Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of Labor
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Abstract
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) Printed Ephemera Collection is an artificial collection, collected and assembled by the Tamiment Library over the course of several decades. Founded in 1886, the AFL served as a large federation of labor unions for the United States and Canada. Unions affiliated with the AFL were traditionally organized by craft rather than industry-wide. The AFL joined with the more industrial focused Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) in 1955 to form the AFL-CIO. In the date range of the late 1800s up through the 1990s, the collection consists of constitutions, rosters, directories and manuals as well as printed ephemera such as fliers, brochures, circular letters, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and other publications. In addition to the material that was generated at the national level of the AFL and by its various departments and committees including the Workers Education Bureau, which later became a part of the AFL, the collection consists of material from city, state and regional Federations of Labor. The New York State Federation of Labor is represented in the collection with convention proceedings and reports, circular letters, press releases, pamphlets as well as the merger agreement reached with the New York State Industrial Union Council.
Historical/Biographical Note
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded in Ohio in 1886, its precursor was known as the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada. Samuel Gompers was elected the first president. One of the first campaigns of the AFL was to fight nationally for the 8-hour day, a campaign that spread across the US and into Europe. Initially, organizing unions into the Federation was difficult, but steadily membership began to grow as the benefits of amalgamation became evident. The AFL organized workers more traditionally along craft lines, consequently, due to a division in strategy of organizing all workers in an industry, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was formed. The two merged in 1955 forming the AFL-CIO.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series: Series I: General Files, 1892-1955; Series II: City, State and Regional Federations of Labor, 1916-1961. Folders are arranged alphabetically within series.
Scope and Content Note
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of Labor consists of constitutions, rosters, manuals and reports, as well as printed ephemera such as fliers, brochures, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and other publications.
Series I: General Files, 1892-1981, consists of the pamphlets and printed ephemera generated by the AFL at the national level, along with several of its departments and committees. The Workers Education Bureau of America, a national project devoted to the education of workers, was supported and heavily influenced by the AFL. Eventually, in 1951, the Bureau was officially transferred to the AFL. The collection contains material from the Bureau following its absorption by the AFL, including bibliographies, conference schedules and programs, and pamphlets on a variety of topics. Similar material from the Department of Education is represented in the collection, including steward's manuals, publications relating to building local education programs, as well as conference programs and bibliographies. The collection contains printed ephemera pertaining to consumer cooperatives, the AFL's union label campaign, the planning of the Samuel Gompers Centennial celebration that took place in 1950, as well as more general fliers and brochures on the history of the AFL and trade union organizing.
Series II: City, State and Regional Federations of Labor, 1916-1992, consists of the printed ephemera generated by the city, state and regional Federations of Labor. The material in this series comes from cities all around the United States, including Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland and Los Angeles, as well as from states such as Kentucky, Texas, New Jersey, and Connecticut. A sizable portion of this series is from the New York State Federation of Labor. There are annual reports, convention and conference materials, constitutions, as well as a number of circular letters, press releases and pamphlets following labor legislation. Included is the merger agreement signed with the New York State Industrial Union Council in 1958, following the merger nationally of the AFL with the CIO.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials in this collection have been compiled by the Tamiment Library. There is no accession record associated with this collection.
Custodial History
The provenance of the materials is varied. Items were obtained through purchases, donations, standing orders with publishers, arrangements with labor unions and other organizations, exchanges with other libraries, and through ongoing collecting by Tamiment staff.
