International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Richard Alatorre Papers

drice — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:34:58 -0500

Richard Alatorre was born and raised in Los Angeles, graduating from James A. Garfield High
School in 1961. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Los
Angeles, in 1965. He later went on to earn a Master of Public Administration degree from the
University of Southern California. Alatorre taught in several California universities before
becoming an aide to California Assemblyman Walter Karabian and State Senator Alfred Song in 1968. Before this he was Western Regional Director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he successfully initiated lawsuits on behalf of children, many of whom were Spanish speaking, that were assigned to classes for intellectual disabilities. Alatorre has also served as a consultant to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The files in this collection are related to his work as a California Assemblyman, specifically to
his duties as the Chairman on the Select Committee on Farm Labor Violence. That committee
began work in 1973 and issued its final report in early 1974. The work this committee did led to the first UFW / AFL-CIO sponsored farm labor relations bill in the California legislature. One of the authors of that measure (AB 3370) was Richard Alatorre. AB 3370 was never ratified, but served as the forerunner of the 1975 Agricultural Relations Act, also co-authored by Alatorre.

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Records

drice — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:45:20 -0400

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE) was founded at Demopolis, Alabama, in July, 1887 under the name of the Order of Railroad Trackmen, and eventually came to include all workers who build and maintain the tracks, bridges, buildings and other structures of the railroads. Its Grand Lodge headquarters was permanently established in Detroit, Michigan in 1913, and is comprised of System Divisions or Federations, each of which has under its jurisdiction one or more railroad systems and the Subordinate Lodges located on those systems. In 2004, the BMWE merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to become the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Part 1 of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Collection consists primarily of outgoing presidential correspondence for the years 1899-1900 and 1912-1914, preserved in letterpress copybooks, Grand Executive Committee meeting minutes and proceedings for the years 1918-1920, and BMWE Ladies' Auxiliary convention proceedings as well as minutes and correspondence of the Denver and Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Auxiliaries.

Part 2 of the records are a comprehensive documentation of the organization’s activities related to the growth and decline of railroad systems on an international, national and divisional scale. Organizational documentation includes governing documents, correspondence to and from Presidents and union members, and agreements from 1906-2004, which give insight into a union that at one time had more than 350,000 members. Records specifically document the organization’s founding and history, its administration, and the evolving activities of its members.

Ralph Orr Papers

aorchard — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 12:10:19 -0400

Ralph Orr was the labor writer for the Detroit Free Press, a position he held until his retirement in 1985. Two of his primary focuses over the years were the UAW and the Teamsters, particularly the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, for which he became the journalistic voice of authority. The materials in Ralph Orr Papers are primarily Orr's research materials on Hoffa and his disappearance, including interview transcripts, notes, clippings, and correspondence as well as drafts of Orr's articles. The collection also contains 5 audio cassettes, three of which feature Orr on the radio program, "Spotlight on the News."

Irving Richter Papers

abarker — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:14:52 -0400

Irving Richter served as president of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Lodge 139 of the American Federation of Government Employees while employed by the FERA, which would later become the Works Progress Administration. Mr. Richter also served as an economist with the US Labor Department, and as the legislative representative and director of political action in the United Auto Workers-Congress of Industrial Organizations (UAW-CIO) Washington D.C. office. Mr. Richter was a member of the anti-Reuther caucus of the UAW and was dismissed from the UAW, having been identified by Walter Reuther as a Communist.

Mr. Richter’s papers document his career in the labor movement and as an academic, and reflect his research in the postwar history of the labor movement. Part two of Richter's papers contain copies of his articles for “Behind Washington Headlines” and research files, consisting of notes, articles and clippings, for his writings

UFW Information and Research Department Records

drice — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 10:56:32 -0400

The UFW grew out of several farm workers organizations in the 1960s and was led for over thirty years by Cesar Chavez. The Information and Research Department serves as the research center for the union, collecting materials of interest in many areas importantin to the organization. Their records reflect the range of services which the union provided for its members, including legal and immigration assistance, workman's compensation claims, healthcare, and grievance mediation. Other subjects include: boycotts; contract negotiations; strikes; Teamsters dispute.

