Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
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Abstract
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is an artificial collection, collected and assembled by the Tamiment Library over the course of several decades. The collection consists of constitutions, by-laws, convention proceedings, press releases, reports and rosters as well as printed ephemera such as fliers, brochures, circular letters, newspapers clippings, pamphlets and other publications. The material ranges in date from 1949-2007 and generally comes from the AFL-CIO's national body as well as its various departments and committees. There is also material from the governing city, state and central federations of the AFL-CIO from around the country, notably from the New York State AFL-CIO. The collection also contains material from the New York City Central Labor Council, a labor membership organization for New York City unions. NOTE: This collection is housed offsite and advance notice is required for use.
Historical/Biographical Note
The AFL-CIO was formed when the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) merged in 1955. The AFL was formed in 1886 and was led by Samuel Gompers as a more traditional union that organized workers along craft lines. The CIO, initially a committee within the AFL called the Committee for Industrial Organization, broke away from the AFL in the late 1930s after disputes in how to organize all the workers of one industry into the same union. George Meany, the president of the AFL, was elected to serve as the first president of the newly merged AFL-CIO. He was succeeded by Lane Kirkland in 1979. As a voluntary federation of international labor unions, the AFL-CIO represents nearly all unionized employees in the United States and Canada. The AFL-CIO lobbies on behalf of organized labor and mediates disputes between member unions. It holds quadrennial conventions and member unions are proportionately represented with delegates who attend and vote. John Sweeney was elected as president in 1995, this was the AFL-CIO's first contested election. When Sweeney retired in 2009, Richard Trumka, of the United Mine Workers of America was elected president.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series: Series I: General Files, 1950-2005; Series II: State, Regional, and Central Councils, 1956-2007; Series III: New York City Central Labor Council, 1959-2005. 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 and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) consists of constitutions, by-laws, convention proceedings, reports, rosters and press releases as well as printed ephemera such as fliers, circular letters, newspapers clippings, pamphlets and publications.
Series I: General Files, 1949-2005, consists of material that was generated by the AFL-CIO at the national level, this includes material from various departments and committees. Included here are constitutions, by-laws, convention proceedings, and rosters of affiliated member unions.
Series II: State, Regional, and Central Councils, 1956-2007
Series III: New York City Central Labor Council, 1959-2005
NOTE: This collection is housed offsite and advance notice is required for use.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
NOTE: This collection is housed offsite and advance notice is required for use.
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. The accession numbers associated with this collection are NPA.2000.334, NPA.2001.040, and NPA.2003.085.
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.