Labor unions--Law and legislation--United States

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.

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.

UFW Administration Department Records

drice — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:05:34 -0500

United Farm Workers grew out of several farm workers organizations of the 1960s and was led by Cesar Chavez for over thirty years. The Administration Department records reflect the wide range of people and groups with whom the UFW corresponded. The work of the union itself is well represented, including U.S., Canada, and Europe boycott files, El Malcriado files, and negotiations with southern California grape growers.

Part 3 of the records represent the second decade of the union’s progress toward the goals of improving wages and working conditions for farm workers. Included are major legal cases, including UFW vs. Teamsters, UFW vs. DiGeorgio, and the Blythe Massacre; boycotts, including the Lettuce Boycott and Grape Boycott; and correspondence, including Cesar Chavez personal correspondence.

Alan Reuther: the UAW's Voice in Washington

mosmith — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:54:47 -0400

The Walter Reuther Library is pleased to announce that an oral history with Alan Reuther is now open for research. Alan Reuther was the Legislative Director for the United Automobile Workers of America (UAW). He served in the UAW’s Washington Office from 1982 until his retirement in 2010. Over the course of his tenure as Legislative Director, Automotive News often cited Reuther as one of the 50 most influential people in the auto industry. read more »

(32592) Legislative conference

gstrassel — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 14:06:32 -0500

Legislative conference, reception, and lobby day in 1995.

Legislative Conference in Washington DC during the AFL-CIO's Reclaim America campaign.

[Podcast] Union Exemption: Nonprofit Work and the Boundaries of the Commercial Economy, 1951–1976

teller — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

John Miles Branch discusses the National Labor Relations Board’s policy to dismiss union petitions at charitable organizations in the decades following the Second World War, and the policy’s reversal in 1976 when the board acknowledged nonprofit institutions as a “third sector” of the economy linked with the nation’s commercial life. read more »