Picket line, New Bedford, 195
“Teamsters crossed the Hathaway picket line”

Western Massachusetts was an early and important center of both industrialization and the development of organized labor, and in recent years, it has experienced many of traumatic effects of de-industrialization and economic transformation. The Department of Special Collections and University Archives seeks to document the history of organized labor, the experience of work, and business and industry in New England.

At the heart of the SCUA holdings is a suite of collections documenting the organized labor movement in New England. The official records of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, a large and important collection, is joined by records for trades ranging from clothing and textile workers to carpenters, electrical workers, and granite cutters.

Of particular note is the John W. Bennett Labor History Collection, a large assemblage of labor-related realia and ephemera, including hundreds of badges, pins, watch fobs, lighters, and other artifacts distributed to union members at annual conventions and other union events. The collection is a unique resource for study of the iconography of organized labor and includes items from representative unions and locals ranging from the Knights of Labor in the 1870s to the present. While centered on New England, the Bennett Collection extends nationally.

View our brochure on documenting labor, work, and industry (pdf).

Significant collections

One of the largest building trade unions in the U.S., the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was established in 1881 by a convention of carpenters’ union. Only five years after the union’s formation, the group joined with other unions to form the American Federation of Labor. Despite their early association with the AFL, the union left the now merged AFL-CIO more than a century later in 2001.

The collection consists of the records of the Massachusetts State Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, including by-laws, handbooks, reports, and the history of the union.

[ A ][ B ][ C ][ D ][ E ][ F ][ G ][ H ][ I, J ][ K ][ L ][ M ][ N ]
[ O ][ P, Q ][ R ][ S ][ T ][ U ][ V ][ W ][ XYZ ]

U

UAASC

see Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support Center (UAASC) (1997- ) RG-6/7

UALRC

see United Asia Learning Resource Center RG-25/U5

U-ARTS

see Undergraduate Art Students Association (U-ARTS) RG-45/40/U5

UCC

see Computer Center RG-29

UCF

see United Christian Foundation (UCF) RG-30/12

UCS

see Computer Center RG-29

UCS Notes (Computer Center Publication) (1990)

RG-29/00/4

UES

see University of El Salvador (UES) RG-60/3

UFF

see University Fund for the Future (UFF) (1989- ) RG-50/7/1

UIS Newsletter (Data Processing Center) (1987- )

RG-35/7

UMAGRAFFITI (Student Publication)

RG-45/00/U4

UMass (News Office) (1983-1984)

RG-5/00/7

UMASS (1996- ) (News Office)

RG-5/00/12

see also Massachusetts (1990-1996) RG-5/00/11

UMASS (University Monthly Anthropological Survey Service (1982-1989)

RG-25/A6/00

UMASS 1983 and UMASS 1984 (Public Affairs)

RG-5/00/7

UMASS Alumni Connection, The

see Alumni Connection, The UMass (1992-1994) RG-50/00/3

UMass Alumni News and Views (1978-1983)

RG-50/00/3

UMass Amherst Globe, The (International Programs) (1993- )

RG-6/4/9/2

UMass 125th Anniversary Slide Show (1988)

RG-187/1

UMass Answers (Continuing Education) (1982- )

RG-7/00

UMass Around the Globe (1992- )

RG-39/9

UMass Boston

RG-55/3

UMass Boston Planning and Establishment (pre-1965)

RG-55/3/1

UMass Dartmouth

see Southeastern Massachusetts University (SMU) RG-55/5

UMass Educational Television (UMET)

RG-13/1/3

UMass Faculty and Staff for Peace and Justice in the Middle East

see Peace and Justice in the Middle East, UMass Faculty and Staff for RG-40/3/P1

UMass Greens (1989)

RG-45/80/U4

UMass Hunger Task Force

see Hunger Task Force, UMass RG-45/40/H8

UMass Information Technology Services (formerly University Information Systems)

RG-35/7

UMass Interaction (1994- )

RG-3/00

UMass Labor Council (1995- )

