Finding aid to the Committee for Support of International Trade Union Rights (CISTUR) Records, 1961-1997
Finding aid written by Marjorie Bryer
Labor Archives and Research Center
2006, revised 2021
Title: Committee for International Support of Trade Union Rights records
Creator:
Committee for Support of International Trade Union Rights (CISTUR)
Collection number: larc.ms.0204
Accession number: 2004/031
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English.
Extent:
4.5 Cubic Feet
(4 cartons, 1 document box)
Date (inclusive): 1961-1997
Date (bulk): 1982-1995
Abstract: The records of Committee for Support of International Trade Union Rights (CISTUR) document the history, political work and
research of this San Francisco-based labor organization during the tenure of Executive Secretary Aubrey Grossman, from 1983-1995.
CISTUR was dedicated to promoting international labor solidarity by educating Northern California trade unionists about the
conditions and struggles of workers in other countries; organizing campaigns in support of foreign workers; and making connections
between exploitation of workers abroad and at home. There are a wide range of documents in the collection, dating back to
the organization's founding in 1982. The records include materials related to CISTUR's organization and history, meetings,
political actions (aka CISTUR campaigns) and conferences; bulletins; correspondence; mass mailings; petitions and resolutions;
articles from scholarly journals, labor journals and the popular press; educational pamphlets; flyers; manuscripts; newspaper
clippings; notes; and reports.
Location: Collection is available onsite.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Committee for Support of International Trade Union Rights records, larc.ms.0204, Labor Archives
and Research Center.
Separated Materials
Photographs were moved to the Labor Archive & Research Center's Photograph Collection. An audiotape of a news conference
on the boycott against apartheid South Africa, n.d., was removed to the Labor Archive & Research Center's Audiotape Collection.
Some newspaper clippings and publications about general labor issues were moved to the Labor Archive & Research Center's Ephemera
Collection.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Hazel Grossman for CISTUR, May 20, 2004, accession number 2004/031.
Processing Information
Processed with guide by Marjorie Bryer in August 2006. Wherever possible, original folder titles were preserved. Where original
order was discernible, this was preserved. Otherwise, order was imposed based upon observed groupings. Undated material
is placed at the back of its corresponding folder.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series: Series 1: Administrative Files; and Series 2: Resource Files.
Biographical / Historical
The predecessor organization to Committee for Support of International Trade Union Rights (CISTUR) was the Trade Union Committee
for a Transfer Amendment. Civil rights activist and labor attorney Aubrey Grossman joined with Northern California union
officials to support the Transfer Amendment, a Congressional amendment that proposed transferring budget funds from the military
to social needs programs. Their success in getting local unions and central labor bodies to support a Trade Union Transfer
Resolution motivated Grossman to broaden his horizons. One of his goals was to get organized labor to pass a Trade Union
Freedom and Human Rights Resolution asking the U.S. to deny military and economic aid to countries that denied workers the
right to organize. One way to achieve passage of the resolution was to promote international trade union solidarity.
Grossman and a small group of trade unionists dedicated to promoting the importance of this idea of international labor solidarity
to local unions in Northern California organized the Committee for Support of International Trade Union Rights (CISTUR) in
San Francisco in the summer of 1982. The group's first official meeting was February 1983. Frank Souza, of the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM, District 190), was the Organizer; Charles Lamb, of Hotel Union, Local
2, was elected Chair; and Grossman was elected Executive Secretary. CISTUR's statement of principle declared that the organization
stood for the rights of all working men and women, worldwide, to organize freely. CISTUR embodied the old union slogan, "An
injury to one is an injury to all." The members' goal was to fill a need they felt was not being met by existing local or
national labor bodies, such as the AFL-CIO: to educate trade unionists in the U.S. about the need for international trade
union solidarity; to organize them to respond to appeals for support from their brothers and sisters in developing countries
where the policies and practices of the U.S. government and U.S.-based multinational corporations dictated the government's
trade union policies and suppressed local labor movements; and to make it clear that international trade union solidarity
preserved the rights of workers in the U.S. by showing how the exploitation of foreign workers was directly related to plant
closings and the loss of jobs at home. Indeed, CISTUR consistently criticized the foreign policy stance of the AFL-CIO;
CISTUR was, in turn, roundly criticized by the national organization.
