Labor unions--organizing

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 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 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.

AFT Great Lakes Regional Office Records

scaloia — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 12:34:48 -0500

The American Federation of Teachers is a labor union representing primary and secondary school teachers, paraprofessionals, higher education faculty, professional staff, and nurses and other health care professionals. Regional offices fall under the auspices of the Department of Organizing and are responsible for organizing efforts and other assistance to local and state federations. The Great Lakes Region includes Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Indiana. The Great Lakes Region was once part of the Midwest Region, and records from that office are also included. The Midwest region included Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The records cover organizing projects, collective bargaining campaigns, field director and staff meeting notes and minutes, AFT Executive Council meeting packets, mergers between AFT state offices or locals and National Education Association affiliates, and national, regional, and local conferences. Audiovisual materials include VHS tapes, audiocassettes, photographs and negatives. Files from former Midwest Regional Director Mark Chaykin’s work in other areas of the country are also included.

AFT Inventory Part II Records

dgolodner — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:06:07 -0400

Contains Series VIII-XIII. read more »

Series VIII State publications, 1950s-1963
Series IX, miscellaneous materials 1935-1964
Series X communications to locals, 1934-1963
Series XI memos and mimeographed materials, 1921-1964
Series XII Locals, 1914-1960s 4W-B-5 (1-3) 4W-B-4(5-9)
Series XIII AFT conventions, 1916-1967

AFT Higher Education Department: Graduate Student Organizing Files

dgolodner — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 14:03:57 -0500

The AFT Higher Education department was started in the late 1960s to focus on organizing faculty and staff on campuses across the country. This collection focuses on the organizing drives with graduate students. The collection is made up of correspondence, newspapers clippings, journal articles, flyers and contracts.

Agricultural Workers History Collection

drice — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 09:16:17 -0400

The United Farm Workers of America (predecessor name, United Farm Workers Organizing Committee) is a 20th Century union, created when the National Farm Workers Association and Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee merged to form UFWOC, to further the rights of farm workers. As the union developed, it led strikes and organizing campaigns to advance their efforts.

Parts 1 and 2 of the Agricultural Workers History Collection are comprised of articles, publications, crop and migrant studies, farm wage rates, UFW grape and lettuce boycott newsletters, legislative reports and other materials documenting the history of agricultural labor in California and a few other states.

Joe Brown Papers

drice — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:19:34 -0400

A one-time reporter for the Federated Press, Mr. Brown gathered a variety of items for a proposed book on unionism in the auto industry. Clippings, correspondence, handbills, and miscellaneous publications relate to the rise of auto unions during the 1930s and 1940s. Nearly every topic of importance for that time and subject is covered, including sit-downs, drives to organize various plants, and strikes. The scrapbooks contain mostly Detroit newspaper clippings about auto unions.

Box 23, Folder "Strikes and Lockouts (by Industry): Glass Companies is unavailable.

Raphael and Olga Brown Papers

abarker — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:46:58 -0400

Union organizers for the American Federation of Silk Workers (AFSW) in New Jersey, the papers of Raphael and Olga Brown relate to their work as union organizers and the textile strikes of 1933-1934.

John Conyers Sr. Papers

drice — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:03:02 -0500

Organizing leaflets, articles, invitations, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets collected by Mr. Conyers, who served as chief steward of UAW Chrysler Local 7 and as a UAW International representative for the Chicago area and for Region 1, Michigan.

Irwin L. Deshetler Papers

drice — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:49:43 -0400

Material collected by Mr. DeShetler as secretary-treasurer of the AFL Flat Glass Workers Union (1935-37), president of the CIO Federation of Glass, Ceramic and Sand Workers (1939-42), CIO regional director of southern California (1946-52), CIO assistant regional director of Region 13 (1952-55), AFL-CIO assistant regional director of Region 22 (1955-68) and National AFL-CIO coordinator for Farm Workers (1968-71). Various activities of the Glass Workers Union, such as Executive Board meetings (1935-39), factional disputes and organizing, political campaigns in California (1953-68), jurisdictional raiding, AFL-CIO merger, the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, and welfare programs in Los Angeles (1947-56) are covered.

