American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

AFSCME Administration Department Records

jruss — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 16:02:10 -0400

The Administration Office existed for a number of years in the 1960s and 1970s. When it dissolved, its duties were transferred to other departments. Its convention planning duties were handled by the Office of the President for a time and are currently enacted by the Conference and Travel Services Department. Its other duties were assumed by the AFSCME Business Office. Records in this collection include subject files on areas of interest to AFSCME; correspondence from councils and locals; and information on President Jerry Wurf's public relations and special event activities. Also included are committee reports from the 1960-1970 conventions, with most of the focus on the 1965 Special Constitutional Convention, the 1968 convention, and the 1970 convention.

AFSCME Business Office Records

jruss — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 12:58:58 -0400

The AFSCME Business Office historically has handled financial matters for the union, and its activities are largely reported on by the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer. For a time, it was involved in the planning of the AFSCME biennial convention, as well as the numerous other, smaller meetings and conferences that AFSCME hosts throughout the year. Its name as of 2013 was the Financial Services Department, which includes Accounting, Auditing, and Benefits. This collection includes budgets for AFSCME International; information on the planning, scheduling, and programming of AFSCME conventions, conferences, and meetings; material related to various AFSCME departments; information on contracts and insurance programs; and a handful of other files about subjects and organizations of interest to AFSCME.

AFSCME Career Development Program Records

jruss — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:51:45 -0400

Seeing success in a program run by AFSCME District Council 37 in New York City that upgraded Nursing Aides to Licensed Practical Nurses, the International union wished to bring career development training to its members who were hospital employees. As such, in 1967, AFSCME began investigating how to develop hospital career development training programs. In 1969, AFSCME was awarded a grant from the Department of Labor and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to work with hospitals in Boston, Cleveland, and Maryland. In 1971, AFSCME received a second grant to take the Hospital Career Development Program (HCDP) to three new cities, Memphis, Detroit, and St. Paul. At this point, language guaranteeing funding for continuing career development began to enter negotiated contracts. In 1973, AFSCME received its third grant, which brought HCDP to three more cities, Houston, Milwaukee, and the District of Columbia.

This collection documents the planning, execution, and evaluation of the AFSCME Career Development Program, 1966-1975, which primarily involved the Hospital Career Development Program (HCDP). HCDP developed and implemented career ladders and training curricula for hospital employees. The records are comprised of correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, curricula, job descriptions, organizational charts, contracts, press releases, news clippings, lesson plans, course schedules, graduation invitations and announcements, recruitment material, newsletters, and a small number of photographs.

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 Central Regional Office: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Clerical Administrative Campaign Records

scaloia — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 16:34:16 -0400

AFSCME Local 698, chartered in 1944, initially consisted of laboratory mechanics and agricultural employees of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), with other groups later joining. During 1970-1971, clerical workers initiated an organizing campaign but ultimately failed to get majority support. In 1983, AFSCME sent one organizer, with more following in subsequent years, to UIUC as part of a wider organizing effort in the state of Illinois. In August 1991, a representation election was held and AFSCME won. Local 698 then had its charter amended, granting the clerical-administrative employees a separate local – Local 3700. Contract negotiations began in earnest in 1992. Local 3700 conducted an informational picket in August of 1992. Among the issues was a significant pay gap between state clerical workers (represented by AFSCME Council 31) and the UIUC clerical workers, as well as pay equity between men and women on campus. A group called the Committee of Concerned Clericals attempted to decertify the local, but failed after another election confirmed Local 3700’s status as sole bargaining representative. Members ratified a contract agreement in January of 1993. At that time, Local 3700 had over 1,500 members. The AFSCME Central Regional Office: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Clerical Administrative Campaign Records consist of a chronology of events, newsletters, flyers, brochures, and other organizing materials created in the course of the campaign. Also includes newsletters and publications related to the campaign produced by AFSCME headquarters and AFSCME Council 31.

AFSCME Communications Department Records

jruss — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:06:22 -0400

AFSCME has produced a regularly published magazine since its inception. Publication duties for this organ and other materials were accomplished by the Education and Publications Department for the first twenty years of AFSCME’s existence. The 1954 Convention, however, passed Resolution 14, establishing a Publications and Public Relations Department. This new department would continue to publish the AFSCME magazine and other materials and would also take on new media public relations duties both at headquarters, and importantly, in the field. Recognizing that current field staff’s duties did not include crafting AFSCME’s message during organizing campaigns and strikes, it was hoped that the new department would provide skilled public relations professionals on the ground. The new department was created on April 1, 1956. The Publications and Public Relations Department existed until 1971 when the name was changed to the Public Affairs Department. This existed until 2011 when the name was changed again to the Communications Department.

