#AmericanFederationOfLabor

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"If I went to work in a factory the first thing I'd do would be to join a union" - Franklin Roosevelt

This poster was released by the CIO Department of Education and Research. Collection 5284 holds hundreds of documents from the AFL-CIO Education Department, including letters and correspondence, testimonies, and information about training schools and institutes created all across the United States during the 1920s-1960s.

#KheelCenter #ILR #CornellUniversity #LaborHistory #LaborArchives #2024 #AFLCIO #CIO #AFL #CongressOfIndustrialOrganizations #AmericanFederationOfLabor #EducationDepartment #ArchivesOfTumblr #ILRSchool

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Biden May Be the Most Pro-Labor President Ever; That May Not Save Unions

Biden May Be the Most Pro-Labor President Ever; That May Not Save Unions

Two months into the new administration, labor leaders are proclaiming Joseph R. Biden Jr. to be the most union-friendly president of their lifetime — and “maybe ever,” as Steve Rosenthal, a former political director for the A.F.L.-C.I.O., said in an interview.Mr. Biden has moved quickly to oust government officials whom unions deemed hostile to labor, and to reverse Trump-era rules that weakened worker protections. He has pushed through legislation sending hundreds of billions of dollars to cities and states, aid that public-sector unions consider essential, and tens of billions to shore up union pension plans.Perhaps most notably, the president appeared in a video alluding to a union vote underway at an Read the full article

#Amazon.comInc #AmericanFederationofLabor-CongressofIndustrialOrganizations #Biden #JosephRJr #CollectiveBargaining #LaborandJobs #LawandLegislation #OrganizedLabor #UnitedStatesPoliticsandGovernment #updatesonusnewsonacqro #usnewsacqro #usnewsacqroupdates #usnewsonacqro #usnewsupdates #usanews

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Wipe Out Discrimination!

This poster was distributed by the CIO Committee to Abolish Discrimination, through the Department of Research and Education.

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), proposed by John L. Lewis in 1928, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Committee for Industrial Organization was formed by the presidents of eight international unions in 1935. The presidents of these unions were dissatisfied with the American Federation of Labor's unwillingness to commit itself to a program of organizing industrial unions. In 1936, the A.F. of L. suspended the ten unions which proceeded to organize an independent federation, the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The CIO subsequently became the A.F. of L.'s chief rival for the leadership of American unions. The groups were reunited in 1955 as the AFL-CIO.

#KheelCenter #ILR #CornellUniversity #LaborHIstory #LaborArchives #2024 #AFLCIO #AFL #CIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #CongressOfIndustrialOrganizations #ArchivesOfTumblr

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Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On this day, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Seeing labor and civil rights as twin pillars of social reform, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked tirelessly to advocate for working people, create connections with labor leaders and union members, play key roles in pivotal strikes, and fight for economic justice on several fronts. He believed strongly in the labor movement asserting that “organized labor has been one of the deterrents of human exploitation throughout its long history in America.”

Pictured: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking at an AFL-CIO event.

To honor and celebrate him, the Kheel Center created an exhibit 4 years ago titled "All Labor Has Dignity", highlighting Dr. King and Coretta Scott King's work with the labor movement.

#LaborArchives #LaborHistory #ArchivesOfInstagram #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #MartinLutherKingJr #MartinLutherKingJrDay #MLK #MLKDay #CivilRights #CorettaScottKing #HappyBirthday #AmericanFederationOfLabor

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This month’s #ArchivesHashtagParty is #ArchivesForTheBirds !

This cartoon foresees the merger of the AFL-CIO in 1955, pushed by some rank and file workers, but a contentious consolidation for other union members. Drawn by John Baer, Labor Editorial cartoonist, responsible for coining the term “New Deal.” #ArchivesForTheBirds #ArchivesHashtagParty #KheelCenter #LaborHistory #Cornell @CornellILR @CornellLibrary @CornellTextileIndustry #CornellILR #ILR #Wednesday #ArchivesLife #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #Labor #Unions #ArchivesOfInstagram #FromTheArchives #History #Strikes #AFL #CIO #AFLCIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #CongressOfIndustrialOrganizations

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#LaborOrganizerSpotlight Lucy Gonzales Parsons!