Ken Eckert Papers

pneirink — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 10:39:35 -0500

Kenneth Eckert was a Toledo-born organizer for the UAW, the National Association of Die Casting Workers, and International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, and a member of the Communist Party. Eckert became involved with the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers when it absorbed the die casters union in 1942, a remaining regional director and board member until the merger was dissolved in 1948. The Ken Eckert collection contains court documents, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs pertaining to the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, its Die Casting Division, and their significant shared membership with the Communist Party. Of particular interest is documentation of the 1942 merger between the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers and the National Association of Die Casting Workers; the 1948 dissolution of that merger; and Eckert’s testimony to United States Senate committees investigating Communist membership in labor unions. The collection also includes labor and Communism pamphlets, court subpoenas, administrative union documents, and Eckert’s notes and research materials for a book he was planning in the 1950s.

George C. Edwards, Jr. Papers, Parts 1-4

drice — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:39:40 -0400

George Edwards, Jr., son of George Clifton Edwards, attended Harvard University where he became involved with the Student League for Industrial Democracy. After coming to Detroit in 1936, he became a UAW organizer with Walter Reuther, was appointed director of the Detroit Housing Commission, and served on the Detroit Common Council. After serving in WWII, he went into private practice, followed by judgeships in the Wayne County court system. In 1956, Edwards was appointed to the Michigan State Supreme Court. In 1962 he was invited by Mayor Jerome Cavanagh to the post of Police Commissioner of Detroit where he focused his attention on organized crime and discrimination. After serving two years he was nominated to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by President John F. Kennedy, and eventually served as a Chief Judge. He retired in 1991 and passed away in 1995.

Parts I-III of his papers reflects his early high school and college days, including correspondence with his father and material from his involvement in several student groups. Edward, Jr.'s various judicial campaigns, particularly his Michigan Supreme Court appointment, as well as his directorship of the Detroit Housing Commission are documented. Personal papers, including wartime correspondence with his wife, are included, as are newspaper clippings dealing with a variety of topics relevant to Detroit politics and events.

Part IV of Edwards, Jr.'s contains personal and career related correspondence from his service in the military through the 1980’s, with much focus on his nomination and confirmation to the Sixth Circuit Court. Included are many speeches and writings, his activities with professional organizations, a photocopy of his manuscript of the biography of his father, Pioneers at Law, and memorial tributes and letters of condolence to his family.

Florida Christian Migrant Ministry Records

drice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:22:04 -0500

Subjects include: Latino migrant workers; sugarcane industry; UFW; Florida agriculture; rural poverty; black migrant workers

GI Underground Press Records

drice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:54:44 -0500

The records of the GI Underground Press consist of newspapers and newsletters printed by servicemen in different branches of the armed forces during the Vietnam War. Materials relating to the American Servicemen's Union, a short-lived attempt to organize enlisted men and non-commissioned officers, are also included. The records reflect the involvement of American servicemen in the anti-war movement as well as their cooperation with civilian anti-war groups.

Graduate Employees Union at Michigan State University

dgolodner — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:07:20 -0400

The Graduate Employees Union at Michigan State University filed for union recognition on February 2, 2001 with the Michigan Employment Relations Committee. On March 22, 2001 the GEU-MSU held its first general membership meeting and by the following month on April 20th the union had won the collective bargaining election 662 to 192. In September 2001 the union and administration began contract talks. By the beginning of winter semester information pickets were a daily occurrence on campus. In March 2002 the membership of GEU-MSU voted to strike and the union did on April 25, 2002. The following day the administration agreed on a contract. This collection contains information about the organizing campaign of graduate students at Michigan State University.

Thomas A. Hendricks Papers

drice — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:05:28 -0500

Thomas Hendricks was an organizer for the United Auto Workers, primarily in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana plants. His papers reflect his organizing work, in particular Indiana and Illinois plants in the 1940s.

Harley B. Hiscox Papers

abarker — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:31:41 -0400

Harley Hiscox held various offices in the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in California, Colorado and Texas. Mr. Hiscox was active in the founding of 100 California AFT locals and served as the Texas State Director of Organizing and as President of Dallas Local 2260. Mr. Hiscox’s papers document his extensive work for the AFT.