The AFSCME Communications Department Records document the public activities of the Department, AFSCME International, and AFSCME officials. Records include speech transcripts; press releases; surveys and polls; documents related to AFSCME biennial conventions such as transcripts of proceedings, correspondence, and planning documents; correspondence; publications; meeting minutes; clippings; photographs, slides, and negatives; audio and video recordings; and posters.

AFSCME Education and Leadership Training Department Records

mcourtney — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 15:11:27 -0400

The 1960s began a period of significant growth for AFSCME, which meant an increased need for knowledgeable members and staff. AFSCME began an education program around 1962, and by 1966 the International Union had established the Education and Leadership Training Department, later known simply as the Education Department.

Part one of this collection contains materials produced during the union's efforts to organize local organizations into AFSCME, including member education on matters of negotiating and enforcing a contract. Records were created between 1970 and 1973, and illustrate the functions of the Education and Leadership Training Department as an entity that worked closely with the Organizing Department and the Office of the President. Much of the material in part one of this collection makes the case for organizations to affiliate with AFSCME, both through policy and legislation as well as training for individual workers on matters of organizing, contract negotiations, and contract enforcement. A majority of the material in part one was produced in relation to the organizing work of Al Bilik, who served as AFSCME Assistant to the President.

Part two relates to the operation of the education department as well as specific programs, such as the AFSCME Staff Intern Program, which recruited members of AFSCME locals for staff training. Participants attended classes in Washington, DC, and then worked in the field. Some successful participants were offered staff positions at headquarters, councils, or locals at the conclusion of the internship. Materials include field education staff reports, correspondence, staff and member training materials, and meeting notes.

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 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 1259: Detroit Public Library Records

jruss — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:11:55 -0400

Local 1259, representing Detroit Public Library (DPL) employees, affiliated in 1949 with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Michigan Council 77. It represented professional librarians, as well as clerical and maintenance employees. A staff association existed for some years before union certification, and failed attempts to unionize were made before 1949. In 1970, the Association of Professional Librarians won the right to represent the professional librarians within the union. Local 1259 continued to be the bargaining unit for the DPL's maintenance and clerical workers. The collection documents the activities of Local 1259 and of the Detroit Public Library during the 1950s and 1960s. Additional information is included on broader topics like Detroit city employees; Michigan AFSCME organizations and events, especially Michigan Council 77; and unionism in libraries. Records include contracts and negotiation material; budgets, proposals, and financial statements; correspondence; meeting minutes; publications; constitutions; salary information; clippings; convention materials; and fliers.

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.

AFSCME Local 1: Washington, D.C. Records

scaloia — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 17:52:19 -0400

AFSCME Government Workers Union Local 1 represented public employees within Washington D.C. The founding local of the Government and Civic Employees Organizing Committee-CIO (GCEOC) in 1950, Local 1 became an AFSCME affiliate after the AFL-CIO merger in 1955. By 1960, the Local was focused on organizing efforts, particularly in the Department of Sanitation, intended to eliminate racial discrimination in hiring and promotion for skilled positions and pay increases. In 1971, Local 1 was restructured into AFSCME District Council 20. The records consist of the business and official records of AFSCME Local 1’s administrative and advocacy staff. Records include contracts and negotiation material; contract administration and enforcement materials; employee grievances; dues collections and rates; budgets, proposals, and financial statements; correspondence; meeting minutes; publications; job descriptions; salary information; convention materials; and informational pamphlets.

AFSCME Local 496: Genesee County, Michigan Records

jruss — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:22:59 -0400

AFSCME Local 496 was established in December 1970 in Flint, Michigan. It was composed of maintenance, custodial, and clerical employees of Genesee County and was under the jurisdiction of AFSCME Flint Metro Area Council 29. Local 496's first president was Christine Daros, and its first secretary-treasurer was David Barkey. The records in the collection consist of routine office files reflecting the activities of Local 496; council and international convention materials; per capita payments to the International; and membership and payroll information.

The collection is comprised of 3 manuscript boxes and 1 oversize book.

