Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the United Mine Workers of America
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Abstract
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the United Mine Workers of America (1903-1995) is an artificial collection, collected and assembled by the Tamiment Library over the course of several decades. Founded in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) was and continues to be a leader in the labor movement in the United States, fighting for safe working conditions and good wages. Material in the collection ranges in date from the early 20th century through the present and consists of agreements, contracts, constitutions, and reports as well as printed ephemera such as fliers, brochures, leaflets, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and other publications.
Historical Note
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) formed in 1890 with the merger of the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers. A leader in civil rights, the UMWA barred discrimination based on race, religion or national origin in its first constitution. The UMWA was a member of the American Federation of Labor and a driving force in the creation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. John L. Lewis served as president from 1920-1960. The UMWA, under his charge, created the Welfare and Retirement Fund in contract with the United States government, which permanently changed the way that health care is delivered to workers in the coal industry. In 1989, members of the UMWA in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky went on strike against the Pittston Coal Company, the strike lasted for several months and was greeted with wide-ranging community and union support. Today, the UMWA continues to fight for safe working conditions, good wages, benefits and fair representation.
Arrangement
Files are arranged alphabetically.
Scope and Content Note
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Printed Ephemera Collection on the United Mine Workers of America (1903-1995) consists of agreements, constitutions, reports, hearings and statements, as well as printed ephemera such as fliers, brochures, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and other publications, ranging in date from 1903 to the present. Included are industry wide national agreements on wages for anthracite and bituminous coal workers as well as transcriptions from hearings and statements from the United States Anthracite Commission and the United States Coal Commission, dating from 1920. On a range of issues from democratic elections to health and safety, the collection contains printed ephemera such as fliers, brochures, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and other publications. As a significant contribution to organized labor, the UMWA created the Welfare and Retirement Fund in 1946. Annual reports from the Fund are represented in the collection from 1950-1989.
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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 the United Mine Workers of America; PE 010; 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.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials in this collection have been compiled by the Tamiment Library. There is no accession record associated with this collection.
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 through ongoing collecting by Tamiment staff.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2025 are unknown.
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 and placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. These materials were housed in box Shared Tamiment 190 and integrated into the collection's existing alphabetical file list.