Industrial Workers of the World Records

drice — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 16:44:51 -0400

The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in 1905 and is a member-run union for all workers. The IWW organizes all workers producing the same goods or services into one union instead of pooling them by skill or trade. Numbered among its members (known popularly as Wobblies) are lumberjacks, miners, farmhands (especially migrant workers), sailors, and workers in textile mills. Since their founding, the IWW has made significant contributions to labor struggles around the world. The union is proud of its long-standing tradition of fierce defense of the first amendment and breaking down barriers of race, ethnicity, and gender. Since it's founding in Chicago, the IWW has moved its headquarters around the country.

Part 1 includes minutes and proceedings, trial records and evidence, newspapers, pamphlets, poems, cartoons, songs, and correspondence. Subjects of interest include the Centralia Conspiracy; criminal syndicalism; the Everett Massacre; Free Speech fights; organization of farm workers; labor conditions; the controversy between craft and industrial unionism; government raids and seizures; trials of various members; foreign IWW administrations; political prisoners; GEB 1960's-1970's; conventions 1970's; Junior Wobblies; Houston Branch; and information on such figures as Vincent St. John. Correspondents include T.J. Bogard, Arthur Boose, Richard Brazier, Frank Cederval, A.S. Embree, William D. Haywood, Claude Irwin, Joyce Kornbluh, John A. Law, George Lucas, Albert Prashner, Rudolf Rocker, Vincent St. John, Nicolaas Steelink, Fred W. Thompson, William Unger, Walt Westman, and Claire Whitaker.

Part 2 of the Industrial Workers of the World Collection contains General Executive Board correspondence from the 1960s and 1970s and minutes, newsletters and correspondence from several branch locations and foreign administrations covering the same time period. Also included are Constitutional General Convention minutes from the 1970s, membership dues booklets, songs, cartoons, poetry, articles, legal case files, and a large assortment of English and foreign-language pamphlets and leaflets. Of particular interest are the reports of undercover private detectives posing as IWW members who investigated IWW organizing among Arizona miners in 1923.

Part 3 include mainly correspondence, reports, and photographs that document the union’s activities and goals primarily during the time they were headquartered in Ypsilanti. Since the organization is global, some reports come from places as far as Sweden and Germany. Of particular note are copies of Junior Wobblies cards dating from the 1930s.

Content of Box 158, Folder "Cigar Makers Meeting" is unavailable.

Henry Kraus Papers

drice — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:36:01 -0400

Mr. Kraus was the first editor of the UAW's newspaper The United Auto Worker (later changed to Solidarity). He was active in the early attempts by the UAW (first under the AFL and later under the CIO) to organize the auto industry. Files for the late 1920s and early 1930s cover the attempts by groups, including the Auto Workers Union of the Trade Union Unity League, to organize auto workers, and discuss such events as the Murray Body Strike (1929); the Ford Hunger March (1932); and the Briggs Strike (1933). There are many items pertaining to the AFL's work in the auto industry, such as material on the threatened auto strike of March 1934, the Toledo Auto-Lite and Chevrolet strikes of 1934 and 1935, and conferences and conventions of the UAW-AFL. The collection also has many files of the AFL's Detroit office for the early 1930s. Particularly well covered are the activities of the UAW-CIO from 1936 to 1940, including the South Bend Convention, the sit-downs, early attempts to organize Ford, and the Homer Martin controversy (resulting in the split of 1939). The Flint Sit-Down Strike and factionalism in the UAW are particularly well documented. Correspondents include nearly every major AFL, CIO, and UAW leader of the period. Among them are John Brophy, F. J. Dillon, Adolph Germer, William Green, John L. Lewis, Homer Martin, Rose Pesotta, Walter Reuther, and R. J. Thomas. Public figures include Charles Coughlin and Frank Murphy. Nine reels of microfilm complement content in Part I and are described in a separate guide.

Part 3 contains manuscripts, notes and research materials from Kraus’s three major books, as well as materials from his other books and writings including those on medieval art. Also included are transcripts of oral histories from a variety of individuals involved in the labor movement, especially those from the 1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike.

Livonia Education Association Collection

dgolodner — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:28:04 -0500

Livonia Education Association was founded in 1945. The collection contains information from 1945 to 1968. It contains information on two strikes that the association had in the 1960s as well as general office files and organization files. Grievances are may contain information relevant to the issues of the strikes.

Alan W. Mather Papers

drice — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:23:03 -0500

Alan Mather was an architect in New York, Detroit, and Chicago, working for various well-known firms. His papers reflect his architectural career and his interest and activity involving unionization of architectural employees.

