Scope and arrangement
The Bernard F. Ashe papers, dating from the 1910s to 2008 (bulk dates 1959 to 2008), chronicle Ashe's entire career as a labor lawyer. The collection emphasizes his twenty-five year tenure as General Counsel to New York State United Teachers, while also touching on his earlier work at the National Labor Relations Board and United Auto Workers. Ashe's membership in major legal organizations, such as the American Bar Association and Commission on Judicial Nomination, is documented. His papers reveal the multi-faceted professional life of a prominent Black attorney, and provide a look into New York labor law during the second half of the 20th century, specifically regarding teachers.
A significant part of the collection is made up of chronological "working files." These files largely consist of letters and legal memorandums prepared by Ashe (or his office), revealing his day-to-day professional activities. Other materials in the collection include correspondence, agendas, meeting minutes, clippings, legal articles, newsletters, and datebooks. There are also deposition transcripts, case reports, and briefs for cases Ashe litigated or defended.
In addition to chronicling Ashe's career, the collection holds materials related to Ashe's father, Victor J. Ashe, including news clippings concerning his career as a civil rights lawyer from the 1940s through the 1970s.
The Bernard F. Ashe papers are arranged in six series:
-
1961-1991
Series I contains Ashe's working files from 1961 to 1991, covering his entire tenure at the National Labor Relations Board (July 1961 to March 1963) and United Auto Workers (October 1963 to April 1971), and most of his career at New York State United Teachers (April 1971 to 1991). The working files largely consist of copies of Ashe's outgoing letters and memos that he prepared. They provide an overview of day-to-day logistical matters at Ashe's three employers, insight into his professional relationships, and a timeline of cases he litigated or defended.
While correspondence is present elsewhere in the collection, the letters and memos in Series I constitute a sustained, chronological assemblage of professional correspondence spanning Ashe's career. This series highlights letters prepared by Ashe himself (or his office) in his capacity as an attorney for his three employers. Conversely, any correspondence found in Series II, Series III, and Series IV is filed alongside other materials in the context of particular subjects, and the correspondence in Series VI is a mixture of personal and professional letters relating to matters outside of Ashe's day-to-day legal work.
Working files from the years 1973 and 1977 are absent from this series. Materials related to major events taking place at NYSUT during these years - its 1973 merger and the National Education Association lawsuit that was ongoing by 1977 - can be found in Series II.
The letters and memos in this series are addressed to a variety of individuals. Many are written to Ashe's NYSUT colleagues, and others are for judges, clients, and labor relations organizations.
The working files often concern specific cases. A number of letters address appointment dates, meetings, leases, deposits, and the receipt of materials in relation to ongoing cases. Others contain Ashe's advice and recommendations about cases, regulations, and various internal matters. For some years, namely those from the mid-1970s to the 1980s, there are materials for nearly every day of the year; the year 1976 in particular has hundreds of documents, some of which concern the NEA lawsuit.
Additional materials are sometimes included with the letters and memos, such as NYSUT Office of the General Counsel case data forms (which contain general information about cases), case briefs, opinion letters, affidavits, mortgage forms, and court transcripts. The National Labor Relations Board materials (all in box 1) chiefly consist of appeals agendas and minutes from the General Counsel's office that Ashe prepared, detailing the specifics of dozens of cases.
-
1968-1990s
Ashe's New York State United Teachers materials make up this series, which dates from 1968 to 1995. Unlike Series I, which contains NYSUT letters and memos written by Ashe, this series constitutes alphabetically arranged materials produced by many individuals that are related to particular NYSUT subjects. Materials here were used by Ashe for reference, and include deposition transcripts, meeting minutes, correspondence, forms, invoices, reports, newsletters, legal articles, research files, and notes.
A significant portion of Series II consists of deposition transcripts for cases Ashe litigated. All cases represented here were tried in the State of New York Appellate Division, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, or State of New York Supreme Court. Deposition transcripts are sometimes accompanied by appellate briefs and memos prepared by Ashe and other NYSUT attorneys. Summaries of depositions, called "digests," occasionally accompany the transcripts.
