The IUE Labor Archives Project
Records of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers, AFL-CIO (IUE)

Subgroup: Legislative Department
ca. 1951-1962
Quantity: ca. 27 linear feet

Special Collections and University Archives
Rutgers University Libraries

Table of Contents

• Outline of Series
• Provenance
• Administrative History
• Scope and Content
• Series Descriptions and Container Lists

Outline of Series

Subgroup: Legislative Department

1. Civil Rights Files of Director John J. Flynn
2. Civil Rights Files of Director Kenneth Peterson
3. Legislative and Civil Rights Conference Files
4. Legislative Files of Director John J. Flynn
5. Legislative Files of Director Kenneth Peterson
6. Correspondence and Memoranda of Director Kenneth Peterson
7. "Prepared Material"
8. General Issues Files of Director Kenneth Peterson
9. Organization and Conference Files
10. Elections and Campaigns

Provenance

In October, 1965, Rutgers University received the Records of the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, AFL-CIO (IUE), in accordance with the agreement between the IUE and the University Library designating Rutgers as the official repository for the archives of the union. The first accession group of IUE Archives contained approximately 495 linear feet of material and was transferred to Rutgers in the original office transfiles formerly stored at the union's international headquarters in Washington, D.C. These transfiles contained records and documents generated and collected by IUE President James B. Carey and other union officers, the various IUE Departments and their heads, and the constituent district offices and local unions from 1949 (the inception of the union) to 1962.

The records of the IUE Legislation Department, comprising 27.0 linear feet, constitute one subgroup within Record Group I of the IUE Archives. Files contained within this subgroup were left relatively intact by the union and reflect the order imposed by their creators, John J. Flynn, Legislative Department Director (1950-1955), and Kenneth Peterson, Legislative Department Director (1956-1962).

Arrangement, processing, and description of the Legislative Department Records-Record Group I, IUE Archives, was initiated and completed in 1993 after the Special Collections and Archives Department of the Rutgers University Library received a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and additional financial support from the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers, AFL-CIO.

Administrative History

The Legislative and COPE (Committee on Political Education) Department of the International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE), though formally created as an administrative entity in 1953, had assumed many of its current-day responsibilities shortly after the founding convention of the union in 1949. Prior to achieving full departmental status, the union's legislative, political action, political education, and civil rights affairs were administered by an appointed Legislative Director.

Departmental directors, staff, and representatives perform a number of vital services for the union's international officers and local unions, the chief of which is the framing of the IUE's legislative agenda to promote the social and economic welfare of its members. The Legislative Department keeps local unions informed of Congressional moves requiring local action, monitors the progress of proposed and pending labor legislation, and tabulates and disseminates information on the voting records of legislators. The director advises the national office on the status of its legislative affairs, makes arrangements for appearances by IUE officers before Congressional committees, and prepares speeches, reports and statements on a variety of legislative issues for IUE officers. Through its legislative representatives, the department coordinates the IUE's lobbying efforts. The political arm of the Legislative Department, COPE, oversees the union's political action programs and directs election campaign fund-raising activities.

Under the leadership of Directors John J. Flynn (1950-1955) and Kenneth Peterson (1956-1961), the IUE Legislative Department became an integral component of the union's drive to advance the social and economic welfare of its membership. Though absorbed in the primary task of organizing workers and winning NLRB elections, the IUE recognized that these objectives could not be divorced from the broader legislative initiatives beneficial to all working people. The department not only fought for its own legislative priorities, but forged a broad-based political coalition with prominent liberal organizations such as the NAACP, the National Urban League, Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), and the American Civil Liberties Union for the enactment of progressive social and economic legislation.

From its inception, the IUE's primary legislative agenda entailed a defense of the New Deal programs which had nurtured the birth of the CIO and advanced unionism. During the 1950s, an alliance of conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats proved a formidable barrier to organized labor's efforts to repeal the anti-labor provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act--especially those measures relating to organization, picketing, and secondary boycotts. Moreover, the revelations of the Senate (McClellan Committee) hearings on organized crime and labor resulted in the passage of the Landrum-Griffin Act (Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959) which subjected unions to further constraints. Though intended to ensure fair union elections and safeguard union pension funds, this legislation placed more power in the hands of management to circumscribe the activities of unions. Corporations, trade associations, and the National Association of Manufacturers also aligned to promote state right-to-work laws.

