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Atlanta Labor Council records

 Collection
Identifier: L1972-12

Scope and Content of the records

The collection consists of the Atlanta Labor Council records,1915 (1956)-1969, composed of office files, financial documents, membership records, minutes, photographs, and printed material of the Atlanta Labor Council and affiliated organizations. Political campaigns and elections (general elections of 1960 and 1964, congressional elections of 1962 and 1966 and all local elections), politicians (Governor Ellis Arnall, representative James Mackay, Governor Lester Maddox, Sam Massell, Governor Carl Sanders, Representative Charles Weltner), and organized labor’s role in community affairs (Community Chest, Community Council of Atlanta, Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Appeal) are the principal subjects of the extensive office files. Prominent in the political material are the AFL-CIO and the 5th Congressional District Committees on Political Education, including the Women’s Activities Department and its role in voter registration. More than half of the records concern membership and financial affairs. Included also are minutes of the Atlanta Federation of Trades, 1956-1958, one of the two predecessors of the Atlanta Labor Council, and of the Council from its first meeting in May 1958, through August, 1967. Labor leaders frequently mentioned are Atlanta Labor Council President R.J. Butler, Georgia State AFL- CIO President J.O. Moore , AFL-CIO Community Services Representative in Atlanta Jesse Lester, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer William Schnitzler, and AFL-CIO President George Meany.

Dates

  • Creation: 1915-1969

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Oversize material stored offsite, please allow 24 hours or more for retrieval.

Historical Note on the Atlanta Labor Council

The Atlanta Labor Council, AFL-CIO, consists of local unions from the metropolitan area including Fulton, Dekalb, Cobb, Clayton, Gwinnett, Newton, Rockdale, Henry, Coweta, Douglas, Fayette, Cherokee, and Forsyth counties. The Atlanta Labor Council was formed following the 1955 merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Prior to the merger, the functions of a local central labor body were performed by the Atlanta Industrial Union Council and the Atlanta Federation of Trades.

The full-time staff of the Atlanta Labor Council includes the president and an office secretary. In addition to the president, the officers include the recording-corresponding secretary, the financial secretary-treasurer, the chairman of the board of trustees, and 15 vice-presidents. These 19 officers make up the council's executive council. All of these officers come from the leadership of the affiliated local unions.

The Atlanta Labor Council undertakes many projects for the benefit of organized labor including political education, lobbying, organizing the unorganized, coordinating funds drives, conducting union education, public relations, and numerous community involvement programs.

Extent

12.5 Linear Feet (in 33 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

The Atlanta Labor Council was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Atlanta Federation of Trades, AFL, and the Atlanta Industrial Union Council, CIO. Its records are composed of office files, financial documents, membership records, minutes, photographs, and printed material of the Atlanta Labor Council and affiliated organizations, 1915-1969 (bulk 1956-1969).

Organization of the Records

  • Series I: Office Files, 1956-1969
  • Series II: Minutes, 1956-1967
  • Series III: Financial Documents, 1915-1969
  • Series IV: Membership Data, 1963

Off-Site Storage

Oversize material stored offsite, please allow 24 hours or more for retrieval.

Online Availability

Some of the photographs in this collection may have been digitized and are available online at Georgia State University Library's Digital Collections.

Separated Materials

During processing, printeds material, photographs, and sound recordings were separated to other Southern Labor Archives Printed Collections. For periodicals see the Southern Labor Archives periodicals collection finding aid. For pamphlets, see the Southern Labor Archives Pamphlets collection finding aid for access (note that this collection has been weeded over time). For photographs, see the Southern Labor Archives Photographs Collection. For proceedings, rules, constitutions and bylaws, or contracts, consult archivist.

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Agreements and Contracts Collection

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, Teamsters Local 728, undated
  2. Office Employees Union Local 21 -- Atlanta Industrial Union Council,1958
  3. Merger agreement: Atlanta Federation of Trades -- Atlanta Industrial Union Council, 1958
  4. Merger Agreement: Chattanooga Central Labor Union -- Chattanooga Industrial Union Council, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1958

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Audio-Visual Collection

  1. George Meany Labor Day speeches
  2. J. O. Moore and W. H. Montague, Workmen's Compensation radio commercials
  3. Speech by H. I. Romes, President, Western Electric Company, 1962 (accession L1975-43) [wax disc]

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Constitutions and Bylaws Collection

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, COPE, 5th Congressional District, 1959
  2. Atlanta AFL-CIO, 1958
  3. Atlanta Federation of Trades, 1955
  4. Greater Atlanta Industrial Union Council, 1951
  5. Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach County Federation of Labor, undated

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Pamphlet Collection

  1. AFL-CIO: Labor and: politics, reform, housing, health care, education, Taft-Hartley, automation, minimum wage legislation, wage and price controls, War on Poverty
  2. U. S. Department of Labor, summary of operations
  3. U. S. Department of Labor, 50th Anniversary program
  4. Union Labor Life Insurance Company, Annual Report, 1969
  5. Workmen's Compensation
  6. Hiring the handicapped
  7. Work safety

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Periodicals Collection

  1. AFL-CIO and Georgia AFL-CIO, 1958-1965
  2. Journal of Labor

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Photographs Collection

  1. Atlanta voter registration, fair booths, unidentified groups,1960-1969, undated

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Proceedings Collection

  1. AFL-CIO 4th Constitutional Convention, 5th day, 1961
  2. AFL-CIO 5th National Conference on Community Services, 1960

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Rules Collection

  1. AFL-CIO Rules Governing Local Central Bodies,1956

Processing Information

Accession L1975-43 (sound recording) inventoried by Faye Phillips Gamel at the file level, May 5, 1976. (Processing of L1972-12 unknown.)

Title
Atlanta Labor Council [accession L1972-12]:
Subtitle
A Guide to the Records at Georgia State University Library
Status
Completed
Author
Georgia State University Library
Date
May 1976
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
100 Decatur St., S.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-413-2880
404-413-2881 (Fax)