RG-40/5/U5

UMass Lowell

see University of Lowell RG-55/4

UMass Majors (catalog)

see CASIAC RG-11/5

see also Admissions RG-30/5

UMass News (News Office)

RG-5/3

UMass Nutrient Data Bank

see Food Science and Nutrition, Department of–Nutrient Data Bank, UMass RG-25/F5/3

UMass 125th Anniversary Slide Show (1988)

RG-187/1

UMass Peacemakers

see Peacemakers, UMass (1982-1987) RG-45/80/P4

see also Peacemakers Records (1963-1990) MS309

UMass Plato User’s Group Newsletter

see Massachusetts CAI Consortium Newsletter (1985- ) RG-29/00

UMass Program at Freiburg

see Freiburg, UMass Program at RG-25/F8

U-Mass Tenant Association (UMTA)

RG-35/12/3

UMass Worcester

see Medical School, Worcester RG-55/2

U-Math Newsletter (1981)

RG-25/M5/00

UMET

see UMass Educational Television (UMET) RG-13/1/3

UMPSO

see Pagan Association, UMass RG-45/70/P3

UMTA

see UMass Tenant Association (UMTA) RG-35/12/3

UMTC

see University of Massachusetts Transportation Center (1994- ) RG-25/U4

Undergrad, The (Business Club) (1974-1976)

RG-12/4

Undergraduate Admissions Task Force (1999- )

RG-40/2/U2

Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support Center (UAASC) (1997- )

RG-6/7

Undergraduate Art Students Association (U-ARTS) (1987)

RG-45/40/U5

Undergraduate Course of Study Committee (Faculty Senate, 1960-1963)

RG-40/2/A3

Undergraduate Curriculum Study Committee’s Project (Faculty Senate, 1996- )

RG-40/2/A3

Undergraduate Education, Associate Provost for

see Provost for Undergraduate Education, Associate (1972-1973, 1981- ) RG-6/10

Undergraduate Journal

RG-45/00/U5

Undergraduate Retention Committee (Official University Committee) (1992)

RG-40/2/U4

see also Retention Committee (1985- ) RG-40/2/R5

Unification Church of America (Religious Group) (1981-1984)

RG-45/70/U5

Union, Credit

see Credit Union RG-40/5/C7

Union of Professional Employees

see Union of Professional Employees (UPE) MS-47

Union of Student Employees (1975-1976) RG-45/45/U5

Union Program Council

RG-45/17

Union, Radical Student

see Radical Student Union RG-45/80/R1

Union, Social

see Social Union RG-45/90/S6

Union Video Center (Student Video Project) (1972)

RG-45/30/U5

Unions and Associations

RG-45/45

Unionization, Student

see Student Unionization (Association) RG-45/45/S7

Unions and Associations (Faculty and Staff)

RG-40/5

Unions and Associations (Student Body)

RG-45/45

Unions, Employees

see Unions and Associations RG-40/5

United Asia House (1989)

RG-45/40/U6

see also United Asia Learning Resource Center (UALRC) (1990) RG-25/U5

United Asia Learning Resource Center (UALRC) (1990)

RG-25/U5

see also United Asia House (1989) RG-45/40/U6

United Christian Foundation (UCF)

RG-30/12

United States Student Association (USSA) (1983-1988)

RG-45/80/U5

Universities, State

see Land-Grant Colleges, State Universities RG-60/1

University Advancement

see University Relations and Development RG-39

University Affairs Committee (Faculty Senate, 1965-1972)

RG-40/2/A3

University as a Whole

RG-1

University as a Whole–Publications

RG-1/00

University Bulletin (1973-1977)

RG-5/00/6

see also Weekly Bulletin, University Bulletin (1953-1971) and Executive Bulletin RG-5/00/3

University Career Center

see Career Center, University RG-30/9/5

University Center for Community College Affairs

see Higher Education, Center for RG-13/3/19/4

University Center for Economic Development (1977- )

RG-6/4/14/2

see also Economic Development, Center for RG-12/12

University China Committee

see China Committee, University RG-40/2/C4

University Chorale

see Singing Clubs–University Chorale RG-25/M9.5

University College (Official University Committee) (1966-1967)

