Collection Guide
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Guide to the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, Proceedings and
Publications
IRLE-CF01
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Table of contents
Title: California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, proceedings and
publications
Dates: 1901-2002
Collection number: IRLE-CF01
Creator:
California Labor Federation,
AFL-CIO
Collection Size:
353 texts
353 digital objects
Repository:
University of California, Berkeley. Institute for Research on Labor and Employment Collections.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Abstract: The California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, was founded in 1901
as the California State Federation of Labor. It was the most important successor to
several earlier labor organizations, such as the Federated Trades Council of San
Francisco, and the Knights of Labor in Los Angeles. The state federation played an
early role in coordinating labor union activities throughout the state. The digital
collection provides access to 100 years of proceedings of the California Labor
Federation, AFL-CIO, selected documents related to the Congress of Industrial
Organizations and its merger with the Federation, and legislative voting records.
The collection also includes California AFL-CIO News, the Federation's weekly
newsletter.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English
Collection is open for research.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Library.
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, proceedings and publications, IRLE-CF01.
Institute for Research on Labor and Employment Collections, University of California,
Berkeley.
Physical collection was loaned for digitization to the former IRLE Library by the California
Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.
The California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO ("the Federation") was founded in 1901 as
the California State Federation of Labor. It was the most important successor to
several earlier labor organizations, such as the Federated Trades Council of San
Francisco, and the Knights of Labor in Los Angeles. The state federation played an
early role in coordinating labor union activities throughout the state, even though
labor power was focused primarily in the urban centers of San Francisco, Sacramento,
Fresno and Los Angeles.
The Federation's formation was a milestone in California labor history. The state's
rapid growth after the discovery of gold, and the comparatively early urbanization
of the city of San Francisco, created conditions where progressive and enterprising
immigrants and citizens could thrive. They joined together to build communities,
form businesses and develop social institutions, often with utopian ideals and a
commitment to assisting working people. The region drew immigrants from around the
world, and they developed a cosmopolitan and boisterous society in San Francisco.
This setting spawned all sorts of social activism, with trade unionism in the
forefront. Much the same can be said of the labor movement that arose in the Los
Angeles area.
The early spread of unionism throughout the state gave rise to journalistic
hyperbole. For example, in 1904, Ray Stannard Baker described San Francisco as the
city "Where Unionism Holds Undisputed Sway." (See the California Labor History Map,
for in-depth coverage of California's labor history:
http://calpedia.sfsu.edu/calabor/ ). It was from this unique, activist heritage that
the California Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and
the merged Federation arose, and they continued to carry the ideals of California's
early settlers forward as they grew. As they grew over time, each organization
played important roles in the development of California's economy and society.
This digital collection was funded by the University of California Labor and
Employment Research Fund (LERF). The Fund enabled the Institute for Research on
Labor and Employment Library to digitize a large percentage of the Federation's
publications.
Scope and Content of Collection
This digital repository enables scholars to study California's labor history over a
full century. It provides access to 100 years of proceedings of the California Labor
Federation, AFL-CIO, selected documents related to the Congress of Industrial
Organizations and its merger with the Federation, and legislative voting records.
The latter appear under varying titles and as sections of the proceedings. These
records are of special interest, because they provide researchers with a
chronological record of labor laws and issues as debated in the California
legislature for nearly the entire 20th century. The collection also includes
California AFL-CIO News, the Federation's weekly newsletter.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Labor laws and legislation--California.
Labor movement--California.
Labor unions--California.
Labor--United States--Periodicals.
California Industrial Union
Council
California State Federation of
Labor
California Labor Council on
Political Education