American Federation of Teachers

AFT Local 2003: Hawaii Federation of College Teachers

aorchard — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:37:15 -0500

At the time of deposit, the Hawaii Federation of College Teachers, Local 2003 of AFT, included all nine campuses in the University of Hawaii system. The records include bulletins and correspondence sent to members, testimony and a motion by local union Executive Secretary William Abbott, and the Local's constitution.

There is no finding aid for this collection.

Detroit Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors Records

aorchard — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 09:30:22 -0400

The Detroit Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors was formed in 1966 and received sole collective bargaining rights with the Detroit Board of Education in 1967. The union had between 1,300 and 1,400 members at its creation, and it continues to represent administrators and supervisors in Detroit Public Schools in regards to salaries and working conditions.

In the early 1980s, the administrators were working without a contract for a brief time and they conducted a sick-out, where principals and assistant principals used their sick days in order to protest labor without contract. Their main concerns wages and job security.

The Detroit Organization of School Administrators and Supervisors Records contains correspondence, newsletters, and newspaper clippings about the sick-out, as well as documents explaining their ultimate collective bargaining goals. Additionally, this collection contains some newspaper clippings related to controversial administrative transfers and a case of an inappropriate relationship between two administrators and former students. Finally, this collection holds some materials from related organizations such as the American Federation of School Administrators and information about the NAACP Overground Railroad March in 1983.

David Elsila Papers

kschmeling — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 10:34:01 -0400

David Elsila is an activist, educator, writer, editor, and historian best known for his work involving the labor movement. He notably served as the longtime editor for the UAW’s magazine Solidarity, managing the publication from 1977 to 1998. Before then, he was editor for the American Federation of Teacher’s publications American Teacher and Changing Education. Throughout his diverse career, he also taught journalism courses at Wayne State University, wrote several books on labor history, served as Vice-President of the ACLU of Metropolitan Detroit, was a board member and editor of the Michigan Labor History Society, and received numerous awards for his journalistic and civic accomplishments.

International Socialists Records

aorchard — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 10:58:02 -0400

The International Socialists existed from 1968 -1986 in the U.S. with national headquarters in Detroit, and branches in 14 other cities. It was preceded by the Independent Socialist Club, established in Berkley in 1964, which then formed an International Socialist Committee. The International Socialist Club appealed to radical student and Maoist groups. Kim Moody, contributor of several pivotal writings to the socialist cause, helped to establish a branch of the Independent Socialist Club in New York. The Independent Socialist Club became the International Socialists at the 1969 convention, where a formal political platform was established to address the working class movement. Internal disagreements developed around degrees of radicalization and basic philosophy throughout the 1970's. These disagreements led to the formation of other organizations such as the Revolutionary Tendency and Workers Power. In 1986, International Socialists merged with Workers Power and Socialist Unity to become known as Solidarity.

The records in this collection illustrate the evolution of the political principles and internal workings of the International Socialists, mainly through the 1970’s. It shows their struggle for the rights of the working class, to reap the recognition and rewards it felt it deserved for providing the sweat of industrial production, the basis of the nation's wealth.

Walter P. Reuther Library Vertical Files Collection

aorchard — Thu, 21 May 2015 09:21:10 -0400

The Vertical Files Collection is comprised of newspaper clippings, articles, pamphlets, public relations materials, and other ephemera related to the Reuther Library’s urban affairs and labor collections.

Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Records

scaloia — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 14:37:38 -0400

The Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (WFNHP) is part of the healthcare division of the American Federation of Teachers. The WFNHP began as the Staff Nurses Council of Milwaukee (SNC), which won the right to represent nurses in 1965. Originally, the SNC was affiliated with the American Nurses Association (ANA), but due in part to the ANA’s reluctance to participate in collective bargaining, the SNC disaffiliated in 1977. In 1979, the SNC began expanding to include medical technologists in Milwaukee County and then professionals in other parts of Wisconsin. That same year, the group chartered with the AFT to become Local 5001 of AFT Nurses & Health Professionals. Nurses from Burlington, Sheboygan, and Dodge Counties soon joined the Milwaukee County nurses to form the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals. The union continued to expand across the state and addressed issues and conditions affecting nurses and their ability to deliver quality care to their patients. The WFNHP successfully fought for higher wages, health and retirement benefits, a reduction in non-nursing duties, improved workplace security, and tuition reimbursement for its members. The union continues to represent registered nurses, LPNs, medical technologists, and others in the health care field working in institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional facilities.

The Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals Records contain documents from the early days of the SNC and the transition and continued affiliation with the AFT. Major topics include organizing efforts across Wisconsin, bargaining with hospitals and other employing institutions, cases brought to the National Labor Relations Board and other governing bodies, grievances and anti-union incidents, and state and national conventions. Issues specific to nursing are also covered, including staff shortages, hospital closing, mandatory overtime, and patient violence. Document types include correspondence, newsletters, fliers and other handouts, surveys, contracts, meeting minutes, reports, and news clippings.

100 Years of the American Federation of Teachers

dgolodner — Thu, 12 May 2016 10:49:36 -0400

On May 9, 1916 the American Federation of Labor issued a charter to the American Federation of Teachers. For 100 years the AFT has shaped the conversation on public education, the American labor movement, civil and human rights as well as the true value of democracy in our society. The AFT started with 8 locals that represented fewer than 5,000 teachers across the country and now represents 1.6 million teachers, paraprofessionals, public employees and health care workers. read more »

Meet Stefanie Caloia, AFT Project Archivist

mcourtney — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 12:17:51 -0400

The Reuther Library is pleased to welcome Stefanie Caloia as our new AFT Project Archivist. Her recent experience ranges from work at a private archive to positions with History Associates, Inc. and the National Parks Service. She completed her graduate work at Wayne State, and first came to the Reuther as a practicum student in the spring of 2011. read more »

Recently Opened Collections from the American Federation of Teachers

scaloia — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 10:08:57 -0500

The American Federation of Teachers is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As part of the celebration, the Reuther has opened or added to several collections – the culmination of an 18 month collections backlog-processing project. The records are from the AFT National headquarters, regional, and local offices. These 13 collections represent the breadth of AFT activities from the local to the national level. read more »

(35066) AFSCME Headquarters, September 11 Memorial, Washington, DC, 2001

scaloia — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 15:28:30 -0400

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, AFSCME headquarters windows displayed a message recognizing the members of other labor unions who lost their lives. Washington, DC, 2001.

(Podcast) Reevaluating Comparable Worth: AFSCME's Pay Equity Campaigns of Yesteryear and Today

teller — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 13:54:52 -0400

In celebration of Equal Pay Day on April 2, 2019, podcast host and American Federation of Teachers archivist Dan Golodner recounts a time 100 years ago when male teachers tried, and failed, to prevent female teachers from seeking pay equity with their male peers. AFSCME archivist Stefanie Caloia discusses AFSCME's groundbreaking equal pay campaigns for public employees in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in Local 101 in San Jose, California and Council 28 in Washington state. read more »

Podcast: Julia Gunn on Civil Rights Anti-Unionism: Charlotte and the Remaking of Anti-Labor Politics in the Modern South

teller — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 16:15:15 -0400

Dr. Julia Gunn explains how progressive civil rights politics enabled Charlotte, North Carolina, to become the nation’s second-largest largest financial capital while obscuring its intransigence towards working-class protest, including public sector sanitation workers, bus drivers, firefighters, and domestic workers. read more »

[Podcast] Blaming Teachers: How America Simultaneously Professionalized and Patronized Education

teller — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 12:03:22 -0400

Dr. Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz explains how the push to professionalize and standardize educators beginning in the mid-1800s, without granting them decision-making power, has made them the public face of foundering school policies developed and implemented by local school administrators and state and national policymakers. read more »

[Podcast] Brewing a Boycott: Collective Activism and the Decades-Long Coors Beer Boycott

teller — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 11:49:07 -0500

Dr. Allyson Brantley explains how large and diverse groups joined together for a decades-long consumer boycott of the Coors Brewing Company to fight against its union busting, discriminatory hiring practices, and politics. read more »

[Podcast] Building Power, Breaking Power: The United Teachers of New Orleans, 1965-2008

teller — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:02:15 -0400

Dr. Jesse Chanin describes how the United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) gained power and influence in a region hostile to unions from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s by building trust in the community with transparent and democratic decision-making and a focus on racial and economic justice to improve the lives of the New Orleans community. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, however, politicians and charter school advocates fired 7,500 educators in New Orleans, dismantling the city’s public education system and decimating the union. read more »

[Podcast] Para Power: How Paraprofessional Labor Changed Education

teller — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 07:18:53 -0400

Dr. Nick Juravich discusses the experiences of the first-generation of paraprofessional educators in New York City in the 1960s-1980s and their impact on the city’s educational system, community relations, and public sector unions. read more »