RG-40/2/U5

University College Planning Committee (Faculty Senate, 1966)

RG-40/2/A3

University Committee on AIDS

see AIDS, University Committee on RG-40/2/A5.5

University Committee on Alcohol Use

see Alcohol Use, University Committee on (Official University Committee) RG-40/2/A6

University Committees, Official

see Official University Committees RG-40/2/A1-W6

University Community Service Council (1993- )

RG-40/2/U6

University Computer Service Newsletter

see UCS Notes RG-29/00/4

University Computing Center

see Computer Center RG-29

University Computing Services

see Computer Center RG-29

University Conference Services

RG-7/3

University Counsel

RG-4/16

University Day School

see School RG-25/H9

University Democrats (Student Social Action Group) (1989- )

RG-45/80/U6

University Directions

see Handbooks (Student Affairs) RG-30/00/2

University Faculty Senate, ad hoc Committee

see Faculty Senate, University, ad hoc Committee on (Official University Committee) (1955) RG-40/2/F2

University Fund for the Future (UFF) (1989- )

RG-50/7/1

University Gallery

see Art Gallery RG-11/15

University Guide Service

see ARCON (1965-1984) RG-45/90/A7

see also University Tour Service (1984- ) RG-30/4/1

University Historical Collection

RG-1/200-299

University History Committee

see History Committee, University (125th Anniversary, 1986-1987) RG-40/2/H5

see also Campus Awareness Committee (1986- ) RG-40/2/C.5

University History Project (125th Anniversary, 1987-1988)

RG-1/208

University Honors Program

see Honors Program RG-6/4/11

University Human Subjects Review Committees

RG-9/1/2/1

University Information Systems

see Umass Information Technology Services RG-35/7

University Internship Program

see Internships, Office of (University Internship Program) RG-11/6

University Lectures, Committee on

see Lectures, Committee on University RG-40/2/L1.5

University Magazine

see Massachusetts Magazine (1990-1996) RG-5/00/11

University Medal for Outstanding Service (1973)

RG-2/99

see also Awards, Prizes RG-1/11

University Monthly Anthropological Survey Service

see UMASS (Newsletter) (1982-1989) RG-25/A6/00

University Newsletter (News Bureau) (1968-1970)

RG-5/00/2

University Notebook (News Bureau) (1980-1981)

RG-5/3/2

University of El Salvador (UES)

RG-60/3

University of Lowell

RG-55/4

University of Massachusetts Foundation (1950- )

RG-50/7

see also Trustees Council RG-2/4

University of Massachusetts, Future Committee on

see Future University of Massachusetts (Official University Committee) (1970-1971) RG-40/2/F8

University of Massachusetts-Industry Research on Polymers, Center for

see Center for University of Massachusetts-Industry Research on Polymers RG-25/P7.5

University of Massachusetts Republican Club

see Republican Club, University of Massachusetts (1983- ) RG-45/80/R4

University of Massachusetts Transportation Center (UMTC)

RG-25/U4

University, Officials of the (Photographs)

see Officials of the University (Trustees and Presidents Photographs) RG-110

University Outreach

RG-16

University Outreach, Provost for

see Vice Chancellor for University Outreach RG-6/6

University Outreach, Vice Chancellor For

see Vice Chancellor for University Outreach (2000- ) RG-16/1

University Photo Negatives Collection

RG-171

University Photography Club

see Photographers Association RG-45/40/P5

University Policy

see Vice President for University Policy RG-3/2

University Press (Graduate School)

RG-10/4

see also Research and Graduate Studies RG-9

University Professors, American Association of

see American Association of University Professors (AAUP) RG-40/5/A2

University Relations and Development

RG-39

University Relations and Development Council (Faculty Senate, 1995)

RG-40/2/A3

University Relations and Development–Publications

RG-39/00

University Relations and Development–Vice Chancellor for

see Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Development RG-39/1

University Relations, Vice President for

see Vice President for University Relations RG-3/14

University Report (President’s Office) (1978-1979)

RG-3/00

University, Secretary of the

see Secretary of the University RG-3/3

University Staff Association (USA)