Stoyan Menton Papers

drice — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:34:32 -0500

Stoyan Menton became involved in labor education, first with the United Auto Workers Local 400, and later at the University of Michigan's Worker's Education Service and the Labor and Industrial Relations Center, Michigan State University. His papers reflect both his personal interest in labor education as well as document the activities of both university programs.

Jewell Mills Papers

drice — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:27:31 -0500

Jewell Mills was active in organizing the Utica Federation of Teachers and was a vice president of the Michigan Federation of Teachers. This collection contains issues surrounding teacher bargaining in the mid-1960s.

Wyndham Mortimer Papers

abarker — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:04:01 -0400

As United Auto Workers (UAW) Vice-President, Wyndham Mortimer worked to organize the employees of General Motors Fisher Body Plant, which led to the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-1937, and later participated in the negotiations that achieved the first UAW-GM contract. Mr. Mortimer was active in factional struggles within the UAW as a leader of the Unity Caucus and was ultimately expelled from the UAW with charges of Communist allegiance. Mr. Mortimer’s papers document his work in the UAW, particularly concerning his efforts to organize the West Coast aircraft industry, and the factional struggles within the UAW

Included in Mr. Wyndham’s papers are the papers of John M. “Scotty” Orr, who was an active organizer for American Federation of Labor (AFL), and the UAW. Mr. Orr’s papers largely relate to his efforts as a UAW organizer in the West Coast aircraft industry.

Office and Professional Employees International Union: Local 10 Records

drice — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:57:47 -0500

OPEIU was chartered by the American Federation of Labor in 1945, and from its inception, involved itself exclusively with the field of office employment, as a separate entity from industrial employment. Local 10 grew out of the Stenographers, Typists, Bookkeepers, and Assistants Union which was established in 1929. The records of OPEIU Local 10 reflect the organizing work of the local with many organizations in the metropolitan Detroit area.

Victor and Bernice Pasche Papers

pneirink — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 10:50:46 -0500

Bernice Pasche (nee Morgan) was an International Representative for the American Newspaper Guild in the late 1930s. In 1939, she married Victor Pasche, a newspaper reporter, union official, organizer, and the first Secretary-Treasurer of the American Newspaper Guild. The Victor and Bernice Pasche Papers include correspondence, union contracts, American Newspaper Guild convention proceedings, and labor newspapers and clippings. It also contains labor ephemera, including pamphlets, flyers, and union membership cards. Materials detailing 1934-1935 Newark Ledger Strike and Pasche’s withdrawal from re-election as Secretary-Treasurer of the American Newspaper Guild are of particular significance.

Fred C. Pieper Papers

drice — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:37:01 -0500

Fred Pieper was an early leader in the unionization of the auto industry. His papers reflect his work for the United Auto Workers and the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the South.

Matilda Robbins Papers

drice — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:12:38 -0500

Manuscripts (articles and stories), clippings, correspondence, personal papers, and photographs collected by Mrs. Robbins, who was a labor organizer and writer for the IWW from 1912 until her death in 1963. Subjects include the Paterson N.J. Silk Strike.

Gene Saari Papers

abarker — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:12:52 -0400

As an active member of the labor movement, Gene Saari worked for the Timber & Sawmill Workers Union Local 15, helped to form the International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers (IUMMSW, or Mine-Mill), and served as secretary-treasurer of United Copper Workers Union Local 494. Mr. Saari also served as a vice-president of the Michigan State Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), a Mine-Mill international representative, and as an organizer for the United Steelworkers of America.
Mr. Saari’s papers relate to labor issues in the Michigan copper industry, jurisdictional disputes between Mine-Mill and the Steelworkers union, to economic and social conditions in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and to Mr. Saari’s campaigns for public office in the 1940’s. Calumet & Hecla, Inc., Copper Range Railroad Company and Hanna Mining Company are among important subjects in the collections.

Adair Damman Papers

aorchard — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 14:49:58 -0500

Adair Damman’s affiliation with SEIU began in 1981, and Damman worked at SEIU for a number of years, most notably as an organizer. Presently. Damman works as the Legislative Director of Local 925 in Seattle, Washington.

