Labor unions--Illinois--Chicago

Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600 Records

dgolodner — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:13:04 -0400

The Cook County College Teachers Union, AFT Local 1600, began to organize the faculty of the City Colleges of Chicago in 1965 and won official recognition in 1966. This collection represents a comprehensive record of the CCCTU’s administrative operations, its meetings, strikes, and publications. Also included in the collection are news clippings, photos, videos, and various memorabilia from the CCCTU’s history. Personal and official correspondence from the CCCTU’s longtime president, Norman G. Swenson, can be found in the collection as well. This includes letters of support sent to him and his family when he was jailed during the CCCTU’s 1975 strike. There is a complete record of the collective bargaining agreements between the Board of CCC District No. 508 and the CCCTU in the collection.

SEIU Local 1 Records

aorchard — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 12:44:36 -0400

As its name implies, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 of Chicago, Illinois is SEIU’s first local. Local 1 signed its initial agreement with the Chicago Real Estate Board in 1916, seven years before William Quesse officially founded SEIU in 1921 as a union of flat janitors. For much of its history, Local 1 focused its efforts on organizing and representing building employees, particularly janitors.

The SEIU Local 1 Records document the history of Local 1 as well as three locals that were directly amalgamated into Local 1 beginning in 1989 through 1998: Local 11, Local 106, and Local 25. Also included are materials from locals that merged into those locals prior to their mergers into Local 1, the most prominent of which is Local 4 (which merged into Local 106 in 1987). Although the records span from 1913-1999, the first 30 or so years of Local 1’s history is scant. The majority of the material within the collection documents 1950-1989, covering the operations of these locals, particularly their contracts with various companies, correspondence, discussions during internal meetings, and photographs documenting a variety of events.

Specific records documenting the history of each local include governance materials such as correspondence, meeting minutes, constitutions and by-laws; agreements; subject files including leases, arbitrations, building surveys, mergers, and audits; communications and publications including form and quarterly letters sent to union members, flyers, and serials; historical documents such as clippings and local histories; and audiovisual materials, primarily encompassing photographs, negatives, and contact sheets, as well as several scrapbooks and an original charter.

(46052) IWW Songs, Concerts, 1984

eclemens — Fri, 01 May 2020 09:49:19 -0400

“To Fan the Flames: Songs of the IWW in Concert.” 8.5 x 12.75 inches. Linocut Print.
Artist: Carlos Cortez.

A poster promoting a concert of Wobbly Music, featuring: Utah Phillips, Fred Holstein, Marion Wade, Faith Petric, Mark Ross, Bob Bovee, Eric Glatz, Bruce Brackney, and Jeff Cahill. The event was held at Holsteins, 2464 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, Illinois on Friday August 31st-Saturday September 1st. The concert was held to commemorate the IWW's 80th anniversary.

(32015) March for Equality, Chicago, Illinois

mcourtney — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 15:57:31 -0400

AFSCME Local 1610 hospital workers participate in a demonstration for equality at W. Randolph and N. Dearborn streets in Chicago.

(46046) Poster, Fred Thompson Memorial, Cortez, Phillips, Chicago, c. 1987

eclemens — Fri, 01 May 2020 08:51:00 -0400

A poster for a memorial meeting honoring Wobbly scholar and organizer Fred Thompson, likely from 1987. The meeting was held at the Sulzer Library in Chicago, and featured the following speakers: Arthur Weinberg, Joyce Kornbluh, Carlos Cortez, Penny Pixler, Robert Green, J. Quinn Brisben, Franklin Rosemont and others. Music was provided by Utah Phillips and the Grand Industrial Band.

The event was co-sponsored by the Chicago Branch of the IWW; the Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company; Left Court magazine; the Illinois Labor History Society; and Workers Education Local 189.

Podcast: 1933 Chicago Teachers Walkout: That Time Teachers Rioted With Textbooks and Rulers

teller — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 08:30:59 -0400

American Federation of Teachers archivist Dan Golodner tells ALPA archivist and guest host Bart Bealmear about the 1933 Chicago Teachers Walkout, when Chicago teachers joined together to demand that they be paid in actual money and on time, rather than in scrip that wasn’t honored by local businesses and banks during the Great Depression. read more »

[Podcast] Oil Can Eddie and the Battle for the Steelworkers’ Union

teller — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 22:24:21 -0400

Roger Biles and Mark Rose discuss the legacy of Eddie Sadlowski, a charismatic and progressive Chicago steelworker who, unhappy with the United Steelworker of America’s closed-rank authoritarian leadership and tepid support for rank-and-file members, led a highly visible yet unsuccessful dissident campaign in the contentious election for the USWA’s presidency in 1977. read more »