AFSCME Local 771 Wayne County, Michigan Library Employees Records

scaloia — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 11:28:55 -0400

The Wayne County, Michigan Library System was established in 1920 and built branches in the then-far flung rural areas of the county. Librarians in the system organized and received a charter for AFSCME Local 771 in 1943 and operated out of a building at 3661 Trumbull in Detroit. Activities included navigating the newly-established Wayne County Civil Service program. The local was active until 1964 when it disbanded. The county system disbanded in 2015, at which point it had been reduced to just a few locations. Many of the former member locations converted to municipal libraries.

The AFSCME Local 771 Wayne County, Michigan Library Employees records contain correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, constitutions, articles, and photographs. Topics include various committees, the Wayne County Civil Service Commission, AFL, AFSCME International and Council 77. Local 771 Presidents represented in the collection include Anne Farrington, Zona Williams, Kathryn (Wagner) Sadler, and Isabella Swan.

Full finding aid

AFSCME Michigan Council 25 Records

mcourtney — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:39:51 -0400

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is an international union that maintains affiliates at the council and local level. Councils generally cover a greater geographic area than locals, and locals report to councils.

AFSCME Council 25, previously Council 29, had offices in Lansing, Detroit, and Southfield. Upon consolidation in the mid-1980s, these records were deposited at the Reuther. This collection spans 1973-1980 and contains meeting minutes and notes from contract negotiations with the City of Detroit for higher wages, shift specific wages, and sick and vacation days for municipal employees. Additionally, this collection holds executive board meeting minutes, negotiation notes, and memorandum from Council 77, a Detroit area council.

AFSCME Office of the President: Arnold S. Zander Records

jruss — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:29:17 -0400

This collection encompasses the Office of the President's records during the tenure of AFSCME's first and founding president, Arnold S. Zander, from 1935 to 1964. Information on the formation of AFSCME and early AFSCME history can be found in this collection. Additionally, the collection reflects the organizing efforts of AFSCME throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and the relations between AFSCME and the AFL, CIO, AFL-CIO, and other unions and organizations. Further, Zander's particular interests in consumer affairs and the international aspects of public employee organizing appear in these records.

Appended to the finding aid is a non-searchable subject and correspondent index.

AFSCME Office of the President: Gerald W. McEntee Records

jruss — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:07:42 -0400

Gerald W. McEntee became president of AFSCME in 1981. Some of the issues reflected in Part I of this collection include the anti-apartheid movement; health care reform, especially under the Clinton White House; affirmative action; AIDS; presidential politics and union campaign support; international labor relations; and legislative affairs. The records also include information on state locals and councils, AFSCME's relationship to other labor unions and organizations, and AFSCME's judicial panel cases.

Part II of the AFSCME Office of the President: Gerald McEntee Records consists of documents created mostly between 1996 and 2003, while the bulk of Part I was created between 1981 and 1995. As a result, Part II contains evidence of AFSCME’s reactions to changes in the labor movement in a post-NAFTA economy. These changes are evident in the internal functions of AFSCME’s Executive Office, affiliates, and in the union’s work within the AFL-CIO and allied organizations.

AFSCME Office of the President: Jack Howard Records

jruss — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:25:52 -0500

International affairs were handled out of the AFSCME Office of the President. Sometime after 1969, Jack Howard joined the AFSCME staff. When Gerald McEntee became president of AFSCME in late 1981, Jack Howard became his executive assistant. In this role, Howard was responsible for, among other things, international affairs. As such, Howard also worked closely with Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy who was heavily involved in international affairs, eventually becoming president of Public Services International (PSI) in the mid-1990s. The records in this collection reflect Howard’s supervision of AFSCME’s international affairs in the 1980s and 1990s. Howard retired from AFSCME in the early 2000s.

This collection contains correspondence, schedules, publications, planning documents,
photographs, workshop materials, and reports related to AFSCME’s activities in foreign
countries, both as a union itself and in interaction with foreign public employee unions and
international organizations. Also covered are exchange visits between AFSCME and
foreign public employee union leaders.

AFSCME Office of the President: Jerry Wurf Records

jruss — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:29:17 -0400

This collection focuses on Jerry Wurf's tenure as AFSCME International President from 1964 until his death in 1981. Some information appears on an AFSCME affordable housing project that began prior to Wurf's election to the presidency. This housing project was one of the issues that led to a rift among AFSCME members and to Wurf's winning the presidency from incumbent president Arnold Zander. The bulk of the collection, though, represents the Office of the President's records during Wurf's tenure.