There are thousands of pages of transcripts for The National Education Association vs. New York State United Teachers lawsuit that lasted from 1977 to 1979, including Ashe's depositions. Exhibit documents and a complete list of charges against NYSUT are present as well. Materials related to the NYSUT merger and its disaffiliation from the NEA are held in the file titled "Merger and Disaffiliation with the National Education Association;" these mainly consist of internal memos and correspondence detailing the lead-up to the lawsuit.
Elsewhere in the series are drafts and final versions of Ashe's New York Teacher columns from 1971 to 1993. Many drafts feature Ashe's edits and notes. Full issues of the newsletter are present, along with correspondence about Ashe's columns and articles he used for research.
Also of interest are materials for a 1994 talk Ashe gave at Albany Law School titled "The Privatization of Public Schools." Ashe's drafts, correspondence about his talk, programs from the event, and many legal articles he referenced are included.
There are materials that originate from Ashe's first years at New York State Teacher Association from 1971 to 1973. These files chiefly consist of internal letters by Assistant Executive Secretaries about received memos, business affairs, and job recommendations. Some of these letters are addressed to Ashe.
Other files in the series include a 1992 Board of Directors policy handbook; lists of decided Court of Appeals cases handled by Ashe during his time at NYSUT; education regulations for various New York schools; NYSUT employee handbooks; proceedings of the New York State School Law Conference at which Ashe spoke from 1972 to 1975; and representative assembly proceedings prepared by Ashe's office.
-
1959-2007
Series III reflects Ashe's involvement in professional labor relations organizations, labor law sections and committees of the American Bar Association (ABA), and labor relations conferences. Dating from 1959 to 2007, this series reveals Ashe's commitment to labor relations issues outside of his work with United Auto Workers and New York State United Teachers, while offering insight into American labor law from the 1970s to the 1990s. Series III primarily contains correspondence, notes, agendas, reports, meeting minutes, programs, newsletters, and directories. These materials address internal matters of the organizations and committees, as well as contemporary labor relations issues.
Most of the series concerns labor relations sections and committees of the ABA of which Ashe was a member. There are numerous materials for the Labor and Employment Law Section and its two predecessors, the Section of Labor Relations Law and Labor Relations Council. Programs and proceedings for the Section of Labor Relations Law annual meetings from 1963 to 1974 are present. There are meeting minutes, Ashe's notes, newsletters, and correspondence about membership for the Labor Relations Council. The Labor and Employment Law Section materials largely consist of handbooks and directories; Ashe's paper on arbitration and public policy for the section's 1995 annual meeting is also included.
Other ABA sections represented include the Committee on Practice and Procedure Under the National Labor Relations Act, Committee on State Labor Law and Public Employee Bargaining, and National Institute on Labor Relations Law in the Public Sector. Ashe was a member of these sections during the late 1960s and 1970s, and their materials consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, lists, reports, and practices and procedures. Of special note is Ashe's correspondence for the Committee on Practice and Procedure Under the National Labor Relations Act, in which he and other members discuss the Jencks Act.
Also present in this series are directories and notes for the National Caucus of Black Labor Lawyers; newsletters and reports for the Labor and Employment Law Section of the New York Bar Association; and reports and papers from Ashe's participation in the Israel Labor Lawyers Delegation for United States International Unions in 1976.
-
1959-2008
Series IV dates from 1959 to 2008 and contains Ashe's subject files that he kept in his office for reference purposes. These files are distinct from the New York State United Teachers materials in Series II and the labor relations materials in Series III, in that they do not explicitly relate to either of those topics. Instead, this series holds files on various legal subjects, universities at which Ashe taught or spoke, legal organizations and committees of which he was a member, conferences, his writings (including speeches and articles), and certificates and honors he received. A wide array of materials feature in this series: correspondence, newsletters, reports, news clippings, press releases, handbooks, directories, meeting minutes, event programs, and biographies of Ashe.