During the 1950s, the IUE Legislative Department waged a highly effective campaign to protect and extend coverage of workers under the Social Security Act, Fair Labor Standards Act (increase of the minimum wage), and Walsh-Healey Act (equitable pay rates on federal government contracts). The union also lobbied for an equitable tax program, fair housing, civil rights and fair employment practices legislation, and public works planning. In alliance with public interest groups, IUE officers denounced the Eisenhower administration's deregulatory policies with respect to public utilities, atomic energy patents, off-shore oil reserves and the proposed leasing of natural resources and public lands to private interests. The union fought against the reduction of federal appropriations for the TVA and Rural Electrification Administration and opposed Eisenhower's support of the Dixon-Yates private utility combine.

McCarthyism and civil rights, two of the most contentious domestic issues of the 1950s, became central to the IUE's broader legislative agenda. Though perceived within labor circles as a bastion of anti-communism (due to its jurisdictional struggle against the communist-dominated United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers), the union felt the adverse impact of the "Second Red Scare." Federal and state loyalty programs and internal security legislation (creation of the Subversive Activities Control Board), though ostensibly designed to eradicate communist- controlled unions, had imposed severe hardships for legitimate trade unions. Working with the Legal Department, the IUE Legislative Department lobbied to amend such restrictive legislation in order to protect the civil liberties of its membership. IUE officers publicly denounced the tactics associated with the McCarthy "witch hunts" and the restrictive immigration policy embodied in the McCarran Immigration Act.

From its inception, the IUE incorporated civil rights into its immediate legislative agenda and emerged as one of the pioneering trade unions in the movement. A National IUE-CIO Civil Rights Committee was established in 1951 and placed under the direction of Secretary-Treasurer Al Hartnett. This body soon established a network of civil rights committees at the district and local levels to educate IUE members, facilitate the inclusion of anti-discrimination clauses in union contracts, and promote greater rank and file participation in campaigns for state and federal civil rights and fair employment practices legislation. The committee also printed a monthly IUE-CIO Civil Rights Bulletin to chronicle important political and legislative developments in the area of civil rights. The union, in concert with prominent liberal and inter-racial organizations, also co-sponsored conferences and forums on human relations and civil liberties.

In 1954, the IUE Legislative and Civil Rights Departments were merged to exert more forceful action on civil rights legislative initiatives. In addition, both Flynn and Peterson served as coordinators for the IUE-CIO Civil Rights Committee. In this capacity, they acted as liaisons between the unions and various national civil rights organizations to establish a broader political coalition for the passage of civil rights laws. Beside the sponsorship of civil rights conferences and rallies, Legislative Department directors and representatives maintained frequent contact with legislators to push for voting rights reform, school desegregation, elimination of "Jim Crow" laws and enactment of the Civil Rights Bills of 1957 and 1960.

To galvanize and exert its collective political power in local, state, congressional, and presidential elections, the IUE established its own political action committee, IUE-PAC (COPE after the AFL-CIO merger),in 1950. James B. Carey was its first chairman. The committee was responsible for direction of the union's political action, education, and campaign fund raising activities. These functions eventually came under the umbrella of the Legislative Department by the mid 1950s. The IUE Legislative Department printed and disseminated information concerning important political issues, monitored the voting records of prospective candidates, and directed voter registration drives among its members. It also solicited campaign contributions to the CIO- PAC through the "Give a Buck for PAC" program. Coordinating its efforts with the CIO-PAC, the political action committees of other CIO unions, and the AFL-COPE (Committee on Political Education), the IUE-PAC supported progressive candidates for office, and forged a unified political front against reactionaries in both the Republican and Democratic Parties.

During the 1950s the IUE-PAC backed the campaigns of many prominent liberal legislators--Hubert H. Humphrey, George McGovern, Stuart Symington, and Wayne Morse--and attempted to unseat anti-labor candidates such as Senator Robert Taft of Ohio. In the presidential elections of 1952, 1956, and 1960, the IUE supported the Democratic Party candidates, Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy.