Information appears on International Executive Board (IEB) meetings; AFSCME councils and locals; the Committee on Public Education (COPE); the Coalition of American Public Employees (CAPE); Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality (PEOPLE); public employee legislation; international public employee unions; the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike; the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination; Wurf speeches; the Vietnam War; Wurf and AFSCME's relations to larger AFL-CIO issues; AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy; AFL-CIO President George Meany; and Communication Workers President Joseph Beirne.

AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: Gordon Chapman Records

jruss — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:29:03 -0400

The records in this collection were created during the tenure of AFSCME's first and founding president Arnold S. Zander. The Secretary-Treasurer for most of Zander's presidency was Gordon Chapman. The Office of the Secretary-Treasurer during this time period oversaw the general financial health of the international union and kept records for its locals, councils, and the headquarters staff. The Office also maintained the records on dues payments.

The records in this collection relate to the chartering, organizing, placement under trusteeship, and disbanding of thousands of locals and councils in all the United States, Puerto Rico, Panama, and Canada. There is also historical information on some locals and councils, and a small amount of documentation on the financial operations of the Office, with data on salaries and payroll matters.

AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: Gordon Chapman/Joseph Ames Records

jruss — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:47:43 -0500

This collection primarily covers the end of Gordon Chapman’s tenure as Secretary-Treasurer, and all of Joseph Ames’s tenure. These years saw turbulence in the International Union’s politics where founding incumbent president Arnold Zander faced challenges from an opposing faction called the Committee on Union Responsibility (COUR). COUR candidate Jerry Wurf won the presidency at the 1964 convention. Gordon Chapman held the office of Secretary-Treasurer. In 1966, Chapman retired due to poor health. He was replaced by Joseph Ames who had been President Wurf's assistant. Ames served as Secretary-Treasurer until 1972 when he became Judicial Panel Chairman, and William Lucy, then President Wurf's assistant, became Secretary-Treasurer.

The early records in this collection document the activities of President Zander's assistant Leo Kramer and COUR, illustrating their rival campaigns. The later records in this collection document the activities of the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer, including finances, conventions, International Executive Board meetings, correspondence and speeches, political activities, legislation, files on councils and locals, and files on various associations with which AFSCME had relationships.

AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: Government and Civic Employees Organizing Committee Records

jruss — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:41:02 -0400

In early 1950, the United Public Workers union was expelled from the CIO for alleged communist activities, leaving behind an anti-communist group called the Government Workers Union. In February of 1950, the CIO chartered the Government Workers Union as the Government and Civic Employees Organizing Committee (GCEOC) and gave the new committee jurisdiction over federal, state, and local employees. In the next five years, GCEOC aggressively attempted to reach full union status within the CIO but failed to do so before the AFL-CIO merger in December 1955. After the merger, GCEOC was absorbed by the AFL's AFSCME. Some of the GCEOC personnel and many of its locals transferred into AFSCME, but by the late 1950s almost all traces of the old GCEOC had disappeared.

These records detail the breakup of the United Public Workers and the formation of the Government Workers Union and the GCEOC. There is considerable documentation on GCEOC Local 1 in Washington, D.C., which became AFSCME Local 1, and of GCEOC organizing efforts in the 1950s in the United States, Canada, and Panama.

NOTE: A non-searchable subject and correspondents index is appended to the end of the guide.

AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy Records

jruss — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:21:25 -0400

The AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer oversees the general financial health of the international union, keeping records for its locals, councils, and the headquarters staff. The Office keeps files on council and local trusteeships, maintains per capita dues payments by locals and councils, issues charters to new locals, and suspends and disbands locals or councils when problems arise. William Lucy held this position for 38 years, 1972-2010.

Lucy joined AFSCME as a civil engineer in Contra Costa, CA in 1956. A decade later, he was working for the International in Washington, D.C. Proving his leadership abilities during the 1968 sanitation workers strike in Memphis, during which Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, Lucy became AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer in 1972. Alongside his work with AFSCME, Lucy also served with countless labor, civil rights, and civic organizations to advance causes for blacks, women, and workers locally in Washington, D.C., nationally, and internationally. Lucy helped found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) in 1972 to represent African Americans in the labor movement. He was instrumental in the Free South Africa Movement's efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. He served as president of Public Services International (PSI) and as a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council. These activities are reflected in the Records. Lucy retired from the position of Secretary-Treasurer in July 2010 at the AFSCME biennial convention.

The AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy Records document the activities and operations of AFSCME International, the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer, and AFSCME’s state and local councils. The Records also convey the actions of William Lucy in a number of labor and civil rights organizations, including TransAfrica, the NAACP, CBTU, PSI, and the AFL-CIO. The Records include correspondence, reports, speeches, financial information, legal documents, convention transcripts and proceedings, publications, and meeting minutes. Several boxes of audio recordings of International Executive Board meetings are included, and a very small number of photographs appear in the collection.

AFSCME Organizing Department Records

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

This collection reflects the work done by and through the AFSCME Organizing Department, 1967-1972. Important subjects and people that appear in the collection include public employee organizing; recruitment; organizations; elections; strikes; Chairman of the AFSCME Judicial Panel Joseph L. Ames; International Field Director P.J. Ciampa; and International President Jerry Wurf.

AFSCME Political Action Department Records

scaloia — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 12:50:14 -0400

The Political Action department at AFSCME monitors political campaigns and ballot measures at the national, state, and local levels, and works to mobilize voters on issues related to public employees. The AFSCME Political Action Department records relate to these activities and contain correspondence, memos, notes, reports, fliers, scripts, surveys, survey data, training manuals, and VHS and audiocassette tapes. Includes information on candidates and AFSCME member views.

AFSCME Program Development Department Records, Part 1 & 2

jruss — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:05:55 -0400

The AFSCME Program Development Department was created in January of 1973 to deal with matters such as health care, the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, employee protections, career development, and sex discrimination. It was funded by federal grant money until 1975 when the funds ran out, the department was disbanded, and its several functions were taken over by other AFSCME departments.

The records in Part I reflect the Department's concerns with women's issues, sex discrimination, the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), and other groups. Important figures represented are Linda Tarr-Whelan, deputy director, 1973-1975; her successor, Nancy Perlman; and International President Jerry Wurf. Important topics appearing in the records include affirmative action, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, International Women's Year, Title IX, and commissions on the status of women.

The records in Part II of this collection contain the administrative records of the Program
Development Department head and staff. A large portion of Part II is devoted to subject
files, which illustrate the broad scope of the Department’s focus. Part II also contains
records pertaining to the Department’s efforts to prevent the decentralization of mental
health institutions and to protect the employees that worked in those facilities. Files on
other health care related issues are also included in Part II. A few files related to
Women’s Issues that were missed when processing Part I also appear.

AFSCME Public Policy Analysis Department Records

jruss — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:17:10 -0400

Part 1 of the AFSCME Public Policy Analysis Department Records focuses on Deinstitutionalization, particularly at Wayne County General Hospital (WCGH). The hospital complex was located in western Wayne County, Michigan, approximately 16 miles west of downtown Detroit. Deinstitutionalization represented a major change in philosophy for mental health treatment delivery and was the term given to the process whereby mentally ill patients were moved out of large public hospitals and into smaller community-based treatment facilities. Typically, large public (state) hospitals were then closed. The process began in 1955 with the introduction of new psychiatric medications by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) into state hospitals. These new medicines offered the possibility of less-restrictive care for the mentally ill outside of the inpatient hospital setting. The deinstitutionalization trend accelerated after the passage of the Community Mental Health Centers Act in 1963 and then continued throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Part 2 of the AFSCME Public Policy Analysis Department Records consists of material related to AFSCME’s national effort to affect public policy in federal, state, and local governments during the 1970s. The department conducted research on issues with the potential to impact AFSCME members, especially matters of Social Security, cost of living, pensions, healthcare, deinstitutionalization, public health care, and unemployment. From this research, the Public Policy Analysis Department created reports and studies meant to influence the policy created by government agencies. The bulk of Part II of this collection represents AFSCME’s work in the debate on deinstitutionalization and health care reform efforts between 1973 and 1978.

Part 3 of the AFSCME Public Policy Analysis Department Records contains correspondence, memos, reports, data, news articles, studies, speeches, and testimonies. Large portions of the records pertain to mental health and deinstitutionalization. Other topics covered include taxes, Reagan-era budget cuts and other economic issues.

AFSCME Publications

mcourtney — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 11:10:47 -0400

AFSCME Publications is a collection comprised of serials created and collected by AFSCME International, District Councils, and Locals. The collection also contains material produced as part of AFSCME’s biannual international conventions and articles published about AFSCME from an academic standpoint. The publications in this collection arrived at the Reuther Library over time and came from multiple sources.

The collection features AFSCME’s official publication, which was first known as The Journal of State and Local Government Employees (1937-1947), then Public Employee (1947-2007), and later, AFSCME WORKS (2007-2017). Much of the collection is made up of newsletters produced at the Council or Local level between 1968 and 1974, illustrating the issues relevant to different types of AFSCME workers during a formative time for the Union.