This week's #LaborOrganizerSpotlight is Lucy Gonzales Parsons. 

 Born a slave in Texas, following emancipation she married her husband Albert Parsons. Settling in Chicago, they helped 80,000 working people in the world's first May Day Parade, advocating for the 8-hour day. When her husband and 7 immigrant leaders were arrested during the Haymarket Riot, she became a fierce component in the campaign to free them. Anti-union forces called her "more dangerous than a thousand rioters". 

She continued to fight for labor rights throughout her lifetime, leading to her being the only female speaker at the founding convention of Industrial Workers of the World (source: afl-cio.org) 

 This drawing is from our ACTWU Labor Unity Photograph Files, Coll. 5981 P.

 #CornellRAD #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #ArchivesOfInstagram #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #WorkingWednesday  #AFLCIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #LaborSpotlight #CornelILaborSpotlight #LucyParsons #IWW #IndustrialWorkersoftheWorld #HaymarketRiot #Labor #BlackHistoryMonth  @ILRSchool @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection

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#OnThisDay in 1990...

#OnThisDay July 26, 1990 the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law and took effect two years later. ADA prohibits dicriminnation against people with disabilites in employment. This is a pamphlet from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

 Photo: Cover of pamphlet from the AFL-CIO, that reads: The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Unions fighting for a better liffe for all people." Underneath it rstates a quote from AFL-CIO president Lane Kirkland: "The AFL-CIO firmly supports the rights of workers with disabilities to be treated with dignity and respect in their working lives." Found in Collection #6185 Tompkins Cortland Labor Coalition Records. #AllLaborHasDignity #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #Unions #LaborMovement #ArchivesOfInstagram #WorkingClassHistory  #ADA #AmericansWithDisabilitiesAct #AFLCIO #AFL #CIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #CongressOfIndustrialOrganizations @CornellILR @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection

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Harry C. Bates - Labor Orgainzer Spotlight

#LaborOrganizerSpotlight Harry C. Bates (1882-1969) 

Bates joined the Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers International Union in 1900, and was elected president of its local in Dallas in 1910. In 1933 he was elected as vice-president of the #AmericanFederationOfLabor (AFL). He became close with George Meany (President of the #AFL at the time) and together with William F. Schnitzler negotiated the AFL's merger with the #CongressOfIndustrialOrganizations (CIO). He also served as a delegate to the #InternationalLabourOrganization conference in 1958 and served on the Wage Stabilization Board. 

Each #LaborOrganizerSpotlight is designed to highlight historical figures who have participated signficantly in the labor/labor organizing movement who is also featured in our collections. To learn more about Harry C. Bates, visit https://rare.library.cornell.edu/finding-aids-for-archival-and-manuscript-collections/ and search Collection #5211 and #5760 mf, among many others.

 #AFLCIO #HarryCBates #LaborOrganizer #UnionStrong #Unions #June #Cornell #LaborArchives #LaborHistory  #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #LaborOrganizerSpotlight @CornellILR @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection

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Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother's Day! Swipe through for some images of mothers on the picket line and striking for better wages and conditions. Find more in our International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs Collection #5780 P.

Float from the strikers' contingent of the union parade illustrating the reason Tex-Son workers went on strike. Helen Martinez, whose children range from 5-12 years old, is one of many mothers in the striking union with Tex-Son as their only source of income, April 1, 1959. The sign on the float reads "The Shame of Tex-Son, this mother was paid $9.12, she is the sole support of 4 children".

Mothers and children form a picket line at Michele Franks, Scranton in 1958, with signs reading "Don't Cross My Mom's Picket Line", "My Mommy is on Strike", "Mom is on Strike" and "School Is Out, We Are Helping Mom"

@cornellilr #ILGWU #IntergenerationalLadiesGarmentWorkersUnion #AFLCIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #AFL #MothersDay #Cornell #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #ArchivesOfInstagram #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #Workers  @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection #Unions

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Happy Easter from the Kheel Center!

Happy Easter from the Kheel Center to those who celebrate!   This is a poster from our Poster Collection (#6227). #KheelCenter #LaborHistory #Cornell @CornellILR @CornellLibrary  @CatherwoodLibe @CornellTextileIndustry #CornellILR #ILR #Sunday #ArchivesLife #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #Labor #Unions #ArchivesOfInstagram #FromTheArchives #History #Strikes #AFL #CIO #AFLCIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #CongressOfIndustrialOrganizations #HappyEaster #Unions

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#LaborOrganizerSpotlight, A. Philip Randolph!