CISTUR provided what it considered an "indispensable" service: it served as a clearinghouse of background information on labor
struggles worldwide, compiling facts from the publications of international labor organizations, as well as the trade union
and popular press. CISTUR then distributed monthly news and action bulletins, with the intent of educating their members
about the conditions and struggles of labor in other nations. These timely dispatches concentrated on particular countries,
issues or cases. They used CISTUR's expertise to propose and coordinate solidarity actions – such as boycotts, educational
forums and petitions – through which union members in Northern California could support trade unionists in other countries.
CISTUR's ultimate goal was to create solidarity activists, or Solidarity Committees, in every local labor organization. The
membership of CISTUR viewed its mission as unique, claiming it was the only labor committee in the U.S. that attempted to
meet the needs of all trade unionists, worldwide. According to the first issue of the organization's News-Action Bulletin,
"For most countries in need of solidarity there is no labor committee at all, except CISTUR."
CISTUR had three different membership levels: affiliate unions and union bodies were Affiliate Members; individuals appointed
by affiliate organizations as CISTUR representatives, and individual trade unionists were Regular Members, or Delegates; and
individuals who paid membership fees were Supporting Members. Affiliate Members were represented at regular membership meetings;
Delegates and Regular Members could participate in Regular Membership Meetings; and Supporting Members received CISTUR action
and information mailings, as determined by the Executive Committee and Regular Membership. Dues for affiliated unions and
other union bodies were $10 per month; dues for supporting members were $10 per year. Regular Membership Meetings were held
monthly and served as the governing body of CISTUR. The Executive Committee – elected officers and members appointed by the
Committee – were authorized to make decisions and take necessary actions between membership meetings. According to CISTUR's
Constitution, every September, an Annual Convention was held in place of the Regular Membership Meeting to determine organizational
priorities and policies and elect officers.
CISTUR supported protests led by other labor organizations and generated their own campaigns. Major CISTUR actions included
protesting attacks on trade unions in the Philippines, South Korea, and Central and Latin American countries, such as Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Drawing connections between the exploitation of labor in developing countries
by anti-union dictators who were supported by the U.S. government, CISTUR also campaigned against U.S. military intervention.
The organization protested the invasions of Panama and Grenada and the Persian Gulf War. Many key CISTUR campaigns centered
on South Africa, where the organization struggled against Apartheid and fought for boycotts, divestment, and the freedom of
trade unionists and political prisoners, like Oskar Mpetha and Nelson Mandela. Indeed, CISTUR's Constitution, noted that,
"If CISTUR shall disband, any assets left over after payment of debts…will be donated to the Black Unions of South Africa."
In the 1990s, CISTUR educated trade unionists about NAFTA and mobilized opposition to the treaty.
By 1995, when Grossman's tenure as Executive Secretary ended, CISTUR claimed 85 affiliates. It published a solidarity newsletter
every two months, or when dictated by international labor crises. Though the records only document the organization through
Grossman's tenure, evidence indicates that CISTUR was active as late as 1998. Director Karen Talbott, a long-time labor and
peace and justice activist, spoke at a plenary session at the Open World Conference of Workers: In Defense of Trade Union
Independence & Democratic Rights, held in San Francisco in November 1997. That same month, she publicly declared support
for trade union rights struggles in South Korea and asked how CISTUR could build solidarity in their struggle. She offered
to "spread the word to our members which includes over 80 local unions and Central Labor Councils." The following year, as
a representative of CISTUR, she signed a petition in support of workers in Tijuana, Mexico.
Scope and Contents
The records of CISTUR document the history, political work and research of this San Francisco-based labor organization during
the tenure of Executive Secretary Aubrey Grossman, from 1983-1995. CISTUR was dedicated to promoting international labor
solidarity by educating Northern California trade unionists about the conditions and struggles of workers in other countries;
organizing campaigns in support of foreign workers; and making connections between exploitation of workers abroad and at home.
There are a wide range of documents in the collection, dating back to the organization's founding in 1982. The records include
materials related to CISTUR's organization and history, meetings, political actions (aka CISTUR campaigns and conferences;
bulletins; correspondence; mass mailings; petitions and resolutions; articles from scholarly journals, labor journals and
the popular press; educational pamphlets; flyers; manuscripts; newspaper clippings; notes; and reports.
