AFL Papers and Other Manuscript Accessions - State Historical Society of Wisconsin

Abstract

The American Federation of Labor Papers, covering the period from 1881 to 1953 and comprising approximately 525 file boxes of correspondence, speeches, and statistics, were presented to the Society by the American Federation of Labor. The papers are composed of files from various offices or divisions of the organization, and are arranged in a manner similar to their original form in the AFL offices. One exception is the Gompers material, which is now arranged chronologically. The files of each office are designated as a series and include the following: Series 1. Files of the Executive Secretary of the Labor Housing Conference, 1935-1939: correspondence, pamphlets, and statistics from the office of Miss Catherine Bauer concerning housing problems, housing legislation, and slum clearance. Series 2. Legislative Reference Files, 1919-1930: correspondence, memoranda, briefs, and other materials dealing with federal and state legislation on banking, agriculture, education, civil rights, and other subjects of interest to the AFL. Series 3. State Legislation Files, 1942-1951: correspondence of William Green concerning pending bills in state legislatures, especially those dealing with anti-labor laws, right-to-work legislation, unemployment compensation, and court decisions in labor cases. Series 4. Industry Reference Files, 1930-1950: correspondence of the president of the AFL, research personnel, union members, and affiliated unions; memoranda, statistical data, legal proceedings, and information concerning local unions; clippings; and other material dealing with Labor and Industry. Materials in the decade, 1930-1940, deal primarily with NRA codes, hearings, and wage and hour decisions. The 1940-1950 papers are concerned especially with World War II and deal with production, housing, wage and working problems, postwar adjustment and demobilization, the OPA, and other war and postwar governmental agencies. Series 5. Files of the Economist of the AFL, 1938-1948: informational letters from the NLRB to Boris Shishkin, and his correspondence with unions concerning NLRB rulings and instructions; four volumes of correspondence, minutes, reports, and recommendations of the Labor Policy Committee of the War Assets Administration, of which Boris Shishkin was a member; and personal and official papers relating to Shishkin's work as the economist for the AFL. Series 6. American Federationist Files, 1932-1943: correspondence of