Scope and Content

The IUE Legislative Department records consist of 27.0 linear feet of material documenting the scope of activities undertaken by the successive directors, staff, and representatives of the department from 1950 to 1962. Contents of the subgroup provide historical and evidential information pertaining to the evolution and operation of the department and its role in framing the union's legislative agenda to advance the social and economic interests of its members. The IUE Legislative Department director and staff lobbied for the union's legislative initiatives; advised officers, the Executive Board, and local unions on the progress of pending labor bills; supervised political action programs; monitored voting records in the House and Senate; and assisted the IUE President in the preparation of reports, statements, releases, and addresses on legislative affairs before congressional panels and government agencies. Moreover, the IUE Legislative Department records document many of the important political and domestic issues (especially civil rights) in American during the 1950s and organized labor's role in the presidential elections of the era.

The IUE Legislative Department records constitute one subgroup within Record Group I of the IUE Archives. They are divided into nine series which reflect the order imposed by their originators, John J. Flynn, Legislative Department Director from 1950-1955, and Kenneth Peterson, who served in the post from 1956 to 1962. Civil rights, legislative reference, and correspondence files comprise the bulk of the subgroup. The constituent series also include administrative and conference files organized under specific and general topic headings with some material arranged by format. Both directors created and maintained separate filing systems for their respective civil rights and legislative reference files, but merged other administrative files for the period 1950-1962. Much of Flynn's correspondence is incorporated within his legislative and civil rights files. Peterson maintained separate correspondence and memoranda files for the period 1956-1962 in addition to interfiling additional correspondence and memoranda within his legislative reference files.

Flynn and Peterson's civil rights files document the IUE's historic role in the vanguard of the civil and equal rights movement within organized labor, and as part of the broader political coalition for the enactment of civil rights, women's rights, and fair employment practices legislation. Both directors compiled extensive research and reference material on civil rights, human relations, and racial intolerance. Many of the important civil rights struggles of the 1950' are distilled in press clippings, bulletins, reports, pamphlets, newsletters, speeches and research data collated by Flynn and Peterson.

The IUE Legislative Directors also served as coordinators and administrative assistants to the IUE Civil Rights Committee Chairman, Al Hartnett. Their correspondence and memoranda to Hartnett chronicle their work for the committee which entailed the coordination of IUE civil rights conferences and educational programs at the district and local levels. Peterson's civil rights files provide broader coverage of the progress of civil rights legislative initiatives endorsed by the union for the period 1956-1962. File contents trace the legislative and judicial battle over school integration, Supreme Court cases and decisions regarding civil rights , voting rights, state and federal anti-lynching bills, the Civil Rights Bill of 1957, and enforcement of fair employment practices legislation.

The IUE also maintained an audio series (tapes) documenting IUE and labor-sponsored civil rights conferences, speeches, rallies, press conferences and interviews involving prominent civil rights leaders (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and A. Philip Randolf) and legislators. Many of these recordings document activities surrounding the enactment of the 1957 Civil Rights Bill. These tapes are contained in Record Group II.

Flynn and Peterson's civil rights organization files are important for assessing the union's collaborative relationship with prominent civil rights groups (NAACP, National Urban League, National Negro Council) and leaders (Walter White, Roy Wilkins, and Clarence Mitchell) in the sponsorship of conferences, educational workshops, and collective lobbying efforts. Bound proceedings of civil rights conferences include agenda, District Civil Rights Committee reports, and keynote addresses by such influential senators and representatives as Wayne Morse, Hubert H. Humphrey, Jacob Javits and George McGovern.

The Legislative research and reference files of Flynn and Peterson trace many of the significant domestic issues of the 1950s, highlighting the IUE's legislative focus and its political action orientation. Material contained within the series provided the data and research material for the preparation of speeches, articles, and statements by Carey and Hartnett on pending labor, economic, and social legislation before Congress. Flynn kept voting records and congressional lists which aided the union's lobbying work. There is also correspondence and memoranda to representatives and senators urging action on key legislation vital to the IUE membership. Flynn prepared memoranda reports to IUE President, James Carey, concerning the status and progress of bills and helped in the drafting of circular letters to congressmen requesting action on bills.

The Legislative Department collated material on significant labor legislation such as: proposed amendments to the Taft-Hartley Act; extension of the minimum wage, social security, and unemployment compensation; employment security; the McClellan hearings on organized crime in labor, and the Landrum-Griffin Act. The McCarthy Era and domestic communism are covered extensively as the IUE had a vested interest in the HUAC hearings, and internal security legislation (McCarran Internal Security Act).