Note that this collection was updated in September 2019 with the final issues of AFSCME Works and issues of Council 5's Stepping Up.

AFSCME Retiree Department Records

jruss — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:27:16 -0400

The Retiree Department of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was created in June of 1978. A movement within AFSCME began as early as 1973 to create an entity to assist its retirees in planning for and adjusting to retirement. AFSCME President Jerry Wurf introduced Resolution 90 at the 1978 International Convention, officially establishing the Retiree Department. After the first year, there were 20,000 members in 12 chapters. As of 2011, it was the largest organization of public-sector retirees with 235,000 members in 39 chapters across the United States.

The Retiree Department focuses its efforts on three missions: grassroots political action,
education and service. It aims to improve the lives of its members and other retired persons
through its efforts to reform health care, protect pension benefits and address other topics of
concern for retirees. The chapters and subchapters also serve a social function for retirees.

The AFSCME Retiree Department Records were generated and used by the Department’s main office in Washington D.C as well as by the state chapters. Specifically, the records document the origins, operations, entities, programs and activities of the AFSCME Retiree Department and the accomplishments of its various chapters.

AFSCME Women's Rights Department Records

jruss — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:11:19 -0400

The records in this collection focus on comparable worth and job evaluation in state governments. The majority of the collection is comprised of consultants’ proposals to state and local government committees to conduct studies addressing issues of pay equity and job evaluation and ranking systems. Some correspondence exists that documents the evaluation and selection of these proposals by state committees and the national AFSCME office. General information and reports about various job evaluation and ranking methods are included as well as reports from AFSCME about how best to develop comparable worth job systems. Additionally, some training material and more general information on pay equity issues are represented in the collection.

Olive R. Beasley Papers

jruss — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:49:00 -0400

Olive R. Beasley led a career devoted to improving human and civil rights for minority groups. She served as secretary and later as executive director of the Michigan Committee on Civil Rights and was a member of the Fair Employment Practices Commission. She continued to serve its successor, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission as executive director of the Flint office. She also held numerous posts in labor and community organizations in Detroit and Flint including president of AFSCME Local 52, Detroit area; vice-president of AFSCME Council 7, Michigan; executive board member, Michigan AFL-CIO; and secretary of the Detroit League of Women Voters. In 1972 she received the Governor's Award for Distinguished Public Service Employees.

The papers reflect Mrs. Beasley's career with Michigan agencies and organizations concerned with civil rights and, to a lesser degree, her involvement with labor unions and Michigan politics.

Thelma Bernstein Papers

jruss — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:47:18 -0400

Thelma Bernstein was on the staff of Family Services of Metropolitan Detroit and was a member of AFSCME Local 1640, Council 77. Her papers relate to the activities of Local 1640 and consist of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, membership lists, and contract proposals.

Al Bilik Papers

drice — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:00:39 -0400

Al Bilik served on the District Council 51, Cincinnati, Ohio and was an active labor member within the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Sensitive to the relationship of the larger international union working with and depending on the strength of locals and councils, he helped American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union members Victor Gotbaum, Rob Hastings, Jerry Wurf, Joseph Ames, Norm Schut and Father Albert Blatz, form the Committee on Union Responsibility (COUR).

Formed in the early 1960’s, COUR worked on AFSCME constitutional reforms to broaden the powers of the Secretary-Treasurer and International Executive Board, giving affiliated unions more authority in determining local policies and programs. COUR supported Jerry Wurf to become the new AFSCME President and opposed the candidacy of AFSCME President Arnold Zander in the international convention held May 1962 in Kansas City. At the 1964 Denver convention COUR campaigning eventually worked to oust Zander and establish Wurf as the new AFSCME President. Al Bilik later became the assistant to AFSCME President Jerry Wurf.

Al Bilik’s papers contain correspondence from active COUR members, but does not contain correspondence written by Al Bilik.

Gordon W. Chapman Papers

jruss — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:34:38 -0400

Gordon W. Chapman was elected secretary-treasurer of AFSCME in 1937. He served until 1944 when he became executive assistant to AFSCME president Arnold Zander. In 1948, he was reelected to the office of secretary-treasurer. Chapman resigned from AFSCME in 1961 to accept a State Department appointment as special assistant for the coordination of international labor affairs. In 1962, he was once again elected as secretary-treasurer of AFSMCE where he served until his retirement in 1966 due to poor health. During the 1950s, Chapman also worked actively with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Chapman placed his papers with the Reuther Library in 1979. His collection reflects almost exclusively his work in AFSCME.

