Conditions Governing Access
Preferred Citation
Separated Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Processing Information
Arrangement
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
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