Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), District Council 37
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Abstract
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), District Council 37 is an artificial collection, collected and assembled by the Tamiment Library over the course of several decades. AFSCME DC 37 is an umbrella federation made up of over 50 local unions representing public employees in New York City. Chartered in 1944, DC 37 has grown from an organization of less than a thousand employees in the city's parks, hospital, finance, and health departments to the country's largest federation of public employees, with more than 125,000 members working in the city's agencies and cultural institutions. The collection consists of printed matter put out by DC 37, including contracts and constitutions, fliers, circular letters and pamphlets. There are also files from various locals, notably Local 375 (Civil Service Technical Guild), Local 420 (Hospital Workers), and Local 1930 (New York Public Library).
Historical/Biographical Note
District Council 37 was chartered by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in November 1944, bringing together a group of small locals representing employees of New York City's public hospital, parks, finance, and health departments. In the 1940s and early 1950s, municipal workers had few of the benefits and protections enjoyed by union members in the private sector. One of the Council's major goals in its early years was to achieve access to collective bargaining and improve the wages and benefits for City employees.
Jerry Wurf, a New York City native, was elected president in 1947 and under his leadership, DC 37 began to grow in numbers and in strength. When Wurf was elected president of AFSCME nationally, Victor Gotbaum took over leadership of DC 37 in 1964. Like other AFSCME leaders, Gotbaum encouraged members to embrace social movement unionism by linking their struggles for higher wages and benefits to other economic, social, and political issues.
New York City's fiscal crisis of the 1970s proved challenging for DC 37. City employees suffered through lay-offs, wage freezes and benefit reductions. Through strikes and negotiations, and the national March for Jobs in Washington DC, DC 37 was able to minimize damage for workers and reach the 100,000 mark in membership.
In the 1980s and through to 2009, DC 37 continued with its social activism, working on women's rights in the work place, apartheid in South Africa, disability rights, and the celebration of Black History Month. Lillian Roberts, an organizer from Chicago who had worked with DC 37 in the 1960s and 1970s, was elected Executive Director in 2002.
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Content Note
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), District Council 37 consists of printed matter put out by the union as well as its locals. Included in the collection are contracts and collective bargaining agreements, constitutions and rosters. There is a wide selection of fliers that ranging in date from 1946-1999. The fliers document DC 37's involvement in social justice movements, announcing anti-war protests, film screenings and other cultural events, they contain song lyrics, document union elections, and provide information on the union's charged fight for better wages and benefits. The collection also contains brochures, pamphlets and other publications on a range of topics, including occupational health and safety, 40th anniversary commemorations, and the consequences of privatization. The collection also contains files from various locals of DC 37. Local 375, also known as the Civil Service Technical Guild is represented in the collection with agreements, contracts, and constitutions, as well as fliers, circular letters, pamphlets and several commemorative anniversary journals. There is also material from Local 420, representing city hospital workers and Local 1930, representing workers at the New York Public Library.
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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.