Researchers should note that the records concentrate on CISTUR's political actions and do not reveal much about the internal
structure of the organization. CISTUR meeting minutes and communications often included attached action proposals, flyers,
informational articles, news clippings, petitions, resolutions, resource materials and working papers. These were left intact.
Resource files often contained attached petitions and resolutions and handwritten notes on topics of interest to CISTUR.
The notes were rarely dated, so they can be found at the back of individual resource folders. Due to this overlap, researchers
will want to consult multiple series in order to follow the progress of CISTUR campaigns, or their participation in actions
generated by other organizations. Similarly, researchers interested in particular topics, such as Nelson Mandela, will want
to consult both the CISTUR campaign folders on Mandela and more general files on South Africa. The prevalence of Resource
Files in the collection reflects the fact that CISTUR served as a clearinghouse of information on international issues of
interest to trade unionists. Researchers will want to consult Resource Files for background information on issues of interest
to CISTUR, as well as for CISTUR's participation in struggles that they supported but did not generate, such as campaigns
to support trade unionists and hospital unions in El Salvador. CISTUR also consulted non-labor related publications, such
as The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, the Israel and Palestinian Political Report, the Palestine Human Rights Newsletter
and the Nadja Newsletter to compile additional resource materials on the Middle East.
Sources:
Constitution of Committee for International Support of Trade Union Rights (to be Known as CISTUR), adopted April 17, 1985.
"Guestbook,"
Antiposco, http://antiposco.nodong.net/bak1997/guestbook/guestbook.html, November 16, 1997, retrieved August 14, 2006.
"Statement of Principle," in the
Constitution of Committee for International Support of Trade Union Rights (to be Known as CISTUR, adopted April 17, 1985.
"What CISTUR Is All About," News-Action Bulletin, January 1985, No. 1.
"What is this committee all about? Why should your local, district, labor council or retirees join? Why should union members
work in it and with it?" CISTUR memorandum sent by Charles Lamb, n.d.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Internationalists -- Labor -- Solidarity
Trade unions
Grossman, Aubrey
Lamb, Charles
Maillett, Marie
Moran, John
Petersen, Mary Anne
Souza, Frank
Administrative Files Series 1:
1961-1997
Arrangement
This series is organized into files as follows: History; Meetings; Contacts; Resolutions and Petitions; Communications; Conferences;
Correspondence; Campaigns; Labor Organization and Affinity Group Files.
Scope and Contents
Admnistrative Files contain content related to the organization's history and documents meetings, conferences, and political
work. Also includes correspondence and materials from related organizations and affinity groups.
History
Scope and Contents
History (circa 1961-1993) documents CISTUR's history, its organizational structure and its mission. It includes information
on a predecessor organization, the Trade Union Committee for a Transfer Amendment; materials regarding the establishment of
CISTUR's by-laws, constitution and membership; and a summary of the organization's history, basic principles and major actions.
Arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 1
Trade Union Committee for a Transfer Amendment
1961-1982, n.d.
box 1, folder 2
Constitution and By-Laws
ca. 1983, n.d.
box 1, folder 3
History, Basic Principles and Major Actions
ca. 1982-1991
Meetings
Scope and Contents
Meetings (circa 1982-1992) is comprised of materials related to CISTUR meetings, including agendas, minutes, and attendance
logs, as well as correspondence with Committee Members. Arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 4
Agendas, Minutes and Correspondence with Committee Members
1982-1992, n.d.
box 1, folder 5
CISTUR Sign-Up Sheets
ca. 1984-1990, n.d.
Contacts
Scope and Contents
Contacts (circa 1979-1983) includes lists of union councils and individuals on contact lists for both the Trade Union Committee
for a Transfer Amendment and CISTUR. Arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 6
Trade Union Committee for a Transfer Amendment and CISTUR
ca. 1979-1983, n.d.
Resolutions and Petitions
Scope and Contents
Resolutions and Petitions (circa 1982-1990) documents many of the major international labor issues that interested CISTUR
and prompted their campaigns and action proposals. It includes resolutions and petitions drafted by CISTUR and circulated
to other labor organizations for their support. Arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 7
Resolutions and Petitions
ca. 1982-1990, n.d.
