Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 records, 1958-1981

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Summary

Title:
Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 records
Dates:
1958-1981
Creators:
Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 and International Typographical Union. Local 46 (Central Valley, Calif.)
Abstract:
The Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 records consists of 7 linear feet of documents, the bulk of the material document the union's labor strike with the Sacramento Bee newspaper in the 1970s. The Sacramento Mailers Union is organized into eight series: Series 1. Administrative records, Series 2. Contracts and negotiations, Series 3. Arbitration and Grievances, Series 4. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Series 5. Labor strike , Series 6. Financial Materials, Series 7. Other Organizations, and Series 8. Publications.
Extent:
7 linear feet (14 boxes)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 records, MS0051, Center for Sacramento History.

Background

Scope and content:

The Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 records consists of approximately 7 linear feet of documents. The bulk of the material is from the strike period, although the collection includes items from as early as 1958. The Sacramento Mailers Union is organized into the following series: Series 1. Administrative records, Series 2. Contracts and negotiations, Series 3. Arbitration and Grievances, Series 4. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Series 5. Labor strike , Series 6. Financial materials, Series 7. Other organizations, and Series 8. Publications. There also is a single box of restricted materials. Many of the collection's highlights are in the Strike Materials, such as a letter from former California governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown offering his assistance as a "friend of both sides;" a four-page letter from the local's president explaining the reasons for the strike; images from the picket line; and details about union efforts to raise money during the strike period. Union activities during the strike are also reflected in some of the other series, including minutes and arbitration and grievances.

Biographical / historical:

The Sacramento Mailers Guild was established to represent certain employees at The Sacramento Bee newspaper, including those working on the production line. The Sacramento Mailers Chapel affiliated with the International Typographical Union in 1971, becoming Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31. Members voted to merge the International Typographical Union with the International Mailers Union in 1978. Contract and labor disputes became severe in the early 1970s, and the membership voted to strike in April 1978. The strike lasted over two years, with union members experiencing financial distress, break-ins at their headquarters, and picket-line violence.

Acquisition information:
The Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 records were originally deposited at the Labor Archives and Research Center at San Francisco State University. In 2000, the records were transferred to the Center for Sacramento and gifted by Charles Davis of the Northern California Mailers Union to the Center for Sacramento History on August 7, 2001 (accession #2001/079).
Processing information:

Processed and finding aid created by graduate student intern Sarah Logue in 2000.

Arrangement:

Series 1. Administrative records Series 2. Contracts and negotiations Series 3. Arbitration and grievances Series 4. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Series 5. Labor strike Series 6. Financial materials Series 7. Other organizations Series 8. Publications

Physical location:
4H3-4, 4G1 Drawer E
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Sarah Logue
Date Prepared:
© 2013
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by Sean Heyliger. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: August 29, 2019.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Sacramento Mailers Union No. 31 records, MS0051, Center for Sacramento History.

Location of this collection:
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95811, US
Contact:
(916) 808-7072
csh@cityofsacramento.org
Website