Series III: American Labor Unions and Industrial Relations

The general studies include articles, reports, and book reviews arranged topically under the headings: union leadership, union structure, labor and economic conditions, union membership and organizing drives, industrial relations, labor ideology, labor and government, and foreign unions.

The material specifically devoted to the Teamsters provides a substantial introduction to the recent history of the union. It includes biographical studies of Dan Tobin, Dave Beck, and James Hoffa, articles on Teamster history and structure and news reports concerning Teamster relations with other unions. Almost half the material deals with the charges of racketeering made against union officials during the 1950's. These files are composed primarily of articles and news reports but also include the Report of the AFL CIO Ethical Practices Committee to the AFL CIO Executive Council re: International Brotherhood of Teamsters, September 16, 1957, and the Proceedings of the Seventeenth Convention of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, September 1957.

The United Auto Workers material also heavily emphasizes the post War period. There are biographical sketches of important union officials, notes on the history of the union, and articles concerning the important question of internal democracy. Much of the material concerns the industrial relations of the United Auto Workers: strikes, negotiations, and innovations such as the Guaranteed Annual Wage.

The International Ladies' Garment Workers Union and United Mine Workers Union files consist of biographical studies of the unions' leaders and articles concerning their history, structure, and industrial relations. Together with these files there are miscellaneous articles and news clippings on the Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers Union; the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; and the Textile Workers Union of America.

This subseries contains selections from the convention proceedings of the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions and the American Federation of Labor showing the list of delegates to the conventions, together with notes on the elections at the national conventions of the AFL for the period of 1886-1905.

This subseries includes biographical studies of George Meany, Phil Murray, Alan Haywood, and Sidney Hillman, together with articles and pamphlets concerning the history of the CIO and the AFL CIO merger.