Collections

36th General Hospital Records

drice — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:34:30 -0400

Originally activated in World War I, Base Hospital No. 36 was sponsored by the Detroit College of Medicine. It was reactivated during the winter of 1942, and assigned to Algeria and then Caserta Italy in 1943. Organizational records, biographical information regarding the officers, a history of the hospital during WWI, as well as an outline for the history of the WWII period are included. A comprehensive history of the unit compiled by Chalmers Wickwirs is included.

AAUP WSU Chapter Records

abarker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:39:50 -0400

The Wayne State University American Association of University Professors was formed in 1930. The early activities of the chapter focused on administrative reform and faculty participation in University governance. In May of 1973 WSU AAUP won an election against the Michigan Education Association-affiliated Faculty Association and the WSUFT (Wayne State University Federation of Teachers) to become the faculty collective bargaining representative. Collection materials include records relating to chapter activities and contract negotiations, as well as President Arnold Pilling's notes and diary entries related to the chapter's activities during its formative years, the 1972 election campaign and the first contract negotiations.

Willoughby Abner Papers

drice — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:53:43 -0400

The papers of Mr. Abner reflect his work with the UAW, and to a lesser extent, his involvement in civil rights and community activities.

Part I consists of correspondence, reports, newsletters, and miscellaneous publications reflecting Mr. Abner's positions with the UAW and his social concerns. Until 1963 Mr. Abner was with the Education and Citizenship Department of UAW Region 4, located in Chicago. In 1963 he moved to Detroit to become the assistant director of the Leadership Study Center of the UAW. Subjects include the labor movement on local, state, and international levels; urban affairs and social problems.

Part II reflects Mr. Abner's involvement with the NAACP, the city of Chicago, college campus unrest, prison conditions mediation, and community development activities. Subjects include: Affirmative action; labor mediation; civil rights; employment discrimination.

ACLU of Michigan: Metropolitan Detroit Branch Records

drice — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:15:48 -0500

The Metropolitan Detroit Branch of the ACLU was chartered in 1952 and joined the Lansing and Ann Arbor area chapters in 1961 to form the ACLU of Michigan, coordinating civil liberties activities for these and several other chapters that formed over the next decades. Their records related primarily to the Detroit Branch and include subjects such as: academic freedom; censorship; church and state; civil liberties; police brutality; HUAC; and legal assistance to prisoners.

ACLU Oakland County Branch Records

abarker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:40:43 -0400

The Oakland County Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union was formed in 1979, with James Lafferty serving as the first elected president. Petitioned by the Metropolitan Detroit Branch of the ACLU, the branch was formed to address issues such as Oakland County jail conditions, lie detector use, senior housing rights, and attempts to reinstate the death penalty.

Contents of the collection include materials relating to the Baldwin Site Proposal for Senior Housing in the City of Birmingham, MI, and the related activities of PRIDE (People Rallying in Defense of Equality); the office files of branch president James Lafferty, and documentation of the war resistance and anti-draft activities of CARD (Committee Against Registration and Draft) and CCOO (Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors).

Stephen Adamcyk Papers

abarker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:29:52 -0400

A pioneer unionist in the Ford Foundry, Local 400, Stephen Adamcyk was presented with a plaque in June 1972 honoring him for his service of 35 years to the union. The collection consists of union dues receipts, flyers, and a piece of correspondence relating to union organizing in the Ford Motor Company in 1941.

Joseph Adams Papers

abarker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:38:36 -0400

Joseph Adams served as a trustee of Dodge Local 3, United Auto Workers of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (UAW-CIO) in 1939 and was commander of the Flying Squadron, Local No. 3 during the strike of 1939. Contents include correspondence and memos regarding the activities of the Flying Squadron, and a list of nominees and delegates to the 1939 UAW-CIO St. Louis convention.

AFL-CIO Metropolitan Detroit Records

drice — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:27:18 -0500

The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations Metropolitan Detroit is the central organization for all AFL-CIO unions that have locals in Wayne County, MI. The organization was very important in offering financial assistance to organizing drives, ending factional and jurisdictional disputes, and supporting political candidates. Their records pertain to these activities including those of its presidents Frank Martel (1948-1956), Al Barbour (1958-1967) and its vice-president Alex Fuller (1959-1967)

AFL-CIO Records

drice — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:04:00 -0400

Four reels of microfilm obtained from the records department of the AFL-CIO. Specifically filmed were correspondence files between the AFL and the national offices of the AFT (1916-52); ALPA (1938-52), and UAW (1938-48).

Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO Council: Tom Turner Records

drice — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:22:32 -0400

Subjects include: civil rights; Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; political education; Detroit government and politics; Detroit Federation of Labor; school desegregation; health and hospital services; Histadrut; labor education; Wayne County government

Michigan AFL-CIO Records

drice — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:15:09 -0400

Material consists of the files of the Michigan CIO Council prior to its merger with the Michigan Federation of Labor in 1958, as well as the work of the secretary-treasurer's office during the later administrations of William Marshall, Wlater Campbell, and George Watts. Includes general office files of Michigan CIO Council presidents John Gibson and August Scholle (1943-54); Michigan CIO secretary-treasurers John Gibson, Ben Probe, and Barney Hopkins (1939-54); the files of Tom Downs relating to his work as Michigan CIO Council representative, state legislative representative of the CIO, and member of the Michigan Employment Security Commission (1947-54); the editor's files and financial records of the Michigan C/O News (1939-52); the Michigan CIO Education Department's general files (1946-55): Fair Employment Practices Committee files (1946-49): Radio Council files (1948-511, and files of summer schools and training institutes (1946-54); miscellaneous financial records, Executive Board minutes, and correspondence.

Subjects include AFSCME, AFL-CIO merger, anti-labor legislation, civil rights, COPE, election campaigns, equal rights for women, farm labor and farmers' unions, federal wage and hours legislation, FEPC, Ford Strike (1949), importation of Mexican farm workers, Labor's League for Political Education, legislative apportionment and redistricting, McCarran-Walter Act, peace- time draft controversy (1945-47), Michigan Constitutional Convention, Progressive Party/Henry Wallace campaign (1948), public housing and rent control, UAW, unemployment and workmen's compensation legislation, United Way, use of prisoners of war in the Michigan lumber industry, and workers education. Correspondents include prominent people active in politics, civil rights, labor, business, education, and civic affairs.

Michigan AFL-CIO: August Scholle Records

drice — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:16:31 -0500

Correspondence, reports, memoranda, financial and legal papers, speeches and miscellaneous materials relating to various ClO-affiliated unions and their locals in Michigan; and to Michigan CIO conventions; county and local industrial union councils; activities of CIO field representatives; and the general office operation of the Michigan Regional Office of the CIO. The materials were collected by Mr. Scholle, who served as CIO regional director for Michigan (1937-54); and president, Michigan CIO Council (later the Michigan AFL-CIO) from 1940 to 1943, and 1946 to 1971. Correspondents include George Addes, John Brophy, James 6. Carey, Adolph Germer, John Gibson, Allan S. Haywood, Philip Murray, Lee Pressman, Walter Reuther, and Murray D. Van Wagoner.

Michigan AFL-CIO: Lansing Office Records

drice — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:24:17 -0400

Reference files consisting primarily of clippings and some press releases, biographical material, voting records, correspondence, legislative records, and notes on individuals, unions, organizations, Michigan state departments and agencies, topics of current interest, and elected and appointed local, state, and national officials. The materials were collected by the Lansing office of the Michigan CIO Council and Michigan AFL-CIO. Topics include Bricker Amendment, Michigan state budgets, Albert Coho, FEPC, education, Dwight Eisenhower, election recounts, guaranteed annual wage, health care, housing, Michigan Constitutional Convention, Frank McKay, Kohler Company, Patrick McNamara, Michigan Farm Bureau, migrant labor, Walter Reuther, George Romney, Eleanor Roosevelt, legislative reapportionment, Robert Taft, taxes, and Wayne County.

Michigan AFL-CIO: William C. Marshall Papers

drice — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:18:08 -0400

Subjects include: AFSCME; Allied Industrial Workers; civil rights; CETA; Communications Workers of America; political education; Histadrut; Michigan Democratic Party; Michigan elections; Michigan AFL-CIO; transportation; UAW; United Way

Wayne County AFL-CIO: Education Committee Records

drice — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:19:13 -0400

Correspondence, minutes, proclamations, and publicity material relating to labor education, for both members of the labor movement and the general public. Several files concern Labor Education Week (1964 to 1967). Other topics are consumer education, libraries, and the Speakers Bureau. Correspondents are Al Barbour, Clarence Hilberry, and Carroll Hutton.

AFSCME Central Files Department Records

jruss — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:09:27 -0400

The AFSCME Central Files Department was established in 1966 to which all departments within the international headquarters contributed correspondence and reports so all material related to a particular incident would be filed together. In 1974, Dr. Philip Mason of the Reuther Library at Wayne State completed a thorough records management survey of AFSCME and recommended that the Central Files Department be dissolved and that individual departments maintain their own records. His recommendation was enacted that same year.

