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National Federation of Federal Employees records

 Collection
Identifier: L2004-02

Scope and Content Note of the Records

The records (1917-2005) consists of the official records of the National Federation of Federal Employees. Included in these records are: convention proceedings, constitutions, bylaws, agreements, reports, charters, research materials, artifacts, photographs, audiovisual materials and files from the executive council. These materials pertain to the union's representation of federal civil service employees and provide documentation of the day-to-day activities of a national union. Also included is the official publication, Federal Employee.

Dates

  • Creation: 1917-2005

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use. Some records of the National Federation of Federal Employees are available to researchers in the form of preservation photocopies or user copies (Box 1 convention proceedings). Some sound recordings (series VIII) available for use only in the Special Collections and Archives Reading Room.

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.

Historical Note

In 1917, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) was established at a convention in Washington, DC. Florence Ethridge presented the resolution to form NFFE as an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). A week later AFL issued NFFE's charter.

NFFE is one of the oldest unions in the United States to represent federal civil service employees. Their first National President was H.M. McLarin. He was succeeded by Luther C. Steward, who served as president for 37 years.

For much of the 20th century, NFFE was the single biggest proponent of the civil service merit system. Many privileges federal employees enjoy today came as a direct result of NFFE pioneering the cause. Retirement benefits and the "equal pay for equal work" classification system are largely due to NFFE's efforts.

NFFE was originally chartered under the American Federation of Labor (AFL), but left it in December 1931. In 1999, NFFE affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, making them part of the AFL-CIO once again. Over the 20th century, NFFE has been working hard to defend workers rights in the federal sector upholding their slogan: "We Work for America Everyday."

NFFE National Secretary-Treasurers

  1. Edwin J. Newmyer (21 September 1917-30 September 1922)
  2. James P. McKeon (1 October 1922-30 September 1925)
  3. Gertrude Marie McNally (1 October 1925-19 August 1955)
  4. Henry G. Nolda (20 August 1955-30 April 1959)
  5. Leland M. Walker (1 May 1959-30 September 1960)
  6. Florence I. Broadwell (1 October 1960-30 September 1970)
  7. Rita Mary Hartz (1 October 1970-31 October 1978)
  8. Sadie Etha Seeley (1 November 1978-31 October 1980)
  9. Abraham Jacob Orlofsky (1 November 1980-31 October 1988)
  10. Ronald William Kipke (1 November 1988-31 October 1992)
  11. Donald Wayne Reichert (1 November 1992-31 October 1994)
  12. Stephen Benjamin McAfee (1 November 1994-18 March 1995)
  13. Vacant (19 March 1995-28 March 1995)
  14. Sonya Constantine (29 March 1995-10 October 1995)
  15. Arthur R. Guarriello, Jr. (16 October 1995-31 October 1996)
  16. Ruby Leona Rogers (1 November 1996-1 November 1997)
  17. R. Joyce James (7 January 1998-31 October 1998)
  18. Claude Daley (1 November 1998-1 December 1998)
  19. Steven K. Flory (2 December 1998-21 February 1999)
  20. Thomas Daniel Ray (22 February 1999-1 November 2001)
  21. John Michael Paolino (2 November 2001- )

NFFE National Presidents

  1. Howard Marion McLarin (24 September 1917-30 June 1918)
  2. Luther Corwin Steward (1 September 1918-19 August 1955)
  3. Michael E. Markwood (1 September 1955-27 January 1957)
  4. Vaux Owen (29 January 1957-30 September 1964)
  5. Nathan Tully Wolkomir (1 October 1964-31 October 1976)
  6. James Monroe Peirce, Jr. (1 November 1976-31 October 1990)
  7. Sheila K. Velazco (1 November 1990-31 October 1992)
  8. Robert Scott Keener (1 November 1992-2 January 1994)
  9. Sheila K. Velazco (3 January 1994-31 October 1994)
  10. Louis Jasmine (1 November 1994-8 September 1995)
  11. Sonya Constaine (9 September 1995-1 October 1995)
  12. Robert Eugene Estep, Jr. (2 October 1995-2 May 1996)
  13. Gary Wayne Divine (3 May 1996-31 October 1996)
  14. James Doyle Cunningham (1 November 1996-21 February 1998)
  15. Albert Schmidt (22 February 1998-31 October 1998)
  16. Richard N. Brown (1 November 1998- )

Extent

94 Linear Feet (in 160 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

In 1917, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) was established at a convention in Washington, DC. In 1999, NFFE affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The collections consists of the official records of the National Federation of Federal Employees. Included in these records are: convention proceedings, constitutions, bylaws, agreements, reports, charters, research materials, artifacts, photographs, audiovisual materials and files from the executive council.

Organization Note

Organized into nine series: (I) National Conventions, (II) Administrative, (III) Constitutions, ByLaws and Agreements, (IV) Legal, (V) Financial records, (VI) Locals and State Federations, (VII) Lobbying efforts, (VIII) History and (IX) Restricted.

Acquisition Information

Donated by the National Federation of Federal Employees, courtesy of Abe Orlovsky, 2004.

Separated Materials

During processing, printed material, audiovisual material and periodicals were separated to the oversized collection, the labor non-print collection, and the periodical collection respectively. A large number of issues of The Federal Employee, the offical periodical of NFFE are housed in the Southern Labor Archives periodicals collection.

Processing

Processed by Angela Lefebvre and Mary McMahon Dawson at the file level, May 2006. Sound recordings digitized with the support of a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council of Library and Information Resources (CLIR), made possible by funding from the Mellon Foundation.

Subjects

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
National Federation of Federal Employees - International Association of Machinists
Subtitle
A Guide to Its Records at Georgia State University Library
Status
Completed
Author
Georgia State University Library
Date
March 2006
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2023-12-08: Added links to digitized sound recordings.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

https://library.gsu.edu/special-collections/
Contact:
100 Decatur St., S.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-413-2880
404-413-2881 (Fax)

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