1909 and immigrated to Canada with his parents and two younger brothers in 1923. In 1930, he married Eva Millman and together they had two sons, Morris and Norman. Simon was involved in a number of labour unions and organizations during his lifetime, namely the Fur Workers' Union, the AFL-CIO, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Labour Zionist Movement.
In 1926, at the age of 17, Simon left his schooling in Toronto and went to work in a fur factory. He joined the International Fur Workers' Union and at the age of 20, Simon held the distinction of being the youngest business agent elected to a union in Canada. He joined the Canadian Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1933 and ran as a political candidate in the 1937 provincial election for the St. Andrew riding in Toronto.
Simon also served as the Canadian representative for the American Federation of Labour from 1944 to 1956. In 1956, he was appointed to the Canadian Labour Congress, becoming the CLC's Ontario regional director of organization until his retirement in 1974. Simon also held the position of national chairman of the Jewish Labour Committee of Canada and as president of the Labour Zionist Movement of Canada. He was also a member of the national executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
After his retirement Simon often spoke about labour issues at various functions and events when requested. He died on 22 December 1993 at the age of 84.
Scope and Content
This fonds consists of the records related to the professional career of Harry Simon. This includes meeting minutes, general correspondence, speeches, posters, flyers, booklets, programmes and photographs. The bulk of the material is in the form of correspondence sent to or from Harry Simon. There is also a small amount of biographical material and a number of photographs, which have been described at the item level.
Name Access
Simon, Harry, 1909-1993
Subjects
Immigrants--Canada
Labor leaders
Physical Condition
Some photographs require conservation work.
Arrangement
The files were originally arranged by Harry Simon according to organization. This original order has been maintained by the archivist.
Creator
Simon, Harry, 1909-1993
Accession Number
1988-5-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Harry Simon fonds
Level
File
ID
Fonds 23; File 1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Harry Simon fonds
Level
File
Fonds
23
File
1
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
1934-[198-]
Physical Description
3 cm of textual records
3 photographs : b&w ; 20 x 48 cm and 21 x 26 cm
Admin History/Bio
There was a major dispute within the International Fur Workers' Union in 1938, which is documented in the records of Harry Simon. It was due to the division between the Communist and anti-Communist elements of the union and resulted in the formation of a new fur workers' union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
Scope and Content
File consists of textual and graphic records related to Harry Simon's work as an organizer and representative of the International Fur Workers' Union and an officer of the break-away Fur Workers' Union (AFL.). This includes correspondence, rally posters and flyers, anniversary books, a bulletin, and photographs. Of particular interest are the records detailing a heated dispute between the International Fur Workers' Union, its Toronto Joint Board leadership and many of its members. An oversized newsprint poster referring to Max Federman's dispute is included.
Subjects
Labor unions
Physical Condition
One photograph requires conservation work.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Ben Kayfetz fonds
Collected materials series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 62; Series 3; File 7
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Ben Kayfetz fonds
Collected materials series
Level
File
Fonds
62
Series
3
File
7
Material Format
textual record
Date
[1930?]
Physical Description
4 cm of textual records.
Scope and Content
File consists of a book for converting dates to and from the Gregorian and Jewish calendars from 1930-2000 in four different languages.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Rebecca Kamarner fonds
Level
File
ID
Fonds 11; File 5
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Rebecca Kamarner fonds
Level
File
Fonds
11
File
5
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
Date
[1927-196-?]
Physical Description
1 v.
Scope and Content
The scrapbook includes numerous press clippings about The 17th Anniversary of the Hebrew Women’s Convalescent Home celebration dinner in honour of Mrs. Kamarner and the 50th wedding anniversary of Harry and Rebecca Kamarner; photographs; notes of thanks and recognition from Lillian Freiman, Mrs. Samuel (Jimmie) Norris, Mrs. Israel (Ruth) Shapiro, Teme Shapiro, A. Posluns, Dora Till, David Croll and Ada Adelberg; and, other articles in English and Hebrew (mostly material from the 1950s). The file also includes four loose clippings pulled from the scrapbook and put into a separate file folder.
Subjects
Scrapbooks
Physical Condition
Some of the pages of the scrapbook have come apart from the binding.
Accession Number
1986-5-5
Source
Archival Descriptions