Peterson's legislative files contain similar material but provide more detailed documentation of significant labor and social legislation which preoccupied the work of the department. His files contain reprints of bills, amendments, voting records, excerpts of House and Senate debates from the Congressional Record, and conference committee reports. The legislative history of earlier versions of the Landrum-Griffin Act (the Kennedy-Ives and Kennedy-Ervin bills), right to work legislation, the Civil Rights Bill of 1957 and reform of the Senate Rules Committee predominate.

Peterson's correspondence files for the years 1956-1962 include letters and memoranda to IUE legislative representatives concerning lobbying activities on Capitol Hill and the status of pending bills before the House and Senate. These letters shed light on the union's support and strategy behind key legislation and its coordination of lobbying efforts with the AFL-CIO and other interest groups. Peterson's correspondence with IUE COPE Director, Ed Rovner, highlight his role in planning the union's political action programs during the election years of 1956 and 1960. A small series consisting of research material (party publications, bulletins, and handbooks) on elections and campaigns complements Peterson's political action correspondence.

Peterson and his staff also created administrative "General Issues" files (primarily concerning the procurement of defense department contracts in the electrical industry and arrangements for IUE conferences on civil rights and women's issues. His organizations and conference files document the union's outreach activities with other liberal organizations for the enactment of progressive social legislation. The bulk of this series is devoted to conference material on full citizenship legislation, voter registration reform, and school desegregation. Representative organizations include: the NAACP, the National Urban League, the National Association of Intergroup Relations Organization, American Civil Liberties Union. and American Jewish Committee.

Series Descriptions and Container Lists

1. CIVIL RIGHTS FILES OF DIRECTOR JOHN J. FLYNN , Date Span: 1951-1956, Bulk Date: 1952-1954, 3.25 LN. FT.

Grouped in two major sequences: Civil Rights Research Files, 1951-1956, and Civil Rights Organization Files, 1952-1956. Contents filed alphabetically by topic, organization, and geographic name.

As IUE Legislative Director and special assistant to Al Hartnett (Chairman of the IUE Civil Rights Committee), John (Jack) J.Flynn had primary responsibility for translating IUE policy initiatives on civil rights and human relations into legislative action. To aid in the drafting of specific legislation, publication of the union's civil rights bulletin, and the preparation of speeches and position papers for various IUE officers, Flynn maintained research files on various civil rights issues. Newspaper and periodical clippings, bulletins, press releases, reports and resolutions generated by the IUE Civil Rights Committee comprise the bulk of material contained within this series. Correspondence and memoranda sent and received by Flynn and Harnett are also deposited in the research files and chiefly document efforts to coordinate IUE civil rights programs and conferences at the district and local union level. Major subject headings include: fair employment practices legislation, voting rights, discrimination in housing, education, and public facilities, civil rights court cases, federal and state anti-discrimination legislation, anti- semitism, and the Ku Klux Klan.

Flynn's civil rights organization files consist largely of collected clippings, publications (newsletters, bulletins, releases) and educational material issued by the AFL, CIO, and various civil rights groups. The AFL file also contains typescript notes and clippings pertaining to alleged discriminatory practices on the part of constituent AFL unions. Prominent civil rights organizations represented include: the NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, National Negro Council, and the National Urban League. Correspondence between Flynn and representatives of these groups is also contained in these files, the bulk of which document the IUE's sponsorship and participation in various conferences and lobbying efforts on behalf of civil rights legislation (1955). Notable correspondents include Walter White, Clarence Mitchell, Roy Wilkins, and Herbert Hill.

2. CIVIL RIGHTS FILES OF DIRECTOR KENNETH PETERSON , Date Span: 1952–1961, Bulk Date: 1956-1959, 2.15 LN.FT.

Arranged alphabetically by topic and geographic name.

Contains newspaper clippings, pamphlets, publications, press releases, reports, memoranda, and correspondence collected and generated by Kenneth Peterson, Director of the IUE Legislative Department from 1956 to 1961. While the bulk of the records document his tenure as Legislative Director, some files predate 1956 when Peterson served as an IUE legislative representative. The department maintained civil rights research files to assist IUE officers in the formulation of policy, the preparation of educational material for district and local union civil rights committees, and legislative initiatives. As a member of the IUE Civil Rights Committee, Peterson functioned as a liaison with various civil rights organizations and leaders, coordinating joint efforts toward the passage of civil rights legislation and the sponsorship of conferences and workshops.