It's that time of the week again! Today's #LaborOrganizerSpotlight is A. Philip Randolph. 

 Randolph led a 10-year drive to organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, calling this achievement "the first victory of Negro workers over a great industrial corporation". He also served as the organization's first president. He headed up the March on Washington movement working to end employment discrimination and a national civil disobedience campaign to ban segregation in the armed forces. This set the scene and inspired the civil rights movement during the 1950s-60s. Randolph became a spokesperson for Black working-class interests, he pressured FDR to issue an executive order banning discrimination against Black workers in the defense industry, also resulting in the Fair Employment Practices Commission overseeing the order. Randolph demanded integration of the armed forces, and urged young males of all races to "refuse to cooperate with a Jim Crow conscription service". This resulted in President Truman's ordering an end to military discrimination. 

Randolph had a significant impact on proving to the next generation of civil rights advocates that nonviolent action, protests, and mass demonstrations were the best way to raise public pressure. He was a true leading figure of the civil rights movement. (Source: afl-cio.com )

 #CornellRAD #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #WorkingWednesday #APhilipRandolph #BrotherhoodOfSleepingCarPorters #CivilRights #AFLCIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #LaborSpotlight #CornelILaborSpotlight #DavidDubinsky #BlackHistoryMonth  @ILRSchool @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection

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#LaborOrganizerSpotlight George Meany!

This week's #LaborOrganizerSpotlight is George Meany, former President of the AFL-CIO. 

 Under Meany's leadership of 25 years, the union expanded and modernized, and the labor movement saw rejuvenation and growth. New programs such as the Labor Studies Center, constituency organizations for women, minorities and retirees, and training programs for minorities were created under his Presidency. Terming the labor movement the "people's lobby", Meany held strongly that the labor movement was the common citizen's voice. A fierce proponent of free trade unions, Meany was a leading exponent of the labor movement, advocating for human and civil rights issues as well. (Source: aflcio.org) 

 Here, he is pictured with civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph.

 #CornellRAD #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #ArchivesOfInstagram #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #WorkingWednesday #APhilipRandolph #GeorgeMeany #CivilRights #AFLCIO #AmericanFederationOfLabor #LaborSpotlight #CornelILaborSpotlight  @ILRSchool @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection

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Happy Birthday, Samuel Gompers!

#OnThisDay January 26, 1850, Samuel Gompers born in London. A cigar-maker by trade, Gompers served as president of the American Federation of Labor for almost forty years. He believed that strong trade unions would humanize industry, protect workers’ interests, and create opportunities for workers to educate themselves and claim a larger role in industrial society. #CornellRAD #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #ArchivesOfInstagram #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #WorkingWednesday #HappyBirthday #AmericanFederationOfLabor #SamuelGompers #workers @Cornell_Library @CornellILR @ILRSchool @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection

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Happy MLK Day!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

#OnThisDay (well, almost) Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929. Observed on the third Monday in January every year, MLK Day is a federal holiday to celebrate the achievements, dedication, and legacy of MLK .

Notable for much, but especially for his staunch advocacy of the intersection and intertwining of the civil rights and labor movements, MLK's multi-movement advocacy helped boost both. "Our needs are identical with labor's needs," MLK said, and his work in supporting union membership, standing on picket lines, and expressing solidarity with workers supported similar goals of the civil rights movement. As detailed in a March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom poster, he was a leader in the fight for meaningful civil rights laws AND full and fair employment.

Here, he is pictured giving a speech at #AFL while George Meany listens on.

#CornellRAD #LaborArchives #LaborHistory #ArchivesOfInstagram #AllLaborHasDignity #KheelCenter #ILRSchool #LaborRights #Strikes #WorkingWednesday #MartinLutherKingJr #MartinLutherKingJrDay #MLK #MLKDay #CivilRights #CorettaScottKing #HappyBirthday #AmericanFederationOfLabor @Cornell_Library @CornellILR @ILRSchool @CornellTextileIndustry @CornellFashionCollection