Alton Cobb Papers

jruss — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:44:36 -0400

Alton Cobb served as president of AFSCME Local 26. He also served as secretary-treasurer of AFSCME's Detroit Council 77 during this time period. The trusteeship of Local 26 began during Cobb's tenure, and his papers largely reflect this conflict. His papers include executive board minutes; correspondence; and legal and financial papers centering on disputes over the trusteeship of Local 26 and Council 77.

David Hershey Posters

scaloia — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 14:24:15 -0400

David W. Hershey worked for AFSCME Michigan Council 25 from about 1975 until 1989. He acquired these advertisement posters during that time from an advertising agency hired by AFSCME International. The ads ran in major newspapers and magazines, but at least one was never published.

Elaine Graves Papers

drice — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:26:00 -0500

Elaine Graves served on the staffs of both the United Farm Workers and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Her papers, while gathered during her tenure with AFSCME, reflect her continued interest with the UFW boycott effort.

Susan Holleran Papers

drice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:48:11 -0500

Susan E. Holleran was a labor journalist for AFSCME's national headquarters and its international magazine. Additionally, she was a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), a member of the National Organization of Women (NOW), active in community service activities of the Washington, D.C. AFL-CIO, and coordinator of the first national conference on pay equity which resulted in the founding of the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1979. Holleran died of cancer on December 15, 2007. Holleran's papers reflect her work with AFSCME, the AFL-CIO, CLUW, and the National Committee on Pay Equity, as well as her interest and involvement with working women.

Bob Johnson Papers

mcourtney — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 10:22:28 -0400

Bob Johnson served Michigan’s AFSCME organizations in various roles throughout his life. In his early career, he helped Local 1182 organize and negotiate to win their first contract. Metropolitan Council 23 in Detroit elected him president soon thereafter. Johnson succeeded in his campaign to become president of Michigan’s powerful AFSCME District Council 25 in 1978. In 1980, he was elected an international vice president of the union to represent workers in the state of Michigan. Johnson died in 1982.

These papers, collected by Bob Johnson and his family, document Johnson’s roles in AFSCME. Materials include correspondence, biographical material, publications, and news clippings highlighting Johnson’s achievements as a leader in AFSCME. The collection also includes photographs of Johnson at AFSCME events and contract signings.

Joseph Goulden Papers

scaloia — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 11:30:58 -0500

Joseph C. Goulden’s biography of AFSCME president Jerry Wurf was published in 1982. Wurf, a controversial figure in the labor movement, served as president from 1964 until his death in 1981. He gave Goulden permission to write about him, “warts and all,” and facilitated access to AFSCME records and employees. In addition to Wurf himself, Goulden interviewed AFSCME staff including Al Bilik, Victor Gotbaum, Joseph Ames, William Hamilton, Leamon Hood, Donovan McClure, Gerald McEntee, and Ernest Rewolinski, as well as United States Senator George McGovern, Jerry Wurf’s wife, Mildred Keifer Wurf, and brother, Al Wurf. Goulden also conducted significant research using the AFSCME collections at the Reuther Library. Jerry Wurf passed away in 1981, shortly before the book was published.

The Joseph Goulden Papers contain an annotated manuscript and master proof of Goulden’s book, Jerry Wurf: Labor’s Last Angry Man.

Researchers interested in Goulden's interviews should see the Jerry Wurf: Labor's Last Angry Man Oral Histories.

Leo Kramer Papers

jruss — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:15:55 -0400

The Leo Kramer Papers were given to the Reuther Library by Leo Kramer who served as personal assistant to Arnold Zander during Zander's tenure as AFSCME International President, 1936-1964. Kramer assembled and utilized the Papers in the writing of a book about AFSCME. Therefore, included in the collection are notes, correspondence, and research materials relating to Kramer's writings and labor activities. The bulk of the Papers, however, reflect the development of AFSCME from its beginning as the WSEA (Wisconsin State Employees Association) to the end of Zander's presidency in 1964.

Peter John Moralis Papers

scaloia — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 13:00:17 -0500

Peter John Moralis had a long career in the labor movement and politics. He held various roles for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees International Union (AFSCME) as well as affiliated councils. He later worked as an assistant to US Senator Charles Mathias, Jr. where he sought grants for local governments, resolved constituent complaints, liaised to labor groups, and assisted with Mathias's re-election campaign. His papers primarily consist of photographs and newspaper clippings. Also present are correspondence and other paper documents as well as three-dimensional objects.

