Skip to main content

United Paperworkers International Union, Local 675 (Covington, Va.) records

 Collection
Identifier: L1980-36A

Scope and Content of the Records

The United Paperworkers International Union, Local 675 (Covington, Va.) records, 1944-1979 (bulk 1944-1971), document the daily operations of the union prior to and after the 1957 merger of the United Paperworkers of America and the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers.

The records contain primarily the administrative files of Presidents Temple Kessinger and Clarence Farmer, as well as Secretary-Treasurers Al E. Brown, Carl Skoggard, and Harry E. Scott. Correspondence documents the interactions between these elected officials and the national board; the management of West Virginia Pulp and Paper, Westvaco, Star Paper Tube, Weyerhaeuser, and White Paper Bag companies; and the Virginia CIO Council (later the Virginia AFL-CIO).

Box 5 includes folders pertaining to the 1957 merger, the suspension and expulsion of several Local 675 officers after collaborating with the Teamsters and threatening to secede from the international union, and the merger of the Virginia State Federation of Labor and the Virginia State Industrial Union Council.

Primarily previously unfoldered material, the records also contain minutes, contract agreement and negotiation materials, constitutions and bylaws, job descriptions and wage rate charts, Virginia CIO Council updates, Labor Day celebration materials, photographs, artifacts, and arbitration and grievances.

Dates

  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1944-1979

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use. Access to materials with personal or sensitive information has been restricted. Boxes 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 16 are restricted.

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.

Collection is stored offsite. Allow at least 2 working days for retrieval.

History of United Paperworkers International Union, Local 675

The United Papermakers and Paperworkers was established in 1957 as a result of a merger between the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers and the United Paperworkers of America. In 1972, the United Papermakers and Paperworkers and the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers merged into the United Paperworkers International Union. Local 675 still overlooks the daily operations of paperworkers in Covington, Virginia and at one time, served as the largest local of the United Paperworkers of America.

Local 202 of the Textile Workers Union of America worked closely alongside Local 675, both active in the political action committees (PAC) of the Virginia CIO Council (later the Virginia AFL-CIO). They combined their efforts to fight the likes of such anti-union legislation as the Taft-Hartley Act, enacted in 1947 and still in effect today.

Extent

17.25 Linear Feet (in 18 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

The United Paperworkers International Union, Local 675, documents the daily operations of paperworkers in Covington, Virginia. At one time, it was the largest local of the United Paperworkers of America. The records include administrative files and correspondence of Local 675 officers, minutes, contract agreement and negotiation materials, constitutions and bylaws, job descriptions and wage rate charts, Virginia CIO Council updates, Labor Day celebration materials, photographs, artifacts, and arbitration and grievances.

Offsite Storage

Collection is stored offsite. Allow at least 2 working days for retrieval.

Acquisition Information

Donated by United Paperworkers International Union, courtesy of Ernest Jones, 1980 [L1980-36A, L1980-36B].

Separated Materials

During processing, printed material was separated to other Southern Labor Archives collections. For periodicals, see the Southern Labor Archives Periodicals Collection finding aid or catalog. For proceedings consult Special Collectins for access.

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Periodicals Collection

  1. Labor's Daily, International Typographical Union, Charleston, West Virginia, 1954
  2. The Rebel, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Portland, Oregon, 1965-1968
  3. UPA Adviser, United Paperworkers of America,1947
  4. West Virginia Pulp and Paper, Bleached Board Division News Letter, 1967-1969
  5. Economic Trends and Outlook, AFL-CIO Economic Policy Committee, 1956

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Proceedings Collection

  1. Congress of Industrial Organizations, Daily Proceedings of the Thirteenth Constitutional Convention, 1951
  2. Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO, Legislative Conference, 1961
  3. Virginia State Industrial Union Council CIO, Sixteenth Annual Convention, 1956
  4. Virginia State AFL-CIO, First Annual Convention, 1956

Processing Information

Processed by Crystal Rodgers at the box level, October-December 2011.

Title
United Paperworkers International Union, Local 675 (Covington, Va.):
Subtitle
A Guide to Its Records at Georgia State University Library
Status
Completed
Author
EAD created by Crystal Rodgers.
Date
December 2011
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)