McEntee, Gerald W.

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 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 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 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 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.

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.

Nelson Mandela, AFSCME, and Detroit in 1990

mcourtney — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 17:35:56 -0400

On June 28, 1990, AFSCME members welcomed Nelson Mandela to their biannual convention in Miami, Florida, chanting, “Mandela, yes! Apartheid, no!” read more »

Remembering AFSCME President Gerald McEntee (1935-2022)

scaloia — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 11:12:43 -0400

The Reuther Library is saddened by the news that Gerald McEntee, former president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has passed away at the age of 87. read more »

Termination form for Gerald McEntee

scaloia — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:03:01 -0400

In 1967, Gerald McEntee left his job as an International Representative to lead Council 33 in Pennsylvania. While there, he lead unprecedented organizing efforts and successfully campaigned for state-wide public employee collective bargaining rights. He lead AFSCME International as President from 1981-2012.

(7480) Wurf and McEntee shake hands

jruss — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:28:06 -0400

Jerry Wurf (right), AFSCME President 1954-1981, shakes hands with his future successor, Gerald McEntee, at the 1974 annual convention in California.

(7481) Anti-Apartheid protest arrest

jruss — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:32:26 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee (left), Yolanda King (daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.), and Mayor Richard Hatcher (right) of Gary, Indiana sing “We Shall Overcome” as they are arrested protesting outside the South African Embassy on November 29, 1984, as part of the Free South Africa Movement's campaign against Apartheid.

(7531) Free South Africa Movement march

jruss — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:13:42 -0400

On August 12, 1985, the Free South Africa Movement, of which AFSCME’s Bill Lucy was a leader, organized this symbolic funeral march after the Apartheid government in South Africa banned public funerals. The march took place in Washington, D.C., and the protesters objected to the Reagan Administration’s policy of constructive engagement with South Africa. Pictured here, left to right, are actor Paul Newman, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, National Education Association President Mary Futrell, AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy, and Gary, Indiana Mayor Richard Hatcher.

(7536) Mandela arrives, 1990 AFSCME Convention

jruss — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:29:48 -0400

AFSCME International President Gerald McEntee (shaking Mandela's hand) and AFSCME International Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy (left, with back to camera) greet Nelson Mandela as he arrives to address the 1990 AFSCME International Convention.

(10702) 1974 Convention

jruss — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:12:26 -0400

AFSCME leaders appear on stage at the 1974 International Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii. From left: Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy, Gerald McEntee who became International President in 1981, Judicial Panel head Joseph Ames, and William McEntee, father of president McEntee, former president of District Council 33 in Philadelphia, and former International Vice President.

(11338) 1960 AFSCME Convention

jruss — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:21:02 -0400

At the AFSCME 1960 Convention in Philadelphia, Gerald McEntee (left), Jim Drew, and William Layman discuss the Industrial Union Department of the AFL-CIO. McEntee went on to become AFSCME President in 1981.

(11341) 1960 AFSCME Convention

jruss — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:35:34 -0400

The Convention Committee for the AFSCME 1960 Convention in Philadelphia planned the event and included Gerald McEntee (back row, third from left) who became President in 1981.

(11477) Tutu, Bieber, Robinson, Shell Boycott, Washington DC, 1986

eclemens — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:23:17 -0400

UAW president Owen Bieber and TransAfrica president Randall Robinson, flanked by other labor and civil right leaders, urge support for the boycott of Shell products at a Washington DC news conference held in January 1986.

(11734) Free South Africa Movement

jruss — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:53:57 -0500

Labor leaders march against South African apartheid in Washington, D.C. as part of the Free South Africa movement. From left: AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, NEA President Mary Futrell, AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy, Gary, Indiana Mayor Richard Hatcher.

(11742) IEB Meeting

jruss — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:11:42 -0500

AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer speaks to the October 1985 International Executive Board meeting in Washington, D.C. about training programs to improve the services of AFSCME local treasurers. President Gerald McEntee sits at right.

(11744) Lucy and McEntee

jruss — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:22:24 -0500

AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy welcomes President Gerald McEntee to the podium at an AFSCME meetings.

(11988) Mandela at AFSCME Convention

jruss — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:29:22 -0400

South Africa’s Nelson Mandela spoke at AFSCME’s 1990 Convention in Miami. AFSCME president Gerald McEntee (left) and Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy (right) join Nelson and Winnie Mandela on stage.

(11990) Mandela at AFSCME Convention

jruss — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:44:17 -0400

Nelson Mandela speaks at the 1990 AFSCME Convention in Miami shortly after his release from prison in South Africa. AFSCME President Gerald McEntee (left) and Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy cheer him on.

(11991) Mandela at AFSCME Convention

jruss — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:48:37 -0400

(11993) Mandela at AFSCME Convention

jruss — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:56:55 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee (left) and Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy (right) welcome Nelson and Winnie Mandela to the 1990 AFSCME Convention in Miami.

(12102) McEntee against apartheid

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:53:02 -0400

Coretta Scott King listens as AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks at a rally against apartheid outside of the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. McEntee was among many protesters later arrested for their demonstrations. This image appeared in the February 1985 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine.

(12103) McEntee at CLUW

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:17:54 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks at the tenth anniversary conference of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) in Chicago.

