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.

State Workers Organizing Committee Records

drice — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 15:10:18 -0500

The State Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was a semi-caucus and political movement that worked within several unions, including the Welfare Employees Union (WUE), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Michigan State Employees Association (MSEA), and the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. SWOC was born from within the WEU and served as an activist organization that played a key role in establishing local union chapters, including the UAW Local 6000 and the AFSCME 1880. Additionally, SWOC took part in rallies, job actions, and legal endeavors on issues related to worker concessions, bargaining rights, layoffs, reassignments, grievances, and welfare rights.

The State Workers Organizing Committee Records contains material related to SWOC and affiliated labor groups, such as the Welfare Employees Union and the Michigan State Employees Association. Material included in the collection consists mostly of paper records documenting the efforts of SWOC and the MSEA to establish local union chapters and to agitate for workers rights, including meeting and convention information, legal proceedings, promotional materials, and correspondence with various labor groups and government agencies.