Max Weiner collection on Consumer Education and Protective Association records

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Background Note

Scope and Contents

Overview of Arrangement

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Controlled Access Headings

Collection Inventory

I. Subject Files

II. Audio-visual Materials

Summary Information

Repository

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Creator

Weiner, Max

Title

Max Weiner collection on Consumer Education and Protective Association records

ID

3427

Date [inclusive]

1962-1991, undated

Extent

9.6 Linear feet ; 24 boxes, 1 flat file

Author

Finding aid prepared by Willhem Echevarria.

Sponsor

This collection was processed as part of the Civic Engagement Collections Project. Funding for this project was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Language

English

Language of Materials

This collection is mostly in English with some documents in Japanese and Finnish.

Mixed materials [Oversize]

Flat File 1

Mixed materials [Box]

1-24

Abstract

Max Weiner was the founder and executive director of the Consumer Education and Protective Association (CEPA), founded in 1966; this organization fought utility companies, public transportation companies, automotive companies, and other major parties in order to secure rights for consumers. Weiner and CEPA also spoke out about a number of socio-political issues, including political corruption and police brutality. Included in the collection are newspaper clippings, press releases, leaflets, pamphlets, and other printed materials regarding rallies and activities, newspapers and newsletters, correspondence, speeches, radio program scripts, reports, court documents, cartoons, transcripts of hearings, and information about the groups and companies that CEPA fought. There are also videotapes and audiotapes of Weiner's appearances on TV and radio programs. Weiner ran for office unsuccessfully a number of times on the Consumer Party ticket.

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Background Note

Max Weiner was born in South Philadelphia in 1912, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrant parents who worked in factories and as street vendors. He graduated from Simon Gratz High School and attended the Philadelphia Normal School with the intention to become a school teacher. However, at age 21 after leading a protest against the Philadelphia school board and being the protagonist of a confrontation with some of the board members, he was never hired as a teacher. Weiner went on to work as an accountant, a mortgage and refinance loan expert, and a real estate agent. It was at his real estate office that in 1966 he founded the Consumer Education and Protective Agency (CEPA), organized originally as an instrument to settle complaints against financial institutions with a history of high-interest rates and unfair policies.

Although reluctant at the beginning to work full time in arbitration, due to his knowledge of accounting and his flair for debate and confrontation he found himself increasingly interested in defending and advocating for consumers against fraud. At the head of CEPA, Weiner spent the next 25 years fighting for consumer’s rights against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authotity (SEPTA), Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO), Blue Cross, water and telephone companies, lemon cars, plumbers, and inflated pensions for politicians; and increasing prices in milk, meat, sugar, and insurance rates; bank policies; and Frank Rizzo, among others.

During the 1940s Weiner had belonged to the Communist Party but after a difference of opinion with the organization he was expelled from it. However, his advocate work made him realize the importance of utilizing politics, particularly during election time, to lobby on behalf of poor people’s right as consumers. With the purpose of having a forum to raise awareness on consumer issues, and with the influence and help of Ralph Nader, Weiner co-founded the Consumer Party in the mid 1970s. On this party’s ticket, although unsuccessfully, Weiner ran for city controller, City Council, state auditor general, state Senate, and Congress.

Ralph Nader, in an article for the Philadelphia Inquirer called Weiner “the most effective consumer advocate at the community level in the country”. In 1989, at age 77, Weiner died at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia of a heart ailment.

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Scope and Contents

This collection consists almost entirely of subject files arranged alphabetically. Files consist of records Weiner kept of all matters where the Consumer Education and Protective Association (CEPA) was involved and include, but are not limited to, case files on PGW, SEPTA, Blue Cross, Bell Telephone, PECO, and Chevrolet. Most folders contain documents produced by CEPA, press releases and newspaper clippings about the case, promotional literature, and leaflets and flyers used in rallies. Several folders include legal papers related to cases CEPA fought in court.

Subject files also include information on speaking engagements held by Max Weiner as well as copies of all requests for help and information received by CEPA. This portion of the collection also features thank-you letters, transcripts of radio programs produced by CEPA, and copies of Consumer Voice, a newspaper published by the organization.

The collection features multiple video and audio cassettes of Weiner and CEPA-sponsored engagements; however, these are not accessible to researchers unless reformatted.

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Overview of Arrangement

Series I: Subject Files, 1966-1991, undated; 21 boxes, 1 flat file

Series II: Audio-visual Materials, 1980-1988; 3 boxes

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Besse Weiner, 1991.

Processing Information

This collection was processed using guidelines set out in the "More Product, Less Process" approach to archival processing. Audio and video cassettes are not accessible unless reformatted.

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Related Materials

Related Materials

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:

Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of Philadelphia (El Concilio de Organizaciones Hispanas en Filadelfia), 1966-1990 (MSS 120)

U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission collection, 1974- (SPC 330)

Model Cities Community Consumer Protection Program (Philadelphia, Pa.) collection, 1974- (SPC 333)

At other repositories:

Herbert Strauss Collection (AR 25252). Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History; New York, NY.

ILGWU [International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union] Communications Department biography files (5780/177). Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Ralph Nader-related printed propaganda, 1979-1980. John Hay Library, Brown University.

Alliance for Consumer Protection Records and Photographs, 1970-1975 (MSS 0616). Senator John Heinz History Center, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Susan Ludel papers, 1970-1979. Hoover Institution Library and Archives, Stanford University.

Michael Johnson papers, 1950-1995. Historical Collections and Labor Archives, Penn State University Libraries.

Barbara Whaley Bitters Hall Papers, 1975-1997 (Accession 37027). The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Vernon W. Holschbach papers, 1983-1985. Wisconsin Historical Society Library and Archives.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
• PECO Energy Company.
• Philadelphia (Pa.).
• Philadelphia Gas Works.

Personal Name(s)

• Nader, Ralph.

Subject(s)

• Consumer Activism--20th century.
• Consumer education--Periodicals.
• Consumer education--United States.
• Consumer protection--Law and legislation.
• Consumer protection--United States.
• Inflation (Finance)--United States.
• Public utilities.

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Collection Inventory