Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's Union Label Council

by Carri Frola, Archivist, CSUN Urban Archives - August 06, 2024

A large addition to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Collection has recently been made available to researchers. Approximately 192 linear feet of recently-donated materials were rehoused into 389 boxes that are now open for research!

Established in 1894, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (LACFL) is the umbrella organization for an alliance of hundreds of affiliated local labor unions and labor organizations in Los Angeles County, California. Its archives provide great insight into labor organizing and workers rights in Los Angeles County starting in 1860 through the present day.

Previously available for research were two Executive Secretaries’ papers: Philip "Slim" Connelly and Albert T. "Blackie" Lunceford, with materials dating from 1938 to 1966; as well as Executive Secretary William J. Bassett’s documents pertaining to the Union’s fight against "Right-to-Work" initiatives meant to push out unions.

Actress Linda Hutchings and LACFL Executive Secretary William J. Bassett promoting the 1959 Union Products and Services Show This new addition brings materials from more LACFL leaders including W.J. Bassett, Sigmund Arywitz, William Robertson, James "Jim" Wood, Miguel Contreras, and Maria Elena Durazo. It also includes training and research materials around anti-union efforts such as "labor consultants" i.e. anti-union lawyers, and tracking of cases, elections, and petitions with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Beyond those materials, it includes thousands of photographs and audiovisual materials produced by the LACFL documenting their members and leaders, activities, events, political campaigns, strikes, picket lines, demonstrations, social gatherings, and holiday celebrations.

One window into the history of laborers in Los Angeles County is the LACFL’s Union Label Council. The Union Label Council was a department that worked to promote union-made products and services. According to their Bulletin Newsletter, their mission was to “build purchasing power and extend mutual assistance through identifying union made materials and services.” Beginning in 1955, they hosted local Los Angeles Union Products and Services Shows which brought together all kinds of craft and trade laborers for an annual convention. Materials generated during these events provide an understanding of the Los Angeles buyers market and what types of businesses were thriving in Los Angeles during that time, some of which are still around today. The materials also reveal how successful unions were at the time, garnering support from prominent politicians and celebrities who attended the conventions.

Promotional Flyer for the 1956 Union Products and Services Show A 1956 pamphlet for the second annual Los Angeles Union Products and Services Show highlights the purpose of the convention: “To encourage union members and their families to patronize union products and services and to familiarize union families with those products and services supplied under union contracts.” Also, on full display in the pamphlet are 1950’s era American gender roles with the ads touting, “She can be your best customer because her husband’s income is regular and substantial…”

Exhibitors included garage door manufacturers, television stations, butchers, car manufactures, medical services, vibrating recliner chairs, and every other product you can imagine. The Exhibitors’ displays were extensive, including fully operational barber shops, full kitchens with union-made stoves, musical performances, and raffles awarding bicycles and other prizes.

The 1955 and 1956 conventions took place in the historic Pan Pacific Auditorium: one of America's finest examples of Streamline Modern architecture that hosted numerous sporting events, rallies, circuses, car shows and conventions until it closed in 1972 after the Los Angeles Convention Center opened. The auditorium then burned down in 1989. Included in the collection are lease agreements, correspondence on the auditorium’s official letterhead, parking passes and more, illuminating the historic Los Angeles building that no longer stands. Later Union Products Shows took place at The Shrine Auditorium.

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Collection even includes a 1949 film that was recently digitized and is available for viewing titled Democracy On Display. It is a newscast that tours the national version of the Union Products and Services Show put on annually by the National AFL: The Union Industries Show.