(12104) March for Jobs, Peace, and Freedom

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:23:54 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, center, marches at the 1983 March for Jobs, Peace, and Freedom in Washington, D.C.

(12105) McEntee and Kramer

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:34:38 -0400

Philadelphia AFSCME District Council 33’s Gerald McEntee (left) receives his diploma upon completing AFSCME staff training from assistant to the president Leo Kramer.

(12106) Pennsylvania Collective Bargaining Bill

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:48:00 -0400

Pennsylvania Governor Raymond Shafer signs senate bill 1333, the statewide collective bargaining bill that Gerald McEntee (behind and to the right of Governor Shafer) and AFSCME campaigned hard to pass.

(12107) U.S. Conference of Mayors

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:58:34 -0400

Dianne Feinstein, then mayor of San Francisco, listens as AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks at the 1984 United States Conference of Mayors.

(12108) Divestment

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:09:36 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee encourages U.S. companies to divest from South Africa to protest apartheid at a rally in Washington, D.C.

(12109) Women's Advisory Committee

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:17:56 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks with Women’s Advisory Committee Chair Irene Carr at the October 1985 Women’s Conference. AFSCME International Vice President Faye Krohn (center) speaks to another person in the background. This image appeared in the November 1985 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine.

(12110) American Federation of Labor Health Center

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:25:27 -0400

A group of visitors from the Soviet Union attended the negotiation session between District 33 and the city of Philadelphia. Afterward, they dined at the American Federation of Labor Health Center, a facility run by District Council 13 to improve life for its members. Gerald McEntee is seated in the center on the left side of the table.

(12111) AFSCME against apartheid

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:34:49 -0400

AFSCME leaders march in protest against apartheid in February 1985 in Washington D.C. They are President Gerald McEntee (center); Donald McKee (left with sign); James Glass, Michigan (far left); Edward Keller, Pennsylvania (partially hidden); and Maynard White, Southwestern (right). This image appeared in the February 1985 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine.

(12112) Corporate Tax Reform

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:44:10 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks at a press conference launching the national campaign of Citizens Organized to Restore an Effective Corporate Tax (CORRECT). With McEntee are Faith Evans (left) and Vincent Sombrotto, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

(12113) Memphis Strike Twentieth Anniversary

jruss — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:50:02 -0400

AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy looks on as President Gerald McEntee speaks with reporters on the twentieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death in Memphis.

(12367) AFSCME President McEntee at Silent March on Washington, DC, 1989

scaloia — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 14:56:53 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee (head turned toward camera) participates in the Silent March on Washington, D.C. August 26, 1989. Second from left is Richard Trumka. AFSCME was among the supporting organizations of the NAACP-led event, which was a protest of Supreme Court decisions made that year.

(24711) McEntee and Glass

jruss — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:19:52 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee (left) and Michigan Council 25 President James Glass meet at the podium at AFSCME’s 50th anniversary convention in Chicago.

(24761) Remembering King

jruss — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:01:36 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee (center, in hat), leads a march in Memphis to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination.

(24763) McEntee Remembers King

jruss — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:09:57 -0400

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee speaks at an event commemorating the twentieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. He speaks at the Memphis Mason Temple where Dr. King gave his “I have been to the mountaintop” speech.

(26835) Toasting McEntee

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:01:58 -0400

Former Pennsylvania Council 13 staffer Germaine Moran leads a toast to Gerald McEntee at the 1982 Council 13 Convention. McEntee had recently headed up Council 13 before becoming International President in 1981.

(26836) Council 13 signs contract

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:15:32 -0400

Council 13 signs a new 2-year contract with Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh. Seated from left: Pennsylvania Council 13 Executive Director Gerald McEntee; Governor Thornburgh; standing center: Council 13 Treasurer Donna Wright; standing right: Council 13 President Bill Moran.

(26837) Pennsylvania Council 13 rally

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:50:55 -0400

Gerald McEntee, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Council 13, speaks at a rally about the state's economy.

(26838) Ernest Rewolinski awarded

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:31:45 -0400

Gerald McEntee (left) presents the Pennsylvania Council 87 Citizen of the Year award to Pennsylvania Area Director Ernest Rewolinski.

(26839) Council 13 Founding Convention

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:54:13 -0400

Gerald McEntee speaks at the Pennsylvania Council 13 founding convention. Seated left is Joseph Ames, International Judicial Panel Chair. Seated right is Bill Lucy, International Secretary-Treasurer.

(26841) Council 13 Women's Conference

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:04:55 -0400

Gerald McEntee, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Council 13, speaks at Council 13's Women's Conference.

(26843) McEntee testifies

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:17:03 -0400

Executive Director of Pennsylvania Council 13 Gerald McEntee speaks with International staffer Nanine Miekeljohn before delivering his testimony to Congress's Labor Appropriations Subcommittee.

(26844) McEntee speaks

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:29:56 -0400

Gerald McEntee, executive director of AFSCME Pennsylvania Council 13, speaks at an event.

(26850) Dent honored

jruss — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:09:00 -0400

AFSCME Pennsylvania Council 13 Executive Director Gerald McEntee (left) and International President Jerry Wurf (right) honor Pennsylvania Congressman John H. Dent at the 1974 Council 13 convention.