Major subject areas include: school integration, supreme court civil rights cases and decisions, voting rights, anti-lynching bills, state fair employment practices legislation, race relations in the South, and the confrontation at Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. In addition, there are files pertaining to anti-semitism, Indian affairs, and white racist organizations (Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizens' Councils). Peterson also collected information on domestic communism, internal security legislation and the violation of civil rights during the McCarthy era.

3. LEGISLATIVE AND CIVIL RIGHTS CONFERENCE FILES , Date Span: 1952-1962, 1.6 LN.FT.

Arranged chronologically by date of conference.

During the 1950s the IUE Civil Rights and Fair Employment Practices Committee sponsored semi-annual conferences devoted to various civil rights issues. These conferences and workshops were attended by IUE officers, District Civil Rights Committee Chairmen, local union delegates, and prominent civil rights leaders, academicians, and legislators. The IUE Legislative Department played an active role in planning and administering the conferences. John Flynn and Kenneth Peterson both served as civil rights coordinators for the IUE Civil Rights Committee.

The conference files are arranged chronologically in bound format, and contain agenda material, proceedings, resolutions, reports, correspondence, typescript addresses, clippings, press releases and other publicity material, and issues of the IUE Civil Rights Bulletin. Much of the correspondence was generated and received by Flynn, Peterson, and Al Hartnett and primarily documents pre-conference arrangements (i.e. invitations, agenda, and speakers). The conference proceedings include the Chairman's Report and reports filed by district civil rights committee chairmen which illustrate the nature and scope of the union's civil rights programs operating at the national, district, and local levels. Conference delegates adopted many important resolutions opposing segregation in housing, schools, and the armed services, and the condemnation of racist organizations. The various conventions sponsored legislative initiatives to create and empower a Fair Employment Practices Committee and promote congressional reform to facilitate passage of civil rights legislation. Notable keynote speakers and discussion leaders include Hubert Humphrey, Wayne Morse, George McGovern, Jacob Javits, Daniel Bell, Clarence Mitchell, and Walter White.

4. LEGISLATIVE FILES OF DIRECTOR JOHN J. FLYNN , Date Span: 1951-1956, Bulk Date: 1953-1955, 5.6 LN.FT.

Arranged by classified topical headings with contents filed alphabetically.

Under the direction of John Flynn, the IUE Legislative Department maintained extensive research files devoted to current political issues, elections and candidates, and legislative affairs of vital interest to the IUE membership. Flynn had primary responsibility for keeping IUE officers informed on important political developments and pending labor, economic and social legislation. His files provided important resource and reference material for the framing of the IUE legislative agenda, the administration of the union's political action and political education programs, and the publication of legislative bulletins and pamphlets. The records fully document the myriad duties performed by Flynn, his staff, and IUE legislative representatives.

The bulk of the research files encompass newspaper and periodical clippings, congressional bulletins and newsletters, reprints of government documents and bills, typescript and mimeographed legislative reports, publications generated by lobbyists and interest groups, and campaign literature. To assist in its own lobbying efforts, the IUE Legislative Department maintained lists of congressmen representing districts with a heavy concentration of IUE membership and tabulated their voting records on important labor legislation. Flynn's legislative files contain correspondence and memoranda documenting the union's lobbying efforts on behalf of labor legislation, political action programs, and campaign activities--especially the elections of 1952 and 1956. The bulk of Flynn's memoranda entail progress reports on the status of pending legislation to IUE President James B. Carey, and his assistant, Les Finnegan.

Flynn's legislative files chronicle many of the contentious domestic issues and legislative battles fought among labor and management, and Democrats and Republicans during the 1950s. A significant portion of his files are devoted to the IUE's and CIO's fight to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act, to extend the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage), the Social Security Act, Housing, and enforcement of the Walsh- Healey Act (union wage scale paid on federal government contract work). In addition, there is a wealth of material pertaining to the McCarthy Era and the Eisenhower administration. The Legislative Department collected research information on domestic communism, state and federal government loyalty programs, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the Army-McCarthy hearings, internal security legislation (the McCarran Act), Oppenheimer hearings, and immigration restriction (Walter-McCarren Act). These events provided a backdrop to the IUE's jurisdictional struggle with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers Union (UE) and organizational efforts in defense-related industries and the atomic energy field. The issue of public control of the electrical utilities industry, highlighted by the Dixon-Yates controversy, is also given ample coverage in Flynn's legislative research files.