These records primarily document Damman’s earlier work during the 1980s and 1990s. Much of the material focuses on Local 1864 in Nevada, Local 707 and the Mendocino County Employees Association in California, Local 880 in Boston, and organizing Local 6. Predominate topics are organizing and campaigns, but training and leadership are also heavily featured. Material types include correspondence, clippings, campaign materials, training materials, and audiovisual materials such as stickers, buttons, photographs, and tapes.

SEIU Education Department Records

aorchard — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 08:51:59 -0400

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was founded in 1921 as a union of flat janitors. Over the years it has grown in size and scope, now comprising three divisions: healthcare, property services, and public services. SEIU’s Department of Education generates training materials for its members on topics including workplace training (for all three divisions), internal staff professional development, collective bargaining, organizing, and political campaigns. Document formats found within the records are primarily training guides and manuals (including facilitator training materials), as well as materials such as publications and reports utilized by the Education Department.

SEIU Executive Office: John Sweeney Records

ljones — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:52:45 -0500

For many, John Sweeney is known as the now former head of the AFL-CIO, a position from which he retired in 2009 after 14 years of service. For most of the previous 35 years, though, he was a member turned officer of the Service Employees International Union, having served 15 of those years as its President. The SEIU Executive Office: John Sweeney Records document his tenure during these 15 years, although portions of these records predate his tenure in that office.

The records contain files documenting the activities of SEIU local unions, joint councils and other SEIU affiliates. In addition, the files of SEIU executive board members, vice presidents, divisions, departments and staff members are also found within the collection, often within series identified in this manner. Researchers can also review records documenting the meetings, hearings, conventions and conferences Sweeney attended and at which he often spoke or testified. Records documenting SEIU's conventions from its inception in 1921 until 1992 are also found within these records. The records of the conventions reveal the major policy shifts of the union. Sweeney's interest in healthcare are also found within these records in addition to the union's external relationships with labor organizations and others.

SEIU Executive Office: William McFetridge Records

ljones — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:17:35 -0500

A nephew of William F. Quesse, SEIU's founder and first International President, William McFetridge began his career with SEIU in 1923 as a member of Chicago's Flat Janitors Local 1. In 1927 he assumed the position of SEIU Third Vice President and then ascended to the position of SEIU 1st Vice President in 1930, a position he maintained until April of 1940, when he became President of the International. The records comprising this collection chronicle McFetridge's last years as President of SEIU.

SEIU International Affairs Records

aorchard — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:30:15 -0500

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was founded in 1921 as a union of flat janitors. Over the years it has grown in size and scope, now comprising three divisions: healthcare, property services, and public services. While most of SEIU’s members reside in the United States, the SEIU is an international union with members and affiliates in countries all over the world. The records of SEIU’s International Affairs Department document the SEIU’s relationships with companies, unions, organizations, and labor activists in other countries, as well as detail departmental operations. Document formats found within the records primarily include correspondence, meeting minutes and agenda, booklets, and reports.

SEIU Local 31-M Records

aorchard — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 14:03:27 -0400

Local 31-M’s earliest manifestation, Local 191, began in 1938 with the organization of the Michigan Unemployment Compensation Commission (MUCC), the precursor to Michigan Employment Security Commission (MESC). MUCC was the first civil service agency within Michigan to become unionized. Initially an independent local, Local 191 eventually affiliated with the State, County and Municipal Workers of America. After facing several years of difficulty, Local 191 disbanded.

Despite the dissolution of Local 191, in 1941 MUCC was again unionized, this time by AFSCME affiliate Local 31. However, in 1960, Local 31’s lack of representation within its national affiliate led to its separation from AFSCME and subsequent affiliation with SEIU. SEIU Local 31-M was officially chartered on September 8, 1960 as a public sector labor union, representing Michigan employees, particularly those in the Michigan Employment Security Commission (MESC). Local 31-M was a member of Council 35, the coalition of all SEIU locals within Michigan, as well as a member of the Central States Conference. Local 31-M continued in this fashion until its merger with Local 517-M in the 2002.

The Local 31-M Records document former (from 1984-2001) President Victoria (Vicki) Cook’s (Vicki Cook Bumbaugh) and the Local’s involvement in politics at the local, state, and national levels, member affairs, and interaction with management and Michigan state offices and departments, primarily from the mid-1970s through the Local’s amalgamation into Local 517-M in 2002. The materials include correspondence, minutes, legal documents, requests for proposals, clippings, notes, and photographic materials.

