Penn State University Libraries - Labor History (Special Collections)

United Steelworkers of America Archives (2,500 linear feet)

Note: Pre-approval is required for access to the USWA materials. Consult the head of the Historical Collections and Labor Archives, Jim Quigel, for information.

This body of materials documents the internal and external activities of every hierarchical level of the USWA organization.

The main components of the archive are the records from the International Executive Board, elected officials, staff departments, and district and local union offices.

In addition to several thousand cubic feet of files, the USWA Archive contains newsletters, publications, posters, photographs, sound recordings, and film.

Complementing the Steelworker's official records are the nearly two hundred oral histories of former union officers, staff members, and rank and file activists; numerous manuscript collections documenting the activities of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, predecessor of the USWA; and the records of several unions that preceded or merged with the USWA.

See:

International Executive Board Records, 1933-1990
The second highest policy-making group in the union, the IEB manages International Union funds and properties as part of administering USWA affairs. The collection includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial statements, and other materials.  

United Steelworkers of America, Tri-Local and Locals 2598, 2599, and 2600 Records, circa 1939-1992
The Tri-Local was established in United Steelworkers of America (USWA) District 9 in 1942, representing 31,000 workers at Bethlehem Steel; it merged into Local 2599 in 1995. Materials include correspondence, membership records, agreements, minutes, financial records, photographs, and memorabilia.

United Steelworkers of America and Labor Oral History Collection, 1926-1987 (bulk 1966-1977)
The USWA supported an oral history project beginning in the mid-1960s to preserve a record of its history. Alice Hoffman, faculty with Penn State Labor Studies Department, conducted many of these interviews and expanded the project to document the labor movement in Pennsylvania.

A Guide to the Steel Workers Organizing Committee Records highlights materials, contained in personal papers and district records, that relate to the SWOC.

For information on additional collections, go to our Search Collections page and use the keyword "steelworkers".

Note: Pre-approval is required for access to some labor materials. Consult the head of HCLA, Jim Quigel, for more information.

United Mine Workers of America Archives (1,500 linear feet)

Founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) was an influential member of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the driving force behind the creation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1937. The union grew rapidly under the CIO.

Key UMW collections include:

UMW, International Executive Board records, 1900-1989
Consists primarily of packets and files related to IEB meetings, meeting transcripts, and approximately 10,000 membership restoration cases.

UMW, President's Office correspondence with districts, 1898-1973
Includes correspondence between the head of the United Mine Workers of America and district officers or their representatives in the field, arranged by district.

UMW Local 4006 (Kingmont, W. Va.) Meeting Minute Books 1933-1943
Contains two bound volumes with handwritten minutes of weekly meetings of the UMW Local 4006. James Watson was president of this local during these nine years.  The Local 4006 was located near the headquarters of the UMW in Fairmont, WV.

For information on additional collections, go to our Search Collections page and enter the phrase "mine workers".

Note: Pre-approval is required for access to some labor materials. Consult the head of HCLA, Jim Quigel, for more information.

Key collections include but are not limited to:

Aluminum Workers of America. Local 18356, Local 2, and Local 302 (New Kensington, Pa.) Records, 1929-1978: This collection documents the local’s transition from trade to industrial union affiliation and consists of ledgers, financial record books, minute books, and a combined correspondence and subject file.

Amalgamated Lithographers of America Records, 1924-1975 (bulk 1930-1965) - Collection contains contracts, correspondence, office records, reports, speeches and convention proceedings.

Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics & Allied Workers International Union Records, 1879-2002 (bulk 1934-1970): Collection documents the union’s administration, organizing, and lobbying activities. Includes extensive correspondence files (many microfilmed), contracts, minutes, conference proceedings, photographs, scrapbooks, the newsletter, "Horizons," and memorabilia.

Graphic Communications International Union (GCIU) Records, 1946-1998 (bulk 1968-1998) - GCIU records consist primarily of negotiated labor agreements with various companies, as well as photographs, correspondence files, reports, and publications. Some materials from the Office of the Vice President are housed separately as the Jack Wallace Papers.

Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Records, 1899-1988: This collection consists of subject and correspondence files, financial records, convention proceedings, books and periodicals, photographs, and scrapbooks, and one LP record (audio).

Pennsylvania Industrial Union Council Records [microfilm], 1938-1957: Contains microfilmed financial reports, charter, minutes, bylaws, and correspondence of county Industrial Union Councils, CIO throughout Pennsylvania, including correspondence with CIO Director, John Brophy.

Pennsylvania State Federation of Labor, 1913-1965 (bulk 1940-1960): These labor records consist mainly of correspondence and research files, as well as photographs, posters, certificates, audio recordings, and publications.

To find additional collections, go to our Search Collections page.

Note: Pre-approval is required for access to some labor materials. Consult the head of HCLA, Jim Quigel, for more information.

Collections include but are not limited to:

I. W. Abel Papers, 1940-1986  
This collection contains personal correspondence, photographs, speeches, plaques, scrapbooks and newspaper clippings concerning Abel's tenure with the United Steelworkers of America, in particular, the USWA constitutional conventions and Abel's retirement as USWA president in 1977.

Meyer Bernstein Papers, 1930-1984
Bernstein was an international labor leader and educator, who served the Steel Workers Organizing Committee ( 1936-1941), United Steelworkers of America (1946-1972), in part as the Director of the International Affairs Department; and the United Mine Workers (1972-1973). The collection contains correspondence, subject files, diaries, labor photographs, postcards, 7 German films concerning the Nurnberg trials, and other memorabilia from his international travels.

Clinton S. Golden papers, 1858-1961 (bulk 1933-1961)
Golden was a labor leader, educator, theorist, and vice president of the United Steelworkers of America. This collection includes personal and family correspondence, published and unpublished writings, reports, speeches, clippings, booklets, pamphlets, and collective bargaining agreements.

David J. McDonald Papers, 1931-1970
McDonald was an officer of the United Steelworkers of America. This collection consists of correspondence and related materials about agreements, arbitration, labor-management policy elections, and conventions of the Steelworkers Organizing Committee (SWOC) and other unions' organizing committees.

William Mitch Papers, 1890-1963
Mitch (1881 to 1974) was an official in the United Mine Workers (1915-1946) and Southern Director of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC).The papers consist of correspondence and publications pertaining to the United Mine Workers and other labor organizations, and two photographs of Mitch.

Philip Murray Papers, 1832-1969 (bulk 1936-1952)
This collection contains correspondence, clippings, documents, and photographs primarily documenting Murray's presidency of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Harold J. Ruttenberg Papers, 1933-1967 (bulk 1933-1963)
Ruttenberg served as the research director for the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) and the United Steelworkers of America, as a member of the U.S. War Production Board, and with the Portsmouth Steel Company. This collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, pamphlets, bulletins, drafts and typescripts of books and articles, 15 negatives, and clippings generated and collected by Ruttenberg.

To find additional collections, go to our Search Collections page.