Milton Tambor Papers

jruss — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:45:23 -0400

Milton Tambor was born in New York City in 1938. He earned a Hebrew Teachers degree from Yeshiva University in 1957. He completed his bachelor’s in Psychology at Wayne State University in 1959, his Master of Social Work at Wayne in 1963, and his PhD in Sociology at Wayne in 1991. Throughout his scholarly career, he has focused on teaching and writing about organizing social workers and non-profit and agency employees. He also had a long career in unionism, holding staff and leadership positions in AFSCME Detroit Local 1640, AFSCME Michigan Council 77, and AFSCME Michigan Council 25. Throughout his career, Tambor was also involved in other labor and leftist organizations in Detroit, most notably the anti-Vietnam War group Detroit Coalition to End the War Now and the Michigan Labor Committee on Central America. In 2001, Tambor retired and moved to Atlanta where he continues to work in the progressive movement.

The Milton Tambor Papers document Tambor’s academic career, work for AFSCME, and participation in labor, leftist, and progressive organizations in Detroit. They include articles, newspaper clippings, publications, fliers, meeting minutes, reports, and training material.

Jerry and Mildred Wurf Papers

jruss — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 10:42:33 -0400

Jerry Wurf started his work in AFSCME in New York's Council 37, becoming executive director by 1959. He went on to serve as AFSCME International president from 1964 until his death in 1981. He also served as a vice-president of the AFL-CIO. Throughout his career, Wurf was actively involved in campaigns for civil liberties; anti-nuclear and peace movements; workers' education, health, and rights; Jewish concerns; and domestic politics, especially related to the Democratic Party.

Mildred Kiefer Wurf began work at AFSCME Council 37 in New York in 1951 as a researcher and writer. She was heavily involved with worker education programs and training union stewards. Mildred and Jerry married in 1960.

Jerry Wurf's papers relate both to his professional work with Council 37 and as AFSCME president, and to his efforts for civil and workers' rights. His papers also contain correspondence with a great number of prominent union, political, and civil rights leaders of his era. Mildred Wurf's papers, which constitute the last series of this collection, reflect her interest in labor education.

Holgate Young Papers

drice — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:55:11 -0400

Holgate Young served in various capacities in several labor organizations throughout his career. In the 1950s he worked as the UAW Local 6, International Harvester Division Financial Secretary, AFSCME Wisconsin Field Representative, and International Association of Machinists Education Director. In the 1960s & 70s, Young held positions as the CWA Education Coordinator and AFT Washington D.C. Workers Education Local 189 Education Chairman.

Part I of his papers reflects his work with AFSCME and the UAW. It includes caucus leaflets for local union elections, newsletters, financial reports, company letters to all employees, minutes and clippings from UAW Local 6 (International Harvester Co., Melrose Park, Illinois) from 1948-55. From the State, County, Municipal Employees of Kenosha, Wisconsin, there are newsletters, notes on bargaining, contracts, and grievances from twenty-five locals, and educational and miscellaneous material (1956-57).

Part II of his papers reflects his work with the IAM, AFT, and CWA as well as his interest in labor education.

Part III of the Holgate Young Papers reflect Young’s many labor-related interests, and focus on his work with the UAW, IAM, CWA, AFT, and AFGE, among other labor organizations. The collection includes records relating to the many offices within the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as records for AFGE Local 12, UAW Local 6, AFT Workers’ Education Local 189, CWA, and IAM.

Richard Zweiback Papers

drice — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:07:57 -0500

Papers of a former International representative for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union in the Michigan area. Correspondence, clippings, and handbills cover negotiations with local governments of suburban Detroit.

AFSCME Radio Spots, Ambulance Drivers

jruss — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:12:33 -0500

During the 1970s, AFSCME created a series of radio spots that highlighted the wide range of jobs conducted by the union's members. Each spot features a different set of public employees, interviewing the workers about their jobs, and raising the listening public's awareness of the contribution these workers make. This spot focuses on ambulance drivers.

AFSCME Radio Spots, Librarians

jruss — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:14:47 -0500

AFSCME Radio Spots, Parks and Campsite Workers

jruss — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:28:54 -0500

AFSCME Radio Spots, Parks and Recreation Workers

jruss — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:13:46 -0500