Isaac Litwak

Community and labor
leaders, paying their last
tH butes to Isaac Litwak,
whose funeral services were
held at Ira Kaufman Chapel
Sunday morning, pointed to
the exciting career of this
interesting labor leader who
became a legend in his
ranks in his lifetime.
Litwak was founder, or-
ganizer and patriarch of the
Laundry and Linen Drivers
Union in Detroit, Teamsters
I renal 285.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Labor, Communal Leader

Throughout his many
years of service to the union,
Litwak earned the reputa-
tion for honesty of belief,
sincerity of conviction and
fearlessness in championing
his workers' causes.

Year after year he lent
his support to the Israel
Histadrut Campaign and
other recognized Jewish
and non-Jewish charities,
notably the Allied Jewish
Campaign, United Foun-
dation and Israel Bonds.
He served as a member of
is
the national board of direc-
ISAAC LITWAK
tors of the Israel Histadrut
Campaign and he partici-
pated actively whenever hot' movement to lend to its
Histadrut called on the la- support.
He was also a member of
Silverman Post, Jewish War
Veterans.
Born in the Ukraine, he
came to this country in 1913
after serving a prison term
in Siberia as a political pris-
oner. He installed radiator
caps on Model T Fords on
School & Dress Up Clothes
the assembly line, and
Sleepwear & Accessories — Jeans, Jeans, Jeans!!!
served two years with the
FOR JUST US GIRLS SIZES 4-6X and 7-74
U.S. Polar Bear Division in
Russia during World War I.
24901 Northwestern Hwy.
112 Heritage Plaza
He came back to Detroit
MON.-FRI. 10:30-4:30
Southfield, 357-1123
to earn a living driving a
SAT.
10:00 to 2:30
357 1123
laundry truck, married,
Toi'chv Silverman & Thelma Stalburg
joined the Detroit Laundry
Club of Jewish laundry
drivers with little dues
structure and no affilia-
Feadmileeld 71de,w
tion with a union. This
spirited group became the
nucleus of Local 285.
Introduces
A close friend of former
Teamster President Jimmy
Hoffa, Mr. Litwak organ-
ized the laundry drivers in
1934 and joined them with
For children 18 to 36 months
the Teamsters.

gVew Ueirteektiok

-

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"Mother Toddler Program"

In the violence of the
early clays of union organiz-
ing Mr. Litwak was em-
broiled in a three-year
struggle to keep mobster
elements from taking over
the local.
The turmoil ended in 1937
when a one-day strike
against a linen supplier
forced the others to fall in
line.
There came a time when
there was no company in
the laundry, linen or cov-
erall industry that was not
organized 100 per cent by
Litwak and the teamsters.
Behind his hack, manage-
ment called him "Square
Isaac." They couldn't give
him a cup of coffee. He in-
sisted on buying his own to
avoid a hint of bribery.
Isaac Litwak ran Local
285 as president and busi-
ness agent from 1937-1957
by working alone from the
top, handling all grievances
and negotiations and was
the only business agent of
his local.
It was not until 1957 that
this policy was changed
when Art King was brought
in as business agent.
Mr. Litwak continued as
president of the union un-
til 1972, when a slipped
disc at the age of 80 - forced
him to retire. He was hon-
ored at a massive civic
tribute dinner on his birth-
day at the Latin Quarter.
He was described by one
Teamster as "a fiery little
man with a giant vision and
a personal crusade to make .
a teamster laundry driver's
life better, happier and
surer."

classes begin Sept. 19

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% DOES

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Holocaust Event Stirs Professor

Editor, The - Jewish News:
One of the most stirring
experiences I had in a sum-
mer that was eventful and
fascinating in so many ways
was to attend the confer-
ence held in June at Haus
Rissen, the conference
grounds of the Municipality
of Hamburg, Germany, and
convened by the Interna-
tional Council of Christians
and Jews to focus on the
subject, "The Holocaust 30
Years Later — and Its Les-
sons for Us Today.."
Profoundly moving me-
morial services were held in -
two separate areas where
Hitler's stormtroopers put
hundreds of thousands of
Jews to death: Neuen-
gamme and Bergen Belsen.
The prayers were uttered
and the laments spoken in
the shadow of monuments
reared to the memory of
those, who were brought to
these extermination centers
by the very freight cars,
which stood on sidings
where they had been left in
1945, as reminders of the
cruelty and hatred they in-
carnated.
The delegates were of one
mind in vowing such a mon-
strous crime must not he
allowed to happen again,

even in a world where vio-
lence and bloodshed seem to
be taken for granted; in call-
ing for a united voice by
Christians and Jews to pro-
test genocide anywhere; and
in emphasizing that Israel is
the most dramatic, con-
structive development to
have emerged from the Hol-
ocaust, and must therefore-
he supported and strength-
ened in every way possible.
These are the lessons of
the Holocaust.
DR. CARL VOSS
Christians Concerned
for Israel

Friday, August 29, 1975 43

Building Smeared At Wayne State

A defacing of Wayne week. Grossman wrote
State University's Ethnic WSU President George E.
Heritage Center on Warren Gullen about the graffiti,
at the Lodge Freeway has and was told by WSU offi-
been protested by Lewis S. cials that the vandalism
Grossman, president of the would he removed as soon as
Jewish Community Council. possible.
The building was smeared
with a Star of David and the
words "kill Arab pigs" last
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Reservations Still
Open for DSG Stag

Dinner reservations and
golf tee-off times are still
available for the Detroit
Service Group's 26th An-
nual Stag Day to be held
Sept. 9 at Knollwood Coun-
try Club.
Golf tee-off times are
from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A
buffet lunch will be served
from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A cocktail reception be-
gins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner
following at 7 p.m.
For reservations, by Tues-
day, call the DSG-Federa-
tion office, 965-3939.

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