RG-40/5/U6

see also Massachusetts State Employees Association (MSEA) (prior to 1977) MS-49

University Statistics (USTAT) (1998) (Student Special Interest Group) RG-45/40/U8

University Store

RG-37/5

University Theatre

RG-25/T3.8

University Tour Service (1984- )

RG-30/4/1

see also ARCON (University Guide Service) (1965-1984) RG-45/90/A7

University Without Walls (UWW) (School of Education)

RG-13/4/2/3

see also Associate Provost for Special Program RG-6

University Without Walls Newsletter (1972-1987)

RG-13/4/2/3

University Women

RG-40/7

University Women’s Network (UWN)

RG-40/5/U7

University Women’s Professional Network (UWPN)

see Women in Staff Professional Positions (WISPP) RG-40/5/W5

University Writing Program

RG-7/11

University Year for Action (UYA) (1971-1976)

RG-6/4/4

Upbeat (1986-1989)

RG-30/11/1

UPC

see Union Program Council (UPC) RG-45/17

Update (1982-1991)

RG-25/P8/00

UPE

see Union of Professional Employees (MTA) MS-47

Upside Down Club (Religious Group) (1992- ) RG-45/70/U7

Upsilon Pi Epsilon (Honor Society)

RG-45/60/U6

Upward Bound (1966-1993)

RG-6/4/13

see also Upward Bound Committee (Faculty Senate, 1967) RG-40/2/A3

Future Scholars of America (1993- ) RG-6/4/13.5

Upward Bound, Committee on (Faculty Senate, 1967)

RG-40/2/A3

Urban and Community Forestry, Northeast Center for

see Northeast Center for Urban and Community Forestry (1996- ) RG-25/N7

Urban Education, Center for (School of Education)

RG-13/3/23/1

USA

see University Staff Association (USA) RG-40/5/U6

USSA

see United States Student Association (USSA) RG-45/80/U5

UVC TV-19 (Student Run Television Station) (1999- )

RG-45/30/U7

UWN

see University Women’s Network (UWN) RG-40/5/U7

UWPN

see Women in Staff Professional Positions (WISPP) RG-40/5/W5

UWW

see University Without Walls (UWW) RG-13/4/2/3

UYA

see University Year for Action (UYA) (1971-1976) RG-6/4/4

Sidney Lipshires

Born on April 15, 1919 in Baltimore, Maryland to David and Minnie Lipshires, Sidney was raised in Northampton, Massachusetts where his father owned two shoe stores, David Boot Shop and The Bootery. He attended the Massachusetts State College for one year before transferring to the University of Chicago and was awarded a BA in economics in 1940. His years at the University of Chicago were transformative, Lipshires became politically active there and joined the Communist Party in 1939. Following graduation in 1941, he married Shirley Dvorin, a student in early childhood education; together they had two sons, Ellis and Bernard. Lipshires returned to western Massachusetts with his young family in the early 1940s, working as a labor organizer. He served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946 working as a clerk and interpreter with a medical battalion in France for over a year. Returning home, he ran for city alderman in Springfield on the Communist Party ticket in 1947. Lipshires married his second wife, Joann Breen Klein, in 1951 and on May 29, 1956, the same day his daughter Lisa was born, he was arrested under the Smith Act for his Communist Party activities. Before his case was brought to trial, the Smith Act was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Disillusioned with the Communist Party, he severed his ties with it in 1957, but continued to remain active in organized labor for the rest of his life. Earning his masters in 1965 and Ph.D. in 1971, Lipshires taught history at Manchester Community College in Connecticut for thirty years. During that time he worked with other campus leaders to establish a statewide union for teachers and other community college professionals, an experience he wrote about in his book, Giving Them Hell: How a College Professor Organized and Led a Successful Statewide Union. Sidney Lipshires died on January 6, 2011 at the age of 91.

