Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Trade Unions
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Abstract
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Trade Unions (1819-2011, bulk 1880-2002), an artificial collection of vertical files, was accumulated gradually over the years as staff set aside ephemera that was relevant to Tamiment Library's collecting focus but did not belong in discreet collections. This collection consists of contracts, constitutions, flyers, clippings, reports, pamphlets, brochures, press releases, and other printed ephemera created by or related to trade unions, or connected with the labor or trade unionism movements.
Historical Note
The Tamiment Library, New York University, a special collection documenting the history of United States radicalism, labor, and progressive social action, accumulated this artificial collection of printed ephemera gradually over the years through purchases, donations, standing orders with publishers, trade unions and other organizations, and through exchanges with other special library collections via the Collectors' Network, which was organized by Russell Benedict at the University of Nevada in the 1970s and promoted through his newsletter Top Secret. Tamiment Library staff added materials to this collection on a regular basis.
Arrangement
Collection is organized into 25 series; one for titles starting with numerals, and one for each letter of the alphabet except X and Z, as no files started with those letters. Files are arranged alphabetically by file title.
Series are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Content Note
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Trade Unions (1819-2011, bulk 1880-2002) is composed of printed ephemera related to trade unions, one of the primary collection focuses of the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. This collection includes files created by trade unions that were part of or of interest to members of the trade unionism and labor movements. Organizations represented include trade unions and labor groups organized at the local, national, and international levels. Examples include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the Coalition of Labor Union Women (U.S.): New York Chapter, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). These organizations are documented by constitutions, contracts, agreements, by-laws, memoranda, reports, and printed ephemera such as clippings, flyers, broadsides, leaflets, catalogs, press releases, programs, and other printed ephemera arranged alphabetically by organization.
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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
Identification of item, date; Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Trade Unions; PE 001; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials in this collection have been compiled by the Tamiment Library. The accession number associated with this collection is NPA-2000-231.
In 2025, materials from accession 2019.056, which is associated with Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Subjects (PE 029), were transferred to 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 ongoing collecting by Tamiment staff.
Separated Materials
Posters have been separated from this collection and placed in the Tamiment/Wagner Poster and Broadsides Collection; photographs, political buttons, artifacts, and other materials that are not printed ephemera have also been separated from the collection and placed in the appropriate collections at Tamiment.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Much of the original order of the vertical files collection (in which folders were arranged alphabetically by labor union name) from which much of the Collection was drawn has been retained by arranging folders alphabetically by labor union name within alphabetical series. Some of the original vertical files folder titles were retained, while others were revised or eliminated, and additional folder titles were created by archivists. All materials have been placed into new acid-free folders and boxes.
In 2025, unprocessed materials from the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on Subjects (PE 029) were transferred to this collection, sorted by organization, and placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. These were housed in box 49 and the files were physically arranged alphabetically by file title, and new files were integrated into the collection's existing alphabetical file list.