SEIU Local 517M Records

aorchard — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 15:24:25 -0500

Two SEIU Michigan locals, Local 517M and Local 591, created the materials found within this collection. Local 591 represented multiple school districts within the state of Michigan and in January 2005, Local 591 merged into Local 517M. Local 517M primarily represented public employees working for the state of Michigan and previously merged with Local 31M in 2002. Local 517M is still active today, and as such, this collection will likely continue to grow.

Materials in this collection include publications, constitutions and bylaws, agreements and contracts, and audiovisual materials including photographs, videocassettes, and DVDs.

SEIU Local 535 Records

aorchard — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:20:21 -0400

The formation of SEIU Local 535 began when members of the Social Workers Action Committee of #434, SEIU united with the Social Workers Standards Committee in Los Angeles, California. In 1964, these Los Angeles County social workers led a successful strike against the county, the result of which was SEIU chartering Local 535 as the social workers union. As more California public employees continued to strike and join Local 535, the union grew. Eventually Local 535 helped pass the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the first Californian legislation on public sector collective bargaining. In 1970, Local 535 ventured into private sector organizing, representing members at non-profit organizations, with a continued focus on hospital employees, particularly nurses. In addition to representing public and hospital employees, Local 535 also represented jewelry workers after the 1981 merger of the International Jewelry Workers Union into SEIU. In the mid-2000s, Local 535 dissolved and its members amalgamated into other SEIU locals including 521, 620, 721, 1000, and 1021.

The records generated by Local 535 that comprise this collection primarily include State Executive Board minutes, Executive Director reports, committee and caucus documents, publications and newsletters, and photographs.

SEIU Organizing Department Records

aorchard — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:50:23 -0400

The 1980s was a difficult time for American Labor. The American economy was in recession and national politics were not hospitable to organized labor. Yet, SEIU grew by 500,000 members. By 1992, SEIU reached the million-member mark. The membership achievements of SEIU can be largely credited to the efforts of its Organizing Department. The primary responsibility of the SEIU Organizing Department was to organize the unorganized. The SEIU Organizing Department sought to gain new membership for the International through targeting building service, healthcare, clerical and public sector employees. Additionally, the Organizing Department gained new SEIU members through the affiliation of formerly independent organizations and unions.

Records from this collection chronicle the expansion of SEIU through organizing campaigns and affiliations, during a period when American organized labor was contracting. The collection contains affiliation agreements, newspaper clippings, correspondence, memorandum, handwritten notes, flyers, brochures, statistics, surveys, agendas, meeting minutes, organizing plans, subsidy requests and recommendations, budgets, buttons, posters, agreements, a cassette tape, reports, expense reports, training materials, organizational charts, speeches, photographs, questionnaire, and anti-union literature. These records provide insight into the planning and strategies behind SEIU’s organizing campaigns, which led to SEIU growth.

SEIU Public Relations Records

aorchard — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:26:31 -0400

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was founded in 1921 as a union of flat janitors. Over the years it has grown in size and scope, now comprising three divisions: healthcare, property services, and public services. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, SEIU utilized the services of media consultants Abernathy and Associates for public relations and communication work. The collection consists of materials generated by Abernathy and Associates for SEIU, as well as source materials created by other entities (e.g., clippings) used for research and reference. The manuscript and audiovisual materials cover subjects including SEIU’s history and former SEIU President John Sweeney (speeches and the New Voices Slate), healthcare (including the Beverly and Kaiser campaigns), Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, organizing, Justice for Janitors, and asbestos. Document types consist of correspondence, speeches, scholarly articles and book chapters, pamphlets, flyers, reports, and clippings. Audiovisual formats found within the collection include photographs, slides, negatives, cassettes, and DVDs, the contents of which document campaigns (including publicity spots), conventions, events, and speeches.

SEIU Publications

aorchard — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 11:34:53 -0400

SEIU Publications is primarily comprised of serials created by the International, Locals, Joint Councils, and Conferences. Included in the collection are International convention proceedings dating back to the official inception of SEIU, constitutions and bylaws, and serials published at the International level. However, the bulk of the materials are serials created by SEIU Locals, Joint Councils, and Conferences, documenting member concerns and plights, as well as important events and issues of the various coverage eras.

