LOUIS EDWARD LERMAN:

Louis Edward Lerman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 4, 1894, the son of Wolfe S. and Fanny N. (Jacobson) Lerman. After brief stints working for the railroad in New York and Ohio, and as a cowboy in Oklahoma, Lerman moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1916 and in the same year married Bertha Helen Licher of St. Paul. The couple had three children.

Blacklisted for joining the union when he worked for the Delaware and Hudson Railroad in New York, Lerman had trouble finding and keeping jobs in the railroad industry. He began a new career as a postal clerk in St. Paul, a job in which he stayed over 34 years, retiring in 1950. During these years Lerman helped organize the first postal clerks union in St. Paul and was elected secretary and legislative chairman. He also helped organize a postal clerks' credit union and was responsible for training over 400 new clerks in the postal laws and regulations.

Lerman was one of the founders of Group Health Mutual, founded in 1939 to provide health insurance to workers. Inspired by a 1954 trip to Israel, Lerman went on to incorporate the Group Health Medical Plan, modeled after the Israeli system of pre-paid medical care he had seen on his trip. Lerman became secretary of the plan, a position he held until 1969.

Lerman's work for Group Health was far from the only thing occupying his post-retirement years. In 1955, five years after retiring from the Post Office, Lerman began a second career as executive director of the Jewish Labor Committee, a subcommittee of the Minnesota Jewish Community Relations Council. His primary responsibility was in the area of community relations with various labor organizations throughout the state. Major projects included the annual Labor Institute on Human Relations and work in the Indian community, where he was involved with several programs designed to encourage Indian youth to complete their high school education, go on to further education in colleges and trade schools, and get jobs. In recognition of his contribution to the welfare of the Indian community, Lerman was officially adopted into the Ojibwe tribe in May 1962, and was the first non-Indian ever to be presented the Lone Eagle Feather, the Ojibwe "Medal of Honor." Lerman finally retired from the Jewish Labor Committee in 1974, at the age of 80.

Louis Lerman died in St. Paul in June of 1978. Additional biographical information is available in the collection.

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The collection includes correspondence, clippings, minutes, reports, printed materials, and miscellany, mainly relating to Lerman's work as executive director (from 1955) of the Jewish Labor Committee, a subcommittee of the Jewish Community Relations Council; as executive director (from 1955) of the Minnesota Labor Committee for Human Rights; as executive director (from 1956) of Labor's Committee for Minnesota Indian Youth; as a founder (1938) and officer of Group Health Mutual; and as a member of numerous Jewish service and labor-related organizations.

Prominent topics include Israeli-Arab relations, civil and human rights, Institutes on Human Relations (1957-1974), national health insurance, and labor and welfare issues. There are project files and financial records on youth projects, student programs, financial and self-help aid, employment, tribal affairs, and civil rights for Minnesota's Ojibwe and Dakota Indians.

Correspondents include many Minnesota civic and political figures, among them John A. Blatnik, Donald M. Fraser, John Cowles, Jr., Hubert H. Humphrey, Walter H. Judd, Eugene J. McCarthy, Walter F. Mondale, Arthur E. Naftalin, and Karl F. Rolvaag.

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These records are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Louis Lerman Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 10,742; 11,178; 11,749; 12,389; 15,420; 15,437

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov, June 1999.

Materials previously cataloged as P697 (consisting of correspondence and folders of news clippings) have now been incorporated into the rest of the collection.

Catalog ID number: 990017197540104294

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This series includes chronologically arranged correspondence (most formerly cataloged as P697) and related material, mainly concerning the Minnesota Labor Committee for Human Rights, Labor's Committee for Minnesota Indian Youth, and Jobs for Minnesota Indians.

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The bulk of this series consists of folders titled "monthly reports," which comprises a chronological file containing copies of letters sent (many to newspapers and legislators), letters received, newspaper clippings, and minutes of meetings, as well as Lerman's monthly reports to the national and regional directors of the Jewish Labor Committee. The monthly reports include an attached copy of "Our Human Relations," a column Lerman wrote, which was published in a number of newspapers. Copies of this column, along with other related materials, are also found in four volumes of scrapbooks.

The other major portion of this section consists of material concerning the series of annual Institutes on Human Relations, sponsored by the Jewish Labor Committee and the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council.

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Correspondence, reports, clippings, resolutions and statements, and other material reflecting Lerman's interest in the Arab-Israeli conflict and the positions taken by various Jewish and labor-related organizations with which Lerman was affiliated.

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An alphabetically arranged series of miscellaneous files concerning various organizations, issues, and activities in which Lerman was involved.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Indians of North America -- Employment -- Minnesota.

Indian youth -- North America.

Israel-Arab Border Conflicts, 1949-

Jews -- Minnesota.

Labor movement -- Minnesota.

Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota.

Social service -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Lerman family.

Blatnik, John A., 1911-1991.

Chapin, Arthur.

Cowles, John, 1929-2012.

Ervin, Sam J. (Sam James), 1896-1985.

Fraser, Donald M. (Donald MacKay), 1924-2019.

Freeman, Jane.

Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978.

Jourdain, Roger A.

Judd, Walter H., 1898-1994.

Karth, Joseph E. (Joseph Edward), 1922-2005.

Keith, A. M., 1928-

Knutson, Cornelia Gjesdal, 1912-

Langen, Odin, 1913-1976.

Lewis, Herbert.

Selkirk, George B.

McCarthy, Eugene J., 1916-

MacGregor, Clark, 1922-

Magnusson, Cyrus E.

Mondale, Walter F. 1928-

Naftalin, Arthur.

Nelsen, Ancher, 1904-1933.

Rasmussen, Paul A., 1895-1970.

Reuther, Roy, 1909-1968.

Ridder, Bernard Herman, 1916-

Rolvaag, Karl F., 1913-

Thye, Edward John, 1896-1969.

Organizations:

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

Group Health (Organization).

Independent Workmens Cirle of America.

Jewish Community Relations Committee of Minnesota. Jewish Labor Committee.

Jewish Labor Committee (U.S.).

Jobs for Minnesota Indians.

Labor's Committee for Minnesota Indian Youth.

Minnesota AFL-CIO.

Minnesota Labor Committee for Human Rights.

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