SLU and the 21st Century ILGWU Heritage Fund are proud to announce a new scholarship to support labor leaders of exceptional promise to complete their undergraduate or graduate studies at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.
The Jay Mazur ILGWU Memorial Scholarship honors labor leader Jay Mazur, who passed away in January at the age of 92. In a career that spanned seven decades, he fought for labor rights, civil rights, and social justice.
A passionate advocate for working people, especially women and immigrants, Jay was born to a poor Jewish family in the Bronx, worked his way through night school at CUNY, and found a political and spiritual home in the labor movement. Jay served as the last president of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) from 1986 to 1995. He then served as the first president of UNITE from 1995 until his retirement in 2001.
At a time when the American labor movement was shaken by hostile regulation and the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs, Jay continued to organize forceful demands for workers’ rights. He was especially dedicated to championing immigrants and global labor solidarity. A highlight of his career was the New York City Chinatown garment workers’ strike in 1982, co-organized with Chinese women labor leaders, which mobilized some 20,000 workers and resulted in a union contract.
At a memorial event for Jay at SLU in May, his family and labor comrades shared stories about Jay and labor movement struggles in his day. “He stood for dignity, he stood for workers, and he stood beside those who made history,” said his son Marc. “His commitment to his members was never ending,” said his daughter Ilana. “He would do whatever he could to make sure they received the safe working conditions and benefits they deserved, starting locally, then nationally and internationally.”
Muzaffar Chishti, co-president of the 21st Century ILGWU Heritage Fund, worked with Jay for over 50 years. He recalled Jay as an extremely hard worker who was willing to take chances on new ideas and new people. During his tenure, ILGWU championed amnesty for undocumented immigrants and elevated new generations of labor leaders, primarily women of color. “There was nothing generic about Jay,” Muzaffar said. “He was irrepressible, voluble, a full personality, Bronx, Jewish, working class, and he wore all of it on his sleeve and wasn’t ashamed of any of it.”
Jay’s wife Connie remembered how he upheld core values of loyalty and respect, and expected others to do the same. “My Jay always wanted to protect people, especially those who needed help the most,” she said. “I think it says a lot that the boy who sold shopping bags to help provide for his family turned into the man who protected workers around the world—the ones who make the garments that have filled so many billions of shopping bags.”
If you are interested in supporting the Jay Mazur ILGWU Memorial Scholarship, you can donate here or by reaching out to Lindsey McCormack, Director of Institutional Development, at lindsey.mccormack@slu.cuny.edu