The material in this collection reflects the broad range of operational activities undertaken by the AFSCME International Headquarters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The records reveal information on most aspects of the union’s procedures, on councils and locals throughout North America, and on AFSCME’s dealings with organizations, government entities, and other unions. The records are primarily comprised of correspondence, but other types of records also appear including legal and policy memoranda, financial statements, legal decisions, transcripts from hearings and proceedings, meeting minutes, procedures, by-laws, grievance claims, membership lists, staff activity reports, press releases, and news clippings.

AFSCME International Executive Board (I.E.B.) Records

jruss — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:46:46 -0400

The International Executive Board (IEB) is the top level legislative and policy-making body within AFSCME, except when the convention is in session. The IEB is responsible for interpreting the union’s constitution. The records of the IEB are maintained by the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer. Materials in this collection were pulled together from various shipments from the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer to make a comprehensive record of the proceedings of the AFSCME IEB. Some IEB-related information can still be found in the Secretary-Treasurer’s records. This collection includes minutes, agendas, and transcripts of the meetings of the International Executive Board of AFSCME from 1935 to 1993. Reports
presented to the IEB from various entities and offices like the Office of the President and the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer also appear in the collection. Correspondence on planning the meetings and on various issues that Locals and Councils brought before the IEB appears as well. Resolutions, budgets, judicial panel hearing reports, and other miscellaneous material related to individual IEB meetings also appear in the collection. Materials are arranged chronologically, and are grouped by convention location and date.

AFSCME Judicial Panel Records

jruss — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:54:29 -0400

During the tenure of AFSCME's first president, Arnold Zander, the International Executive Board was the union's highest judicial body. When Jerry Wurf became president in 1964, he ushered in a number of reforms including a new constitution and the establishment of the Judicial Panel, an independent body to settle the union's internal judicial issues. In 1972, Joseph Ames, a primary author of the new constitution and then Secretary-Treasurer, proposed a number of changes to how the Judicial Panel functioned, including making the Judicial Panel Chairman a full time, salaried position and affording the Panel responsibility over all judicial matters. At the 1972 Convention, these reforms were adopted, and Ames became Judicial Panel Chairman. William Lucy, then executive assistant to President Wurf, became Secretary-Treasurer.

In 1977, the Judicial Panel decided a case against President Wurf. The decision brought to the fore contention over the checks and balances of power in AFSCME's government. By 1980, a commission appointed by President Wurf to review the Judicial Panel had recommended changes that would diminish the power of the Chairman and distribute caseloads more evenly among Judicial Panel members. These changes were adopted, and Ames resigned as Chairman. He was replaced by longtime AFSCME organizer P.J. Ciampa who served for a short time. David Trask, Jr. served briefly after Ciampa, and finally, John Seferian became Judicial Panel Chairman in 1983. Seferian still served in 2009.

These records primarily contain transcripts of hearings held for Judicial Panel cases. Also included are exhibits, decisions, correspondence, by-laws, constitutions, legal documents, petitions, meeting minutes, election ballots and vote tallies, and financial documents.

AFSCME Legislation and Political Education Department Records

jruss — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:27:42 -0400

This collection focuses on the efforts of the Legislation and Political Education Department to establish programs within AFSCME, government agencies and alongside other unions and agencies. The Department's activities can be divided into five areas: legislation, political action, community affairs, relations with government agencies, and international affairs. Important subjects covered in this collection are the Hatch Act, voter registration, fund raising and contribution rules and regulations, and dues check-off.

AFSCME Local 1733: Memphis, Tennessee Records

jruss — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:40:48 -0400

Sanitation workers in AFSCME Local 1733 in Memphis, Tennessee led a strike in 1968 to gain union recognition. The strike lasted for 65 days and garnered national attention as Local 1733's campaign for labor rights became fused with the struggle for civil rights. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. lent his support to the strikers by visiting Memphis and leading marches. While there, on April 4, 1968, King was assassinated. The strike was settled soon after King's death. Local 1733 went on to wage other campaigns for workers' rights, including a push to raise wages for public employees in the summer of 1969, a school boycott in the fall of 1969 that corresponded to the NAACP's drive for more racially diverse representation on the Memphis City Council, and a push to unionize workers at St. Joseph Hospital in the fall of 1969.

The vast majority of this collection consists of newspaper clippings that follow these campaigns in both local and national publications. Some additional material relating to the strikers' strategies and the organizations formed to support the strikers such as Community on the Move for Equality (C.O.M.E.) and Memphis U.S.A. also appears.