International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE), District Council 7 Records
Content Description
The I.U.E. papers of Kraft, Elsner, and Steinhilber cover the period between 1939 and 1971 with most of the material falling between 1949 and 1955.
Series I: E. J. Kraft Papers (3 linear feet) contains material dated 1939-1959, dealing with labor management relations and material concerning the split within the U.E. before, during and after its expulsion from the C.I.O. in 1949. Of special importance is a letter from James Carey, who became head of the I.U.E. C.I.O. after the split in 1949, to Kraft welcoming Local 755 to the I.U.E. C,I,O. The amount of material pertaining to the Communist influence and threat within the U.E. is significant and will he helpful to a researcher.
Series II: Wesley Steinhilber Papers (2 linear feet) contains materials dated 1947-1971. It is not as extensive as the Kraft series and deals with the split between the U.E. and the I.U.E. and has information on James Carey's life and his death and the death of Phillip Murray, the president of the C.I.O. from 1940 to his death in 1952. Most material covers the period from 1950 to 1965. This involves unity negotiations between the U.E. and the I.U.E. and the dispute between James Carey and Al Hartnett (the conspiracy against the I.U.E.).
Series III: Robert Elsner Papers (1.75 linear feet) contains materials dated 1941-1965, primarily Labor Education information and a great amount of U.E. material from the 1960's.
Dates
- Creation: 1939-1971
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1949-1955
Creator
- Elsner, Robert N., 1906-1983 (Person)
- Kraft, E. J. (Person)
- Steinhilber, Wesley M., 1917-2007 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
The International Union of Electrical Workers District Council No. 7 (I.U.E. District 7) is headquartered at 3461 Office Park Drive, Dayton, Ohio 45439.
The U.E.'s first founding convention was held on March 21 22, 1936. At this time James B. Carey was unanimously elected President of the U.E. and Julius Emspack, Secretary Treasurer.
At the National C.I.O. Convention, November 1949, the U.E. was expelled from the C.I.O. for being "Communist dominated." At this same meeting a successor union with the same jurisdiction was chartered the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (I.U.E.). James B. Carey, C.I.O. secretary and U.E. president voted out of office in 1941, was installed by Murray as head man of the I.U.E.
I.U.E. District Council 7 is one of 11 districts within the I.U.E. It has jurisdiction over 106 local unions in a seven state area Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
The material within this collection consists of the papers of three men within District Council 7 E.J. Kraft, Former President of the Frigidaire Local, Robert Elsner, former President of the I.U.E. Local 801 and Director of Education, and Wesley Steinhilber, former I.U.E. Secretary Treasurer and President.
Extent
6.75 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection consists of the papers of three men who were active in IUE District Council 7: E. J. Kraft, Wesley Steinhilber, and Robert Elsner. Within the Kraft and Steinhilber series is material concerning the split within the UE (Union of Electrical Workers) before and after its expulsion from the CIO. There is also information about the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in Dayton, Ohio, and reports of Communist Party influence in the UE during the late 1940s. The Elsner material consists of labor education information from the 1960s, and UE materials from the 1940s.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into three series: Series I: E. J. Kraft Papers Series II: Wesley Steinhilber Papers Series III: Robert Elsner Papers
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records were accessioned by Wright State University in December 1977, as part of the Ohio Labor Project.
donor
Subject
Cultural context
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE), District Council 7 Records (MS-49)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Patricia Burnett, Lisa Rickey
- Date
- 2016 June 22
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Sponsor
- The records were acquired as part of the Ohio Labor Project sponsored by the Ohio Historical Society, the Ohio AFL CIO, and the Labor Education and Research Service at Ohio State University. The purpose of this project was to “locate and recover materials relating to the history of labor in Ohio and to make the importance of this history clear to the public.”
Revision Statements
- 20160622: Finding aid revised according to DACS by Lisa Rickey, June 2016.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