5. LEGISLATIVE FILES OF DIRECTOR KENNETH PETERSON , Date Span: 1955–1961, Bulk Date: 1957-1960, 6.0 LN.FT.

Organized alphabetically and chronologically under subject headings.

When Kenneth Peterson assumed the directorship of the IUE Legislative Department in April 1956, he initiated and maintained his own legislative research filing system. Though he continued to generate and collect many of the same records, publications, clippings, and legislative material as his predecessor, Peterson incorporated civil rights files into the larger body of his legislative files while removing his correspondence files. Moreover, the material he collected reflected a stronger orientation towards documenting the IUE legislative agenda and charting the progress of specific bills through congress. Reprints of proposed and amended bills, excerpts of House and Senate hearings, reprints of speeches from the Congressional Record, legislative bulletins, AFL-CIO Legislative Department reports and newsletters comprise a major portion of the series. Peterson's files also contain circular letters issued under Carey's name to members of Congress requesting action and a favorable vote on proposed legislation.

Major subject headings include: civil rights, labor reform legislation, unemployment insurance, federal aid to education, housing, school integration, extension of Social Security entitlement programs, increases in the minimum wage, and reform of House Rules Committee procedures to facilitate passage of economic and social legislation. Peterson's civil rights files chronicle the IUE's support for the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1959, the proposal for a constitutional amendment banning the literacy test, and establishment of a civil rights commission. In the wake of the McClellan senate hearings on labor corruption and calls for labor reform legislation, Peterson kept detailed files on the enactment of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act) and the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act of 1961. The legislative histories of earlier versions of the Landrum-Griffin Bill (the Kennedy-Ives Bill 1958, and the Kennedy-Ervin Bill of 1959) are also included in these files. IUE efforts to combat the passage of right-to- work legislation in several states is covered extensively. Peterson collated much literature--pamphlets, advertisements, bulletins--issued by trade and business organizations supporting the "open shop."

6. CORRESPONDENCE AND MEMORANDA OF DIRECTOR KENNETH PETERSON , Date Span, April 1956 to July 1962, 1.75 LN.FT.

Bulk arranged in two chronological sequences; inter-office memoranda and correspondence files.

Contains outgoing and incoming correspondence and inter-office memoranda sent and received by Legislative Director Kenneth Peterson. The files chiefly document the wide array of activities performed by Peterson and the IUE Legislative Department. As director, Peterson had chief responsibility for framing the IUE legislative agenda and keeping IUE officers informed of the progress and status of pending legislation. His correspondence files include letters and memoranda from IUE legislative representatives which provide valuable information regarding the IUE's lobbying efforts, especially in the area of civil rights legislation and opposition to the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. In conjunction with the IUE Research Department, he coordinated the arrangements for IUE officers' appearances before congressional committees and panels. Peterson frequently corresponded with legislators to lobby for votes on targeted bills and arrange for the inclusion of statements and addresses made by IUE officers into the Congressional Record.

The bulk of the correspondence files highlight the IUE's position on significant labor, economic, and social legislation from 1956-1962. The union's affiliation with the AFL-CIO Legislative Department and cooperative relationship with various political organizations and interest groups to facilitate passage of legislation are covered extensively. Memoranda and correspondence from Peterson to Ed Rovner, Director of IUE-COPE (Committee on Political Activity), document his role in planning and coordinating the IUE's political action programs. Correspondence from IUE District Legislative Directors illustrates the IUE's concerted political and legislative action at the regional, state, and local levels, particularly in efforts to promote civil rights and defeat right-to-work legislation. Additional correspondence documents Peterson's administration of the routine affairs of the department, including requests for publications and documents from legislators and government bureaus, preparation of Legislative Department publications and sponsorship of conferences, workshops, and educational programs.

7. "PREPARED MATERIAL", Date Span: 1954-1962, 0.25 LN. FT.

Arranged chronologically by date of preparation.

