Is there any historians out there that focus on the history of unions and labour rights?

by GingerDryad

Not sure if this is the right place for this but I've recently come into possession of one of my great grandfather's records. It's from the 'International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, Soft Drink, and Distillery Workers'. It is called "Image of Freedom Record" and was presented at the C10(could be CIO, or CI0) convention in New York, December 1st, 1955 according to the letter that came with it.

I was wondering if it is of any historical importance or academic interest. And if this is worth making digital copies of it or loaning to it a local university or historian.

Doe22

There are some historians on here who focus on union and labor history. /u/Cosmic_Charlie and /u/Samuel_Gompers are both flaired in that area.

The abbreviation is likely CIO, as in the Congress of Industrial Organizations, now part of the AFL-CIO. The International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, Soft Drink, and Distillery Workers (bit of a mouthful, that) was a part of the CIO until it merged into the AFL-CIO.

It can't hurt to talk to a local historian, museum, or university about the value of the record. At worst it'll just be an interesting family heirloom.

0xDFCF3EAD

Given that there are a number of users with flair indicating a specialization in Union/labor history it seems the answer is:

Yes, there are historians out there that focus on the history of unions and labor rights.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/flairedusers

cthulhu_on_my_lawn

The Reuther Library at Wayne State University in Detroit specializes in labor history, you could get in contact with someone there.

Dan-Morris

You could contact Aviv Chomsky at Salem State University. She mainly deals with immigrant labour movements, but I'm sure she could redirect you if needed.