Communications
Scope and Contents
Communications (circa 1982-1995) documents CISTUR's political work. It includes mass mailings to individual members, affiliate
members (unions and union bodies), International Trade Union leaders and editors of labor publications regarding monthly meetings,
political activities, and CISTUR's action proposals; educational information on, and news clippings about, events and issues
of import to the worldwide labor community; and CISTUR's News-Action Bulletins. Arranged alphabetically by subject, and chronologically
by date of mass mailing.
box 1, folder 8-10
Action and Information Mailings
ca. 1982-1995, n.d.
box 1, folder 11
Action and Information Mailings to Affiliates
1984-1986
box 1, folder 12
News-Action Bulletins
ca. 1985-1987
Conferences
Scope and Contents
Conferences (circa 1989, 1991) includes materials related to the planning of, and attendance at, a 1991 Northern California
conference on international labor solidarity organized by CISTUR. Arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 13
CISTUR International Labor Solidarity Conference
ca. 1989, 1991
Correspondence
Scope and Contents
Correspondence (circa 1963-1997) includes incoming and outgoing correspondence from Executive Secretary Aubrey Grossman and
various CISTUR chairs. Incoming correspondence includes letters from union affiliates, politicians and retailers who are
supporting CISTUR campaigns or joining the organization, and from affiliates asking CISTUR for help with their own actions.
Outgoing correspondence includes mail to local, national and international labor leaders and union members, U.S. and South
African politicians and retailers who were asked to boycott South African goods. There is also a file of personal correspondence
addressed to Aubrey and Hazel Grossman. Incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by subject, then chronologically.
Outgoing correspondence is arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 14
Incoming, Personal, to Aubrey and Hazel Grossman
ca. 1963-1997, n.d.
box 1, folder 15
Incoming, to CISTUR
1982-1992, 1996, n.d.
Campaigns
Scope and Contents
Campaigns (circa 1982-1993) includes materials related to CISTUR-generated campaigns, including mass mailings, petitions,
resolutions and resource materials. Arranged alphabetically by subject, then chronologically within folders.
box 1, folder 17
Free Mandela Campaign
1982-1990
box 1, folder 18
Free Oskar Mpetha
1983-1985, n.d.
box 1, folder 20
"Hot Cargo" – Legal Background (Laws, Codes and Contracts)
ca. 1981-1984
box 1, folder 21
Mandela Freedom Petition
1989
box 1, folder 22
Mandela Freedom Petition – Response of Labor
ca. 1989-1990
box 1, folder 23
May Day Celebrations
ca. 1986-1990
box 1, folder 24
Solidarity of World Trade Unionists
ca. 1985-1993
box 1, folder 25
South Africa Boycott
ca. 1983-1986
Labor Organization and Affinity Group Files
Scope and Contents
Labor Organization and Affinity Group Files (circa 1979-1994, n.d.) includes bulletins, correspondence, conference materials,
and resolutions produced by local, national and international labor organizations and affinity groups, such as the AFL-CIO,
the California Labor Federation, the International Center for Trade Union Rights and the ILO. Arranged alphabetically by labor
organization or affinity group, then chronologically within folders.
box 1, folder 27
AFL-CIO Central Labor Council Roster of Northern California Affiliates
1994
box 1, folder 28
Alameda Central Labor Council
1982
box 2, folder 1
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
ca. 1982-1988, 1990, n.d.
box 2, folder 2
Canadian Labour Congress
ca. 1986-1988
box 2, folder 3
Council of Unions of South Africa
ca. 1985
box 2, folder 4
ILO (International Labor Office/Organization)
ca. 1980-1989, n.d.
box 2, folder 5
ILO – International Labour Conference Conventions
n.d.
box 2, folder 6
International Centre for Trade Union Rights
1987-1991
box 2, folder 7
International Centre for Trade Union Rights – Act Now
1988-1989
box 2, folder 8
International Labour Conference Provisional Records
1983-1986
box 2, folder 9
ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
1979-1981
box 2, folder 10
San Francisco Building Trades Council and South Bay AFL-CIO
1991, 1994
box 2, folder 11
SEIU (Service Employees International Union) – South Africa Freedom Fund
ca. 1988
box 2, folder 12
Trade Unionists in Solidarity with El Salvador
1982
box 2, folder 13
World Confederation of Labour
1985
Resource Files Series 2:
1959-2003
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject, then chronologically within folders.