SEIU Publications is an artificial collection, its contents pulled from other SEIU collections (processed prior to 2012) to create a single grouping of all SEIU publications. SEIU collections processed after 2012 will retain their publications, with the exception of full runs.

SEIU Secretary-Treasurer's Office: Richard Cordtz Records

aorchard — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:48:40 -0500

Richard Cordtz’s affiliation with SEIU spanned nearly 50 years, beginning in the late 1940s as a member of Local 102 while he worked at the Del Mar Racetrack, and ending in 1996 as President of the International. During his journey from member to president, Cordtz held a variety of positions within SEIU including union organizer, Local 79 President, Joint Council 35 President, Central States Conference President, and Secretary-Treasurer of the International. Cordtz was also active in the AFL-CIO serving as Vice-President of Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Michigan AFL-CIO. Cordtz was elected to Secretary-Treasurer in 1980 and remained in this position until President John J. Sweeney resigned to assume presidency of the AFL-CIO in October 1995. Cordtz was immediately elected president to finish Sweeney’s term (through April 1996). Cordtz initially planned to run for reelection, but ceased his bid when it became clear that opponent Andy Stern held more support.

The majority of the records in this collection are from Cordtz’s time as International Secretary-Treasurer. The collection is divided into four series. Series I: Meetings, Speeches, and Conferences, contains meeting minutes and agenda, speeches, conference ephemera, and correspondence related to Cordtz’ positions as International Secretary-Treasurer and President of Local 79. Series II: Revoked Locals, contains charters, correspondence, and bonding documents from revoked, amalgamated, and disbanded locals over the course of 1940-1992. Series III: Topical Files, contains subject files mostly created during Cordtz’s tenure, relating to both his SEIU positions and his external interests. Series IV Historical Files, contains historical materials that Cordtz appears to have inherited from his predecessors. These historical SEIU records include booklets and pamphlets, but most significantly, include correspondence from the 1920s to SEIU’s first president, William Quesse, as well as correspondence related to George Hardy’s 1974 White House testimony at the Conference on Inflation, such as signed letters from President Gerald Ford.

Norman Smith Papers

drice — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:31:05 -0400

Norman Smith was an organizer for the Congress of Industrial Organizations from 1935 - 1964 in St. Louis, Detroit, Memphis, and California while working in the auto and steel industries. His papers mainly reflect both his work in the Mid West as well as immediately following WWII in California.

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.

Irma Mortimer Stewart Papers

abarker — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:00:26 -0400

The daughter of United Auto Workers (UAW) organizer Wyndham Mortimer, Irma Mortimer Stewart worked as a union organizer of the California aircraft industry. The Irma Mortimer Stewart Collection includes personal papers, as well as documents related to family friends, Henry and Dorothy Krause, and to Wyndham Mortimer’s career. Included are autographed drafts of Henry Kraus’ books, The Many and the Few, and, In the City, and a corrected early draft of Wyndham Mortimer’s book, Organize!

Beverly Takahashi Papers

pneirink — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 14:00:25 -0400

Beverly Takahashi worked as a doctoral student on their dissertation about organizing homecare workers. These records are a collection of documents about the fight for unionization of 74,000 home health-care workers in the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) between 1992-2001 in Southern California, as well as the fight and struggle between IHSS (In Home Supportive Services) and significantly disabled citizens receiving inadequate care that was promised to them. This collection includes correspondence, reports, personal statements, newsletters, draft contracts, collective bargaining agreements, and others.

Muriel Tuteur Papers

abarker — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:10:32 -0400

An active advocate for child welfare, social justice, and the labor movement, Muriel Tuteur held a variety of posts, including Director of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) Day Care and Health Center, and Assistant Director of Education and Political Action for the Chicago and Central States Joint Board of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW).

Ms. Tuteur’s papers include personal subject files and speeches, documenting her interests and involvement in a broad range of social and political issues.

UAW Local 239 Records

drice — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:25:38 -0400

United Auto Workers Local 239 serviced General Motors plant employees in Baltimore, MD. The records of the local reflect its activities as representative of Fisher Body Plant workers, before they merged with Local 678, Chevrolet assembly operations.

UAW Local 417 Records

drice — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:47:25 -0500

Subjects include: auto parts plants in Detroit's northern suburbs; plant closings; collective bargaining; union organizing; grievances; discrimination