Bilik, Al

Al Bilik Papers

drice — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:00:39 -0400

Al Bilik served on the District Council 51, Cincinnati, Ohio and was an active labor member within the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Sensitive to the relationship of the larger international union working with and depending on the strength of locals and councils, he helped American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union members Victor Gotbaum, Rob Hastings, Jerry Wurf, Joseph Ames, Norm Schut and Father Albert Blatz, form the Committee on Union Responsibility (COUR).

Formed in the early 1960’s, COUR worked on AFSCME constitutional reforms to broaden the powers of the Secretary-Treasurer and International Executive Board, giving affiliated unions more authority in determining local policies and programs. COUR supported Jerry Wurf to become the new AFSCME President and opposed the candidacy of AFSCME President Arnold Zander in the international convention held May 1962 in Kansas City. At the 1964 Denver convention COUR campaigning eventually worked to oust Zander and establish Wurf as the new AFSCME President. Al Bilik later became the assistant to AFSCME President Jerry Wurf.

Al Bilik’s papers contain correspondence from active COUR members, but does not contain correspondence written by Al Bilik.

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.

AFSCME's History-Making 1964 Convention

scaloia — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:04:06 -0400

Fifty-five years ago, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees elected a new president who would dramatically change the trajectory of the union.

A founding member of the Wisconsin Service Employees Association in 1932, Arnold Zander took the lead in forming the national public employee union that would become AFSCME. read more »

(10511) 1965 AFL-CIO Convention

jruss — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:32:29 -0400

Members of the AFSCME delegation at the 1965 AFL-CIO Convention in San Francisco listen to a speaker. Clockwise from the front left: Secretary-Treasurer Gordon Chapman, Area Director James McCormick, Vice President Ruby Wicker, Contra Costa Local 1675 business agent Harry Clarke, Vice President Harry Gray, Vice President James Broyer, Mendicino State Hospital Local 519 member Sidney Lee, Cincinnati Labor Council delegate Al Bilik, Vice President Father Albert Blatz, Vice President Joseph Ames, assistant to the president Robert Hastings, Vice President Don McCullar, and President Jerry Wurf.

(11566) Committee on Union Responsibility

jruss — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:55:29 -0400

Leaders of the Committee on Union Responsibility (COUR) enact see no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil in 1962. From left: Robert Hastings, Jerry Wurf, Al Bilik.

(11736) AFSCME Staff

jruss — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:07:11 -0500

AFSCME headquarters staff work in Washington, D.C. in August 1966. Seated is associate director of community action William Lucy. Standing is assistant to President Jerry Wurf, Al Bilik.

(24816) AFL-CIO Legislative Conference

jruss — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:36:35 -0400

AFSCME members and Senator Eugene McCarthy attended a 1965 AFL-CIO Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. From left: John Trimboli, Al Bilik, Linda Brailove, Senator McCarthy, Nancy Vanderbeek, AFL-CIO Social Security Department employee Nelson Cruikshank, and AFSCME Education Director Jacob Schlitt.