Scope and Contents
This series (circa 1959-2003) includes flyers, educational pamphlets, reports, manuscripts, handwritten notes (presumed to
be Aubrey Grossman's) and articles from scholarly journals, labor journals and the popular press.
box 2, folder 15
Alice Sachs Hamburg Autobiography
2001
box 2, folder 16
American Job Protection Act, H.R. 32878
1991
box 2, folder 17
"Arsenal of Democracy II," by Tom Gervasi
1981
box 2, folder 18
Auto Workers
ca. 1985-1990
box 2, folder 20
Central America
1980-1993
box 2, folder 23
Chinese Trade Unions
1980-1984
box 2, folder 27
El Salvador – America's Watch, "Labor Rights in El Salvador"
1988
box 2, folder 28-29
El Salvador – Campaign to Save Trade Unionists
ca. 1986-1989
box 2, folder 30
El Salvador – GAP Workers
ca. 1994-1995
box 2, folder 32
Fair Trade – Protectionism
ca. 1985-1986, n.d.
box 2, folder 33
Free Trade – Deregulation
1989-1992
box 2, folder 34
Free Trade – Impact on Workers' Rights
1983-1992, n.d.
box 2, folder 35
Free Trade – Labor Notes
1992
box 3, folder 1
Free Trade – Mexico, the U.S. and Transnational Capitalism
1992
box 3, folder 2
"Free Trade's Hidden Secrets"
1993
box 3, folder 5
GSP – Generalized System of Preferences
1985-1988
box 3, folder 9
Immigrant Rights/Anti-Immigration Legislations
1993-1994
box 3, folder 12
Labor History
1989-1992, n.d.
box 3, folder 16
Mexico – Maquiladoras
ca. 1991-1992
box 3, folder 17
Mexico – NAFTA
ca. 1991-1993, n.d.
box 3, folder 22
NAFTA – Canada-U.S. Trade
1990-1993
box 3, folder 23
NAFTA – Environmental Impact
ca. 1992-1993
box 3, folder 24
NAFTA – Fair Trade vs. Free Trade
ca. 1991-1992
box 3, folder 25
NAFTA – North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation
1993-1995
box 3, folder 26
NAFTA – Opposition to
ca. 1991-1993
box 3, folder 27
NAFTA – U.S. Citizens' Analysis
1992
box 3, folder 28
"National Interest"
ca. 1966-1981, n.d.
box 3, folder 30
Nuclear Weapons and ABMs (Anti-Ballistic Missiles)
ca. 1961-1974, n.d.
box 3, folder 31
OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation)
ca. 1961-1985
box 3, folder 32
Palestinian Rights/Israeli Occupation
ca. 1988-1990
box 4, folder 1
Panama – U.S. Invasion
ca. 1988-1990
box 4, folder 2
Permanent Replacement Legislation and the Right to Strike
ca. 1990-1993
box 4, folder 3
Persian Gulf War
1990-1992, n.d.
box 4, folder 4-5
Philippines
ca. 1982-1989, 1991
box 4, folder 6
Plant Closures in the Eighties
1980-1988
box 4, folder 8
Rapid Deployment Force
ca. 1977-1982
box 4, folder 9
Saudi Arabia
ca. 1990-1991, n.d.
box 4, folder 15
South Africa – Banks, Loans and Apartheid
ca. 1982-1986
box 4, folder 16
South Africa – British Trade Union Boycott
ca. 1984-1985
box 4, folder 17
South Africa – Del Monte Boycott
ca. 1978-1986
box 4, folder 18
South Africa – Edward Mogane
1985
box 4, folder 19
South Africa – Legality of Divestment Campaign
1980-1984
box 4, folder 20
South Africa – Support for Mine Workers
1985
box 4, folder 21-22
South Africa – U.N. Resolutions Against Apartheid
1960-1986
box 4, folder 23
South Africa – U.S. Companies that Transport South African Goods
1984-1985
box 4, folder 24
South Korea
ca. 1985-1992
box 4, folder 25
Soviet Trade Unionists
1985-1988
box 4, folder 27
U.S. Foreign Aid
1983-1984
box 4, folder 29
U.S. Military Interventions (1946-1983)
1961-1983
box 5, folder 1-5
World Bank and Foreign Debt Crisis
ca. 1983-1992, n.d
Scope and Contents
These folders also contain materials on the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
box 5, folder 6
World Bank and Foreign Debt Crisis
1980-1986, n.d.
