Labor Herald Photograph Collection No. 12

Summary

Creators:

California CIO Industrial Union Council

Language:

English.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of 280 photographs covering the decades 1930s-1960s; the bulk is from the 1940s. It represents a visual record of the leaders, meetings, strikes, World War II activities, Labor Day parades, and anti-Taft-Hartley demonstrations of major CIO unions in California.

The collection is divided into two series: 1) portraits of individuals or small groups of individuals, arranged alphbetically by the key figure of the photograph (others are cross-referenced), and 2) subjects, according to subject headings determined by the archivist.

There are 144 photographs of CIO leaders and a few legislators supported by these unions such as Culbert Olson and Helen Gahagan Douglas. Among the 136 photographs arranged by subject, two events are well documented: the UE strike at US Motors, Los Angeles, 1946, with nine photos by Otto Rothschild; 24 photographs of the Labor Day Parade, San Francisco Civic Center Plaza, 1947, with floats and banners stating an anti-Taft Hartley Bill theme.

Most of the images are 8 x 10 glossy prints; many are marked with red pencil used by newspaper editors. There are 27 folders: 10 for individuals, 17 for subjects. All the photographs are housed in one document box.

This guide includes a folder-by-folder listing, enhanced by descriptive entries. There are also identified individuals from the photographs in the subject folders which are listed alphabetically and cross-referenced to the subject folder.

Biographical / historical:

The building of the California CIO, beginning in the mid-1930s, was a period of tremendous union activity and organizing. The Labor Herald, published weekly, recorded CIO activity from 1937 to 1953. The paper began as a voice for the CIO in Northern California; in 1941, it extended its coverage to all of California. A Southern California edition and a Southern California editor was added in 1945. Unions made per capita payments to support the newspaper and this provided a subscription to each member. The California CIO, under such leaders as Harry Bridges and Philip Connelly, reflected progressive, left-wing leadership. The photo collection records its activities, especially during the 1940s, the World War II years and the tumultuous period after the war which saw bitter strikes and a major political battle against the Taft-Hartley Bill.

The California CIO and its support to the Labor Herald was severely cut back in 1949 when the CIO leveled charges of communist-dominated leadership against eleven national unions as well as the California CIO. In November 1949, these unions were expelled from the CIO. Their charters were lifted along with that of the California CIO. The Labor Herald continued publication with some support coming from those unions which survived the subsequent raids by AFL or newly-chartered CIO unions. After 1952, Harold Rossman, the paper's editor since 1941, departed and his position was filled on a voluntary basis by Paul Chown until the Labor Herald ceased publication in May 1953.

Physical location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Center's online catalog.

Physical description:

1 box (27 folders)

Related resources

Other descriptive data:

This photograph collection was generated by the Labor Herald, the official newspaper of the California CIO Industrial Union Council. The collection was donated to the Labor Archives and Research Center by Paul Chown in 1988. Mr. Chown, a longtime member and official of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) also served as the newspaper's last editor from January 1952 until the suspension of publication in May 1953. This collection was processed by Carol Cuenod, under the direction of Karen Lewis, January-February, 1992.

Indexed terms

Indexes:

Individuals in Subject Photographs

Addes, George	Folder 11: UAW
Addiego, Frank	Folder 11: UAW
Bell, Lily	Folder 26: WOMEN
Bingham, Brad	Folder 14: UE
Brant, Carl (?)	Folder 14: UE
Bridges, Harry	Folder 18: MARITIMEFolder 12: CALIF. CIO
Eugene Burke	Folder 18: MARITIME
Cayton, Revels	Folder 26: WOMEN
Connelly, Philip	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Fagerhaugh, Ole	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Fernandes, Johnnie	Folder 11: UAW
Frankensteen, Richard	Folder 11: UAW
Gillespie, William	Folder 11: UAW
Goldmann, William	Folder 11: UAW
Govea, J. G.	Folder 11: UAW
Halling, Bjorne	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Heide, Ruby	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Horne, Lena	Folder 26: WOMEN
Jelusich, Al	Folder 11: UAW
Jenkins, Dave	Folder 12: CALIF.CIOFolder 22: PARADES--LABOR DAY 1947
Johnson, Joe	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Jones, Cleo	Folder 11: UAW
Kibre, Jeff	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
King, Jean McKillup (?)	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Lynden, Richard	Folder 18: MARITIMEFolder 12: CALIF. CIO
Michener, Lew	Folder 11: UAW
Miranda, Fred	Folder 11: UAW
Owens, Dayton	Folder 11: UAW
Paton, Eugene	Folder 18: MARITIME
Patterson, James	Folder 11: UAW
Pettit, Eugene	Folder 11: UAW
Pinsky, Paul	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Poohar, Nicholas	Folder 14: UE
Povlichenko, Ludmilla	Folder 26: WOMEN
Quintell, Fred	Folder 11: UAW
Roberts, Holland	Folder 22: PARADES--LABOR DAY 1947
Robertson, J. R. "Bob"	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Roesch, Paul	Folder 11: UAW
Schmidt, Henry	Folder 18: MARITIME
Schnur, Paul	Folder 12: CALIF. CIO
Seguri, Rose	Folder 26: WOMEN
Sentna, Bill	Folder 14: UE
Stewart, Tom	Folder 11: UAW
Thimmes, James	Folder 12: CALIF. CIOFolder 25: UNIONS - GENERAL
Thomas, R. J.	Folder 11: UAW

Location of this collection:

San Francisco State University, Labor Archives and Research Center

J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460

1630 Holloway Ave

San Francisco, CA 94132-1722, US

Contact:

(415) 405-5549

specialcollections@sfsu.edu

Website