AFL-CIO. REGION 12:

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a federation of national trade unions, state federations, city central bodies ("central labor councils"), and directly-affiliated local trade unions. It was formed in a 1955 merger of the American Federation of Labor (established 1886) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (established 1935).

Region 12 (1986-1997) was created in a 1986 reorganization and included the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota, which were formerly parts of other regions. The regional office oversaw a 2-tiered structure of state federations and central labor councils, the latter apparently including various AFL-CIO trade-union organizations in or associated with particular towns and cities. Ray W. Francis, a native of Chicago who was formerly Assistant Director for Region 1, served as regional director during virtually the entire existence of Region 12. His office was located in Edina, Minnesota. Francis was the third African American regional director in the history of the AFL-CIO.

Francis retired on July 1, 1996. The Region 12 office was closed in early 1997 in yet another reorganization, in which several such regional offices were consolidated into four.

Return to top

The collection consists of records from the AFL-CIO Region 12 office. It includes subject files, correspondence and memoranda, newspaper clippings, newsletters, annual reports, financial information, convention proceedings, state federation and central labor council constitutions, speeches, mailing lists, minutes, and a variety of miscellaneous AFL-CIO (and other) printed material. There is information about the activities of the Region 12 office and the regional director, the state federations, and a host of local central labor councils; the national AFL-CIO; the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE); AFL-CIO conferences, meetings, and conventions; labor laws and legislation; organizing efforts; political candidates and state and federal election campaigns; and individual union leaders. Correspondents include Ray Francis and his field representatives; national, state, and local AFL-CIO officials and departments; other regional directors; and officials of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the University of Iowa Labor Center.

The material came to the Minnesota Historical Society after the Region 12 office was closed in 1997, with the cooperation of the George Meany Memorial Archives.

Return to top

The records are divided into the following three sections:

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions:

Access to records less than 20 years old requires written permission. Quotation or publication, beyond the fair use provisions of the copyright law, from records less than 20 years old requires written permission.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. AFL-CIO Region 12 Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,410

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, January 1998

Catalog ID number: 990017346490104294

Return to top

Includes annual reports of State and Local Central Bodies (state federations and central labor councils); Memos to Staff, largely addressing routine office policy and procedure issues; and Monthly Round-Up Reports, essentially work/activity logs kept by Ray Francis and his staff. Staff Meeting files include agendas, memos to staff, clippings, annual reports, and other supporting documents (there are no minutes). Telex files consist of facsimile (fax) copies of memos from the national office (particularly from the Department of Organization and Field Services), and include copies of the AFL-CIO Legislative Alert newsletter and information about a strike at Eastern Airlines.

The major portion of this series consists of Chronological Files, which include correspondence and memoranda, clippings, press releases, newsletters, and other material relating to politics and elections, legislative issues, boycotts, conferences and meetings, organizing, collective bargaining, and routine membership matters. Correspondents include Ray Francis, officials of the Department of Organization and Field Services, the Minnesota AFL-CIO, politicians and candidates, and the George Meany Center for Labor Studies. Incoming and Outgoing Letters consist of similar material, and include some annual reports.

Return to top

This material contains information about issues facing the region and its membership, and documents Francis' administration of the region and his interaction with national AFL-CIO officials and with officers of the state federations. There is biographical information about Francis, about a trip he took to Romania in 1990 at the behest of the American Institute for Free Labor Development, and copies of some of his speeches. There are files relating to special projects such as strikes, boycotts, Labor Day activities, and Workers Memorial Day observances. There is correspondence with the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), an AFL-CIO-affiliated social change organization promoting cooperation between the labor force and the black community, and with officials of the AFL-CIO's Organization and Field Services Department.

Much of the material relates to state and regional conferences, meetings, and conventions. Convention files include correspondence and memoranda, convention agenda and proceedings, lists of delegates, convention resolutions, and reports and publications. There is additional information about state federations and central labor councils in the State Files series, below.

Return to top

These files focus on the activities of the state federations and central labor councils, and their interaction with regional director Francis. Includes Francis' correspondence with officials of the state federations and the local central labor councils, and with the national AFL-CIO. State federation files usually include the organizations' annual reports, correspondence, maps, and information about legislation, political education, and elections and candidates for office. Central labor council files typically include those organizations' annual reports and mailing lists, constitutions, correspondence, and minutes. Some of the material came from the files of Francis' predecessor regional directors Daniel J. Healy and James Freeman (Region 1: Iowa, Minnesota), L. D. Porter (Region 2: Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota), and Delmond Garst (Region 15: Nebraska), of which the various states' central labor councils were a part prior to the creation of Region 12.

There is information about annual state federation conventions in the Subject Files series, above.

Return to top

There are several other AFL-CIO related manuscript collections at the Minnesota Historical Society, including records of the Central Labor Union of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly, the Minnesota Federation of Teachers, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, the Duluth Federated Trades and Labor Assembly, and the Duluth C.I.O. Industrial Union Council. A variety of AFL-CIO related print materials are in the Minnesota Historical Society book collection.

Records of the national AFL-CIO are located in the George Meany Memorial Archives at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

African American labor leaders.

Boycotts.

Elections.

Industrial relations.

Labor Day.

Labor laws and legislation.

Political candidates.

Strikes and lockouts.

Trade-unions -- Officials and employees.

Trade-unions -- Organizing.

Persons:

Francis, Ray W., 1927- .

Freeman, James.

Garst, Delmond.

Healy, Daniel J.

Kirkland, Lane.

Porter, L. D.

Sweeney, John J., 1934.

Organizations:

A. Philip Randolph Institute.

AFL-CIO. Committee on Political Education.

AFL-CIO. Department of Organization and Field Services.

Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

Minnesota AFL-CIO.

Nebraska AFL-CIO.

North Dakota AFL-CIO.

South Dakota State Federation of Labor.

Place:

Romania -- Description and travel.

Type of Documentation:

Constitutions.

Occupation:

Labor leaders.

Return to top