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Keller, Heumann and Thompson, Inc. records

 Collection
Identifier: D.75

Biographical/Historical note

An important development in the booming men's clothing industry of Rochester, New York occurred in 1920 with the formation of the firm of Keller, Heumann and Thompson. Fred Keller, Sol Heumann, and T. Howerth Thompson combined their talents to form a clothing company that would compete in the middle-priced suit niche. Keller had been the largest coat contractor in Rochester for twenty-five years; Heumann was a pant contractor, previously for Michaels-Stern & Co.; and Thompson made vests.

The company expanded rapidly in the 1920s and acquired retail outlets as far away as Hawaii, securing control of both the manufacture and sale of suits. In 1932, the firm contracted with Kenwood Mills, well known weavers of fine fabrics, to be the sole user of an exclusive fabric trademarked as "Plateau."

Despite the Depression of the 1930s, Keller, Heumann and Thompson prospered. In 1934 it introduced the Timely trademark, which became successful in record time. The label was so successful that Keller, Heumann and Thompson changed its name to Timely Clothes, Inc. in 1939.

The company remained confident into the 1940s and 1950s and continued to acquire more retail outlets. They bought stores in California and New York City, as well as several stores in the Rochester area. As the 1950s began, however, their profits steadily declined. Timely Clothes owned twelve retail stores and employed over 1,000 people by 1959, but profits continued to shrink. Independent stockholders, dismayed at the loss of profits, believed Timely had overextended itself. They blamed poor management, and after a bitter proxy battle in 1960, they voted to oust George Kaye, the president of Timely Clothes and former highly successful salesman for the company.

In 1966, Timely Clothes was sold to and became a subsidiary of BVD, makers of undergarments. BVD tried to move the company to Virginia, where labor costs were lower, but the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) refused to concede. In 1968, BVD merged Timely with another of its subsidiaries, the Alligator Company. Failing to make a profit, BVD closed Timely's operations in 1969. R.C. Shaheen, a Rochester paint distributor, took over Timely's operations in 1971 and reopened manufacturing. Again, the company failed, and in 1973 all assets of Timely Clothes Inc. were liquidated.

Of particular historical interest to researchers concerned with labor issues is the Keller, Heumann and Thompson strike of 1933. During the early 1930s, the firm was not yet a member of the Clothiers Exchange, the Rochester affiliate of the National Clothing Manufacturers Association (NCMA). Therefore, Keller, Heumann and Thompson was not a part the national labor agreement that recognized the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) as the sole bargaining agent for workers in the NCMA, despite the fact that many of the company's workers belonged to the ACWA. Instead, the firm signed an agreement with the United Garment Workers of America (UGWA), an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), on July 17, 1933.

A code for labor practices in the garment industry had already been established by the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), specifying a maximum forty-hour week, an increase in the minimum wage to thirty-five cents per hour, and the abolition of child labor. The ACWA charged the company with violating the NIRA and called a strike, which was more likely a decision based on a struggle for power between two competing unions than a gross violation of the NIRA. Regardless, on July 17, 1933, more than 200 of Keller, Heumann and Thompson's 1,200 workers walked off the job, crippling the company's operations. Keller, Heumann and Thompson claimed that most of the terms of the contract with the UGWA were agreed upon by the workers. A petition was signed by 600 workers expressing their desire to become UGWA members. Because the petition was signed by only half of the company's workers, however, no definitive victory could be claimed by either of the two unions.

The bitter three-week strike included picketing, rioting and fighting. When the police used tear gas to disperse the strikers, the dispute was covered by the national press. The National Recovery Administrator, General Hugh S. Johnson, requested that the ACWA and Keller, Heumann and Thompson agree to arbitration before the National Code of Clothing. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins demanded the strike be settled. Two solutions were submitted to industrial recovery officials: one by the National Clothing Manufacturers Association (NCMA) and the other by the NIRA officials. The NCMA represented the ACWA, while the NIRA recognized the UGWA as bargaining agents. Both solutions set the maximum workweek at forty hours, minimum wage at thirty-five cents per hour, and the abolition of child labor.

Keller, Heumann and Thompson refused to part with their contract with the UGWA, while the local ACWA now demanded a thirty-five hour workweek and a fifty-cent minimum wage. Unable to break the impasse between the company and the ACWA, William A. Green, president of the AFL, the parent union of the UGWA, conferred with the president of the ACWA and both agreed that the UGWA should withdraw. The local UGWA refused. Meanwhile, another strike occurring at M. Wile & Co., the largest clothing manufacturer in Buffalo, finally came to its end, and Keller, Heumann and Thompson faced even more pressure to settle its strike. On August 3, 1933, the firm finally came to terms with the ACWA, meeting its demands and joining the Rochester Clothiers Exchange, which recognized the ACWA as the sole bargaining power for its members.

Scope and Contents

The most significant historical contents in this collection are the materials found in Box 1, which include photographs and a scrapbook of newspaper accounts detailing the ACWA Strike of 1933, as well as a substantial amount of material regarding the proxy battle of 1960. Box 2 contains a broad collection of general historical material about the company, such as newspaper articles, advertisements, and style model books, as well as an original Heumann patent and Heumann biographical information. Significant financial and stock information is found in Box 3, including original turn of the century bank account books, annual reports, executive payroll reports, and stockholder correspondence. Finally, Box 4 contains miscellaneous business and legal documents related to Keller, Heumann and Thompson, Inc. such as by-laws, constitutions, and minutes of meetings.

Creator

Dates

  • Creation: 1885-1973

Language of Materials

English

Extent

4 box(es)

Access

The Keller, Heumann and Thompson, Inc. Records is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to the University of Rochester in 1977 in part by Bernard S. Heumann, nephew of Sol Heumann and a member of the Board of Directors of Timely Clothes from 1939-1970.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Keller, Heumann and Thompson, Inc. Records, D.75, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Title
Keller, Heumann and Thompson, Inc. records
Author
Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
Date
undated
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library

Contact:
Rochester NY 14627-0055 USA