Contains circular letters, lithographed memoranda (IUE Memograms), educational pamphlets, COPE "flyers," civil rights speeches, reports, and resolutions. The staff of the Legislative Department had primary responsibility for the preparation of statements and addresses used by Carey, Flynn, and Peterson before House and Senate committee hearings on proposed civil rights legislation. A representative sample of the reports are included in this series. Serving as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of vital information on the legislative initiatives of the IUE, the department issued memoranda and circular letters to IUE District Presidents, members of the IUE Civil Rights Committee, local union presidents and IUE field representatives. The series also contains printed legislative agendas, lists of key legislators serving on important House and Senate committees, and analyses of voting patterns on targeted bills.

8. GENERAL ISSUES FILES OF DIRECTOR KENNETH PETERSON , Date Span: 1951–1962, Bulk Date: 1956-1961, 2.0 LN.FT.

Grouped in two sequences, general issues and labor issues, contents arranged alphabetically by subject and topical heading.

Reference and administrative files created and maintained by Legislative Director Kenneth Peterson, documenting IUE staff conferences, workshops, educational institutes and activities concerning civil rights and various economic, labor, and legislative issues. Contains form letters, correspondence, agenda, releases, speeches and resolutions from IUE conferences on civil rights, women's issues, unemployment, and legislative affairs. Prominent correspondents include Senator Wayne Morse, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, and Representative George McGovern. The series includes legislative reports presented to the IUE Executive Board and legislative resolutions adopted by IUE Conventions from 1953-1962. Peterson generated memoranda and correspondence regarding the procurement of defense contracts and IUE opposition to plant closures affecting its members. His general issues files contain Defense Department and General Services Administration brochures and manuals on procedures for competitive bidding and administration of defense contracts.

Peterson also maintained legislative reference files on such labor issues as strikes, runaway shops, Labor Department appointments, and international labor developments. Clippings, bulletins and publications, and IUE reports on these topics comprise the bulk of this portion of the general issues files.

9. ORGANIZATION AND CONFERENCE FILES , Date Span: 1956-1961, 3.2 LN. FT.

Arranged alphabetically by folder heading

Consists of organization and conference records collected by IUE Legislative Director Kenneth Peterson, highlighting the IUE's efforts to construct a broad political coalition for the enactment of progressive social, labor, and economic legislation. IUE President James B. Carey, Secretary-Treasurer Al Hartnett, and Peterson served on many of the governing boards and advisory committees of the organizations represented in the series. In many cases, the IUE contributed financially to the organization and co-sponsored conferences and workshops. The bulk of the series is devoted to civil rights issues and legislative action. Chief topics covered are full citizenship legislation, voter registration reform, and school desegregation. Folder contents include newsletters and bulletins, circular letters, reports, conference proceedings, and correspondence and memoranda issued by many prominent civil rights groups. Representative organizations include the NAACP, National Urban League, National Association of Intergroup Relations Organization, National Congress of American Indians, American Jewish Committee, and the Religion and Labor Council of America.

The IUE Legislative Department cultivated close ties with the legislative representatives of many politically progressive organizations for the advancement of common legislative goals. Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans for Democratic Action supported much of the IUE legislative agenda of the 1950s. The bulk of these folders contain newsletters and bulletins.

Through its affiliation with the AFL and the Industrial Union Department, the IUE galvanized its political and legislative clout. The AFL's Legislative Department coordinated the legislative activities of its constituent trade unions and their respective legislative directors. Both bodies sponsored many conferences during the 1950s covering a wide array of legislative issues, including civil rights. Conference proceedings, "fact sheets," and reports issued by both organizations provide detailed information on the legislative priorities and degree of cooperation among the member unions.

10. ELECTIONS AND CAMPAIGNS , Date Span: 1952-1960, Bulk Date: 1956-1960, 1.2 LN. FT.

Organized chronologically by election year, material thereunder arranged by subject headings.

Research files pertaining to campaigns and elections maintained by IUE Legislative Directors John J. Flynn and Kenneth Peterson. Folder items include: newspaper and periodical clippings, publications, typescript reports and memoranda from the Legislative Department to IUE officers, campaign leaflets, handbills, and literature, analyses of voting patterns and trends, and research bulletins issued by the AFL and IUE Committee on Political Education (COPE). In addition to the presidential elections of 1952, 1956, and 1960, there are several files devoted to "off-year" congressional and gubernatorial elections. Folder contents document the IUE's support for Democratic Party candidates Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy and include research information on the nature of campaign contributions and the activities of political action committees. Several files contain issues of the Congressional Quarterly analyzing election results and voting patterns for the years 1957, 1958 and 1960.