West Virginia Labor Federation AFL-CIO Records
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 1658
This collection includes the records of the West Virginia Labor Federation (WVLF), AFL-CIO as a singular organization, established in 1957, and the records of its predecessor organizations prior to their merger, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO).
Series 1 comprises records related to the West Virginia State Labor Federation, AFL’s internal operation and initiatives, including presidents’ files, secretary-treasurers' files, general office files, Department of Education files, and financial materials.
Series 2 comprises the records related to the West Virginia State Industrial Union Council, CIO’s internal operation and initiatives, including executive secretary-treasurers' files, central office mailings, and records of the Political Action Committee.
Series 3 is reflective of the organization’s operations and initiatives after the AFL-CIO merger, including files of various presidents, various secretary-treasurers, central office files, convention files, political materials, legislative files, assorted programs, and financial materials.
Series 4 is a 1978 addendum to this collection that includes additional files of the WVFL, AFL-CIO after the merger, largely featuring records of initiatives like the Political Action Committee and Women’s Activities Department.
Series 5 is a 1981 addendum including mostly internal materials, like the notebooks of former organization leaders, photo albums, and copies of AFL-CIO publications.
Organizers featured prominently in the collection include Tom Cairnes, E. A. Carter, and Volney Andrews (series 1); Miles Stanley (series 3 and 5); Ben Skeen (series 1 and 3); Glen Armstrong (series 1, 3, and 5); and Pat Sleeth (series 3). WVLF initiatives featured prominently in the collection include the Committee on Political Education (series 3 and 4) and the Women's Activities Department (series 3 and 4), the Appalachian Council (series 3), the Manpower Development and Training Act (series 3), and others. There is a small amount of audiovisual material in this collection in the form of audio recordings created by the WVLF and some photographs that have been digitized for remote access. However, much of this collection is comprised of paper records, ledgers, photographs, printed correspondence, and notebooks.
Boxes 368-379 contain Social Security numbers and sensitive unemployment records. They will be restricted for 75 years after the date of record creation, but researchers may complete the Agreement for the Use of Sensitive Materials to request access to these materials prior to the expiration of the restriction. To request access, please contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department in advance at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.
Audiovisual recordings must be digitized for research access. Researchers must contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department in advance to request access.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
178.29 Linear Feet (420 document cases, 5 in. each; 1 record carton, 15 in.; 1 flat storage box, 5 in.; 1 flat storage box, 3 in.; 3 clamshell boxes, 3 in. each; 2 unboxed ledgers, 1.09 in. each; 3 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each; 1 oversized folder, 0.01 in.)
English
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Gifts of AFL-CIO - West Virginia Labor Federation, 1963/04/26 via unknown, 1973/11 via unknown, 1978/12/20 via Dix, Keith, and 1981/07/31 via Beard, Lee.
12 AFL-CIO-produced films were likely separated to A&M 4370, Motion Picture Collection:
"Four for the Future,"
"Extremists,"
"Your Next President,"
"Good Work for Democracy,"
"Victims of the Veto,"
"Issues Film,"
"Jimmy Carter Speaks,"
"COPE: Do It,"
1 unidentified film, and
3 films titles "Film COP"
6 photos separated to A&M 4168, Panoramic Photos Collection:
21st Annual Convention WV State Federation of Labor, Huntington, WV
33rd Annual Convention WV State Federation of Labor
7th Constitutional Convention, United Steelworkers of America, Atlantic City, NJ, 1954/09/20-1954/09/24
1st Constitutional Convention of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), Islam Grotto Temple, Pittsburgh, PA, 1938/11/14-1938/11/18
5th Constitutional Convention, United Steelworkers of America, Convention Hall, Atlantic City, NJ, 1950/05/08-1950/05/12
6th Biennial Convention, United Steelworkers Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), Convention Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 1952/05/13-1952/05/17
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository