FARMERS:
David Ziskind Papers, 1936 (L1975-32)
The papers consist of a report titled Florida Citrus Workers
by Aubrey Clyde Robinson, Glenore Fisk Horne, and David Ziskind.
H.L. Mitchell Collection, 1970-1981 (L1972-85)
H.L. Mitchell Collection, 1970-1981, consists of correspondence, book reviews, clippings, flyers, speeches, and other materials relating to H.L. Mitchell and the Southern Tenant Farmers Association. Harry Leland Mitchell was a lifelong union activist and co-founder of the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union (STFU) in eastern Arkansas, one of the first integrated labor unions in the United States. The STFU was unique among unions in “encouraging members to leave,” helping them find a life outside tenant farming.
Ruth Hale Collection, 1933-1938; 1971; undated (L1986-10)
The Ruth Hale collection, 1933-1938, 1971, undated, documents farm conditions, particularly that of sharecroppers, and the activities of Southern Tenant Farmer's Union (an interracial organization founded in 1934 to seek relief from the federal government for sharecroppers and tenant farmers), in Arkansas during the 1930s. The collection includes printed material and correspondence.
United Farmworkers of America, Atlanta Office Records, 1967-1978 (L1974-33)
The collection consists of the records of the Atlanta Office of the United Farm Workers of America (UFWA) from 1967-1978. Includes minutes (1974), international office memos and reports (1968-1978), and pamphlets (1967-1977). The bulk of the records are printed materials mass-produced by UFWA International and the National Worker Ministry. Contains publicity and fund-raising materials, boycott materials relating to the nation-wide boycott of non-UFWA lettuce, table grapes, Gallo wines, and the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company. Includes legal documents pertaining to the rivalry between the UFWA and the Teamsters due to secret elections held by California grower K.K. Larson. Also contains news clippings, correspondence, convention reports, and resolutions. Correspondents include National Boycott Director Larry Tramutt and Atlanta Directors John and Nancy Markoviak.
MINERS:
M.H. Ross, 1916-1987 (L2001-05)
Myron Howard "Mike" Ross, was born November 9, 1919. Ross worked with a number of unions as an organizer, arbitrator, and advocate in the South. He ran for elective office in North Carolina on the Progressive Party ticket. After receiving public health training, he founded the Fairmont (West Virginia) Clinic, which had the mission of providing high quality medical care for miners and their families. Administering the clinic 1958-1978, Ross developed a longstanding interest in coal miners and worked on writing a history of them. The M. H. Ross papers consists of campaign materials from congressional races held in 1940 and 1948, labor union activities, social and political research, coal mining research, including a large collection of coal miner oral histories, manuscripts and those related research files, office files, photographs, audio/visual materials, and personal and family oral histories.
W.J. Usery, Jr. Papers, 1940; 1952-2004 (L1985-12)
The collection consists of papers of W. J. "Bill" Usery from 1940, 1942, 1952-2004. The International Association of Machinists series (1940, 1952-1969) documents Usery's involvement and participation with labor unions and the arbitration process. The United States Government series (1969-1977) pertains to Usery's government career, while the Bill Usery Associates series contains material relating to Usery's labor-management negotiation firm in Washington, DC. The Client and Mediation Files series (1942-1997) documents Usery's personal, and his Bill Usery Associates, Inc. labor-management consulting firm's, involvement in dispute resolution, strike settlement, and workplace productivity; it forms the bulk of the collection. The Name and Subject Files series (1963-1965, 1970-1995) include material related to Usery's appointments to Presidential Commissions, while the series Oral History Transcripts and Materials (1967-1986) relates to Eastern Airlines and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Herman B. Adkins Papers, 1941-1982 (L1987-25)
From 1950, Herman Adkins (1918-1999) was an organizer and regional director in Tennessee and Georgia for United Mine Workers of America District 50, the UMWA's "national department" for industrial workers. Adkins was a board member during the period when District 50 was an independent unit within the UMWA (1961-1968). When District 50 became a separate entity, International Union of District 50, Allied and Technical Workers of America and Canada, Adkins continued to serve as its Atlanta regional director. After District 50's 1972 merger with the United Steelworkers of America, he served as a USWA sub-district director. His papers include contracts, collective bargaining files, correspondence, arbitration and grievances, photographs, newspaper articles, pamphlets, and personal documents.
Eula McGill Papers, 1938-1964 (L1972-48)
Eula McGill was an organizer in the Southern textile factory worker movement of the 1930s. Her papers contain scrapbook material, composed of newspapers, clippings, and programs, which pertains to her organizing activities for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in Tennessee and other topics.
A.R. Marshall Arbitration Records, 1942-1983 (L1980-07N)
The A. R. Marshall Arbitration records, 1942-1983, consist of professional files, arbitration case files, publications and contracts between unions and companies.
United Mine Workers of America Contract Collection, 1950-1978 (L-Contracts_UMWA)
This collection is stored off-site. Contact archivist in advance to view these materials; 24-hour notice is required.
Southern Labor Archives
Farmers
Miners
Southern Labor Archives
Farmers
Miners
Special Collections and Archives
Phone: (404) 413-2880
Fax: (404) 413-2881
E-Mail: archives@gsu.edu
Mailing Address:
Special Collections & Archives
Georgia State University Library
100 Decatur Street, SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3202
In Person:
Library South, 8th floor
