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Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.) Collection

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University

Finding aid created by: Michele Combs
Date: 14 Apr 2025

Revision history:

Biographical History

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of Labor (AFL) but separated from its parent organization in 1937. Unlike the AFL, which focused its efforts on skilled labor, the CIO worked to organize factory workers, mass-production workers, and other unskilled laborers. During World War II, labor organizations in many industrial sectors including auto workers, longshoremen, garment workers, and others banded together under the CIO's umbrella. The CIO had an unofficial alliance with the Communist Party of the USA, sharing much of its philosophy and goals; because of this, the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which required all union officials to formally renounce any and all ties with Communism, damaged the CIO's prospects and in 1955 it merged with the AFL to become the AFL-CIO.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.) Collection consists of a variety of informational and recruiting pamphlets printed and issued by the organization. Most are focused on specific industry sectors, e.g. textile workers. Others publicize the CIO's achievements and record of worker support, or encourage donations.

Arrangement of the Collection

No particular order.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Corporate Bodies

Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.)

Subjects

Collective bargaining -- United States.
Labor unions -- Organizing.
Labor unions -- United States.

Genres and Forms

Pamphlets.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.) Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchase, 2025.

Table of Contents

Printed material

Inventory