Ranging from an autobiographical account that outlines his development as an activist (prepared in anticipation of a trial for conspiracy charges under the Smith Act) to drafts and notes relating to his book Giving Them Hell, the Sidney Lipshires Papers offers an overview of his role in the Communist Party and as a labor organizer. The collection also contains his testimony in a 1955 public hearing before the Special Commission to Study and Investigate Communism and Subversive Activities, photographs, and biographical materials.

Group founded at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1943 to protest proposed changes in the Massachusetts state employees’ retirement system. By 1969, the group became the exclusive bargaining agent for the University’s administrative, clerical, and technical employees. Includes constitution and by-laws, Executive Board and general body minutes, correspondence, contracts, legislative materials, grievance records, hearing transcripts and decisions pertaining to job reallocations, subject files, newsletters, and press releases, that document the activities and administration of the University of Massachusetts chapter of the Massachusetts State Employees Association from 1955 to 1978.

From its origins in 1899 as the Northampton Central Labor Union, the Northampton Labor Council coordinated political activity and worked for union cooperation in strikes, boycotts, and celebrations. With 29 unions in its ranks by 1903, it was one of the few labor councils to include both AFL and CIO affiliates during the period of their intense competition during the 1930s, however from 1945 until the AFL-CIO merger, CIO unions were excluded. By 1985, the NLC had 14 affiliated local unions.

As the coordinating body for the political and social activities of fourteen labor unions in Northampton, Massachusetts, and the surrounding area, the Labor Council generated union support for strikes, boycotts, and celebrations, and hosting annual Labor Day parades. Includes photocopies of four minutebooks, spanning the years 1933-1985.

The United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union (UHCMW) was formed in 1934 by the merger of the United Hatters of North America and the Cloth Hat, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union, settling deep rifts between the competing unions. For five decades, the UHCMW organized the declining hat and millinery trade in the United States until it merged into the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) in 1983, which merged in 1995 into the International Ladies Garment Workers Union to form UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees).

The collection documents UHCMW Local 4, representing workers in Boston and Framingham, from 1945 through the time of its merger into the ACTWU. The series of ledgers and documents in the collection include documents concerning health and retirement benefits for union members, bargaining agreements, and financial records for the local, as well as a small assortment of correspondence, memoranda, and minutes of meetings.

A.C. Bent, 1929

An avid birder and eminent ornithologist, Arthur Cleveland Bent was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, on November 25, 1866. After receiving his A.B. from Harvard in 1889, bent was employed as an agent for the Safety Pocket Company and from 1900 to 1914, he was General Manager of Mason Machine Works. His passion, however, was birds. An associate in Ornithology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, Bent became a collaborator at the Smithsonian and president (1935-1937) of the American Ornithologists’ Union. The culmination of his research was the massive, 26 volume Life Histories of North American Birds (1919-1968).

The Bent collection is a glimpse into the birding life of a remarkable amateur ornithologist. It contains the field notebooks of his collaborator, Owen Durfee (1880-1909), his own journals (1887-1942), photographs and negatives (1896-1930), correspondence concerning the photographs (1925-1946), and mimeographed and printed material. Bent’s records cover nest observations, egg measurements, bird sightings, and notes on specimens provided to organizations such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the Bristol County Agricultural School, and the United States National Museum.

Includes transcripts of papers delivered at conferences (1985-1990) on democratic socialism, and correspondence (1984-1991) between Stephen Siteman, former Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party of America, and Frank Zeidler, former Mayor of Milwaukee, Socialist Party candidate for President of the United States, and national chairperson of the Socialist Party USA.

W.E.B. Du Bois

Scholar, writer, editor of The Crisis and other journals, co-founder of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP, and the Pan African Congresses, international spokesperson for peace and for the rights of oppressed minorities, W.E.B. Du Bois was a son of Massachusetts who articulated the strivings of African Americans and developed a trenchant analysis of the problem of the color line in the twentieth century.

The Du Bois Papers contain almost 165 linear feet of the personal and professional papers of a remarkable social activist and intellectual. Touching on all aspects of his long life from his childhood during Reconstruction through the end of his life in 1963, the collection reflects the extraordinary breadth of his social and academic commitments from research in sociology to poetry and plays, from organizing for social change to organizing for Black consciousness.