UFW Massachusetts Boycott: Boston Office Records

drice — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 12:41:26 -0400

The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee’s Boston Boycott Office (UFWOC) opened in 1967, one of several regional branch offices of the UFW formed to organize communities to participate in a consumer boycott of lettuce, grapes, wines, and other agricultural products. UFWOC was the predecessor name of the UFW. The primary activity of the office involved outreach efforts (mailing letters, hosting rallies and events) aimed at prominent members of the greater Boston area, including political leaders, church leaders, and business leaders, as well as college campuses and the general public, urging them to refrain from buying non-union products. Employees and volunteers also performed routine visits to grocery stores and other places where produce was sold to investigate whether or not they were carrying boycotted products. Additionally, the office was also responsible for the distribution of fliers, pamphlets, and posters in support of the boycott and to promote farm worker events and fundraisers.

The records of the Boston Boycott Office chronicle the activities of the office, which were primarily concerned with organizing the national consumer boycott of California table grapes and non-union lettuce. Materials found in this collection reflect the office’s goal to organize the greater Boston area to participate in larger nationwide boycotts against agricultural growers that employed non-union labor, ill gotten Teamster union representation or engaged in what the UFW deemed “unfair practices.” Targets of the UFW Boston Boycott Office include local grocery and liquor stores, political figures, local universities, religious organizations and churches, as well as the general public

UFW Support Committee of the World Justice and Peace Center Records

kschmeling — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 15:35:59 -0400

The UFW Support Committee of the World Justice and Peace Center was formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1971 to lend religious support to the Wisconsin boycott. The committee was set up by the Capuchin Order of Franciscans and consisted of five Milwaukee-based religious communities that worked closely with the UFW Wisconsin state coordinators to publicize the plight of the striking farm workers. The support committee’s primary purpose focused on donation solicitation and picket and rally support.

The files consist of mass mailings of informational materials, UFW publications and articles focusing mainly on the grape and lettuce strikes, and in particular the struggles with the Teamsters Union.

UFW Missouri Boycott Records

drice — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 16:39:05 -0400

The records of the UFW Missouri Boycott Office relate to the various strikes and boycotts that occurred nationally during the period of the 1970s. The Missouri Boycott Offices were located in two locations, Kansas City and St. Louis. The people directing these boycott offices worked on petitions, boycotts of grocery store chains and agricultural products, and raising awareness about the UFW’s dispute with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The majority of material in this collection dates from the 1968 to 1979 and contains numerous correspondences, petitions, and fliers about the plight of the UFW. Some important events that are included in this collection include the Salad Bowl Strike and Grape Strikes.

Philip Vera Cruz Papers

drice — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:07:32 -0400

Philip Vera Cruz (Dec 25, 1904 – June 12, 1994) was born in Saoag, Ilocos Sur,
Philippines. He worked on farms in the Philippines before traveling to the United States
in 1926. Vera Cruz worked several odd jobs around the Midwest, but was not active in
any union before moving to California in 1943 and becoming a farm worker. He joined
the Agricultural Worker Organizing Committee (AWOC) and soon became a leader in
farm workers rights. In 1965 he was an active force in the AWOC decision to strike
against grape growers in Delano, CA. The strike and boycott soon won the support of
Cesar Chavez and the National Farm Workers of America, and led to the eventual
merging of the two groups to form the United Farm Workers. Vera Cruz was elected a
vice president of the union, a position he held until he left the union in protest of Chavez
in 1977, though he continued to be active in his retirement. Cruz also formed the Farm
Workers Credit Union and created Agbayani Village, a retirement community for older
farm workers. Throughout his career Vera Cruz worked for migrant and farm worker
rights, and was very active in the Asian American, especially Filipino, rights movement
and community. In 1987 he received the Ninoy M Aquino Award in the Philippines, and
in 1992 he was honored by the AFL-CIO’s Asian Pacific American Labor Committee.

The papers of Philip Vera Cruz focus on his active years as a California labor leader. It
includes his correspondence, writings and notes, as well as his activity in the UFW and
other organizations and his work in boycotts. Cruz’s research, negotiations, and
collective bargaining work are also included as well as a number of ALRB cases and
resources he collected for farm workers and Filipinos.