There are files on numerous legal organizations, such as the American Arbitration Association, American Bar Foundation, American Law Institute, Commission on 21st Century Judiciary, Judicial Selection Committee, The Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, National Bar Association, and New York State Bar Association. American Bar Association materials include annual meeting programs, Ashe's correspondence regarding the Board of Governors and House of Delegates, and a handbook for the Senior Lawyers Division. In addition, Ashe's files for the Commission on Judicial Nomination are present; these files consist of nomination questionnaires, hearing transcripts, and correspondence about candidates.
This series holds materials relating to a 1996 petition at Adelphi University in which faculty, students, and alumni asked the New York State Board of Regents to remove the university's Board of Trustees. The files, which include correspondence, clippings, and court transcripts, provide an account of the affair and subsequent election of new trustees in 1997 (including Ashe).
Also of note are Ashe's files on the United States/China Joint Session on Trade, Investment, and Economic Law, a 1987 conference in Beijing that he attended. There are schedules, papers presented at the conference, and programs.
A file titled "International Union, United Automobile Workers" contains appeals, reports, and correspondence from Ashe's final two years at the union. The "Finals of Administrative Decisions of Assigned Cases" file holds summaries of National Labor Relations Board cases prepared by Ashe for the General Counsel's office from 1961 to 1963.
Ashe's writings consist of legal articles, speeches, and poetry and fiction he wrote while at Howard University. His certificates and honors include licenses to practice law in certain New York districts; acknowledgements of his inclusion in Who's Who in American Law; and arbitration accreditations.
The biographical files feature copies of Ashe's resumes, and press releases and articles about Ashe with brief overviews of his career. These files are useful in confirming the chronology of Ashe's professional activities.
-
1970-1995
This series holds Ashe's datebooks that he maintained from 1970 to 1972, and from 1982 to 1995. For most years, there are full-year datebooks and individual monthly datebooks. The full-year datebooks are physically larger than the monthly datebooks, which are pocket size. Taken together, Ashe's datebooks offer a timeline of at least some of his professional activities from the years covered, while shedding light on his organizational practices.
None of the datebooks have entries for every day. Information is sometimes repeated in the full-year and pocket datebooks, though full-year datebooks are more detailed. Many of the pocket datebooks are noticeably sparse; it is likely that Ashe used them for quick reminders, whereas the full-year datebooks were his main source for schedules.
The datebooks feature entries about scheduled meetings and appointments, and accounts of tasks performed on given days. There are also entries about items to review, people to call, travel plans, and assignment deadlines. Some personal appointments feature in the datebooks, but the vast majority of entries are for Ashe's professional activities. In the 1980s and 1990s datebooks, Ashe mentions specific NYSUT cases and completed tasks related to them.
-
1910s-2007
Series VI contains Ashe's personal files, dating from the 1910s to 2007. This series holds materials related to Ashe's father, Victor J. Ashe, personal cards given to Ashe, and a chronological set of correspondence. A small group of assorted files is ordered at the beginning of the series; these files mainly consist of event programs and travel materials.
The Victor J. Ashe files feature hundreds of news clippings documenting his career as a civil rights lawyer. Most clippings date from the 1950s; a significant portion date from 1954 in particular and touch on the Brown vs. Board of Education decision and its immediate impact. There are numerous obituaries for Ashe following his death in March 1974, as well as a scrapbook in box 104 that contains clippings and photographs from throughout his life. Ashe's certificates and honors are present, including his certificate to practice law in the state of Virginia, and honors from collegiate and professional fraternities. Of special interest are the writings and speeches, which include Ashe's written platform for his Virginia House of Delegates campaign.
The personal cards to Bernard Ashe are from family members, friends, and colleagues. These cards are for occasions such as birthdays, holidays, and Ashe's retirement from NYSUT. Other cards are in sympathy to Ashe following the deaths of his parents.
The chronological set of correspondence dates from 1963 to 2007. These letters deal with a mixture of personal and professional matters, but do not relate to Ashe's day-to-day legal work on cases at UAW and NYSUT; Series I holds professional correspondence directly related to cases. The letters here see colleagues and acquaintances thanking Ashe for his help with certain tasks, complimenting him, sending him forms, confirming the receipt of materials, and confirming attendance at personal and formal events. Other correspondence deals with financial matters, vehicle leases, and Ashe's membership in legal organizations.