Labor History Programs and Links

Labor History Programs

Labor history class

• Our union values—what are they and where do they come from?
• Labor history: the big picture
• Labor in crisis: time line exercise on picket lines and critical strikes
• The development of collective bargaining—the difference it has made in workers’ lives
• Race and gender issues in labor history—division of workers: a strategy that sometimes backfires
• What does our history teach us about the present and future?

Doing your own labor history

• Tips on how a local union can begin to capture its own history
• How to do an oral history with current members and retirees
• Resources from the Iowa Labor History Oral Project

Labor History Links

Iowa Labor History Oral Project (ILHOP)

The Iowa Labor History Oral Project was initiated in 1974 by the Iowa Federation
of Labor, AFL-CIO. For over twenty years, the Iowa Federation of Labor has
funded the collection and, working with the State Historical Society of Iowa,
has ensured the preservation of the rich materials recovered by the project.
The Iowa Labor Collection currently consists of over 1,100 oral history
interviews with Iowa trade unionists and 800 linear feet of labor records.
The Iowa labor collection has important things to tell historians, not only
about the history of the working class and trade unionism in Iowa, but in
the country as a whole.

On this site you can find out more about:
•ILHOP Participants
•Key to Unions Oral History
•Interviews by Town
(Click on "Iowa Labor History Oral Project" in the lefthand table when you get to the site.)

John L. Lewis Memorial Museum of Mining and Labor
Lucas, Iowa

This museum, built by Iowa union members with help from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, has a collection of early mining tools, a miniature replica of a historic Iowa coal mining town, and many photos, artifacts and documents related to the life of John L. Lewis. It has information on mining history with souvenirs made from coal available to purchase.
Location: 2 blocks north of Highway 34 at 102 Division Street in Lucas. Iowa.
Hours: Mid-April through Mid-October, Monday through Saturday. 9:am - 3 pm and by appointment.
Information: 641-766-6831. jllmuseum@iowatelecom.net
Admission: Adults: $2.00, Children free.
More information on Labor Day Festival (click here)
Photos of John L. Lewis
Biography of John L. Lewis http://www.umwa.org/history/jll1.shtml
Speech of John L. Lewis to Congress, 1947, blaming Congress for the deaths of miners
A reknowned public speaker, this was one of Lewis' most impassioned speeches. (for the text of the speech, click on the italicized sentence underneath his photo at the end of the segment.)

A History of the Labor Movement in the United States. By David M. Colman
Link to this short book on US labor history, with Iowa examples, produced by the IFL for its high school essay contest. For more on this college scholarship, visit the website of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. http:// www.iowaaflcio.org

Illinois Labor History Society This popular and well maintained website contains directions to various historic sites important to labor, a series of articles written in a popular style, and a model curriculum through which teachers can enrich the normal textbook fare with labor history topics and materials.

George Meany Archives
The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) established the George Meany Memorial Archives in 1980 to honor the memory of George Meany, its first president, and to provide a program to preserve its historical records and make them available for research. This site describes the exhibits at the Archives, the archives themselves and how to use them. Plus it features an article from the labor history magazine Labor Heritage.

Eleanor Roosevelt, Human Rights and Workers’ Rights
http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/workers/
Eleanor Roosevelt worked closely with many unions and was a champion of workers’ rights, civil rights, and women’s rights around the world.  Their collaboration is best reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Article 23 which establishes everyone’s right to work without any discrimination, the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to form and join trade unions.  Up until now, there has been very little historical information available about Eleanor Roosevelt’s support for unions and unions’ support for human rights.  In labor workshops over this past year, we have found a great deal of interest in these topics. This website chronicles much information on this aspect of ER’s work

The Public History Resource Center    http://www.publichistory.org
This site has reviews of Web sites pertaining to labor history which provides users with an in-depth analysis of particular resources. The reviews cover a wide-range of topics related to work and labor history.

John L. Lewis Festival, Lucas Iowa

More information: Call 641-766-6421 or 641-766-6544