Workers' Education Bureau Of America
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Workers' Education Bureau of America or WEB or Bureau (1921–1951) was an organization established to assist labor colleges and other worker training centers involved in the American
labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
. The WEB was an important development in labor education in the 1920s. Founded in 1921, it served as an informational clearinghouse for labor education organizing forums around the country and assisting local programs.


History

The Workers' Education Bureau of America was founded in 1921 by a group of United States-based unionists and educators. WEB received financial, political, and consultative support from
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...
(AFL) leaders, including
Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 11, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...
, William Green, and
Matthew Woll Matthew Woll (January 25, 1880 – June 1, 1956) was president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America from 1906 to 1929, an American Federation of Labor (AFL) vice president from 1919 to 1955 and an AFL-CIO vice president ...
, making it "the unofficial educational arm" of the AFL. The AFL slowly built a majority on the WEB board of directors. In 1929, the AFL assumed "complete financial and administrative control." The AFL then asserted a conservative influence on the organization's activities, which included withdrawing support from left-wing and progressive labor colleges and other training organizations as well as supporting only those curricula which supported the AFL's apolitical agenda and
craft unionism Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the sa ...
. The WEB's first convention was held at the
New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...
in New York City. In the ''Report of Proceedings First National Conference on Workers Education in the United States'', the Board adopted the following resolutions:
#Including the school curriculum the teaching of an unemasculated industrial history embracing an accurate account of the organization of the workers and of the results thereof, the teaching of the principles underlying industrial activities and relations, and a summary of legislation, state and federal, affecting industry. #The making of a careful and comprehensive survey and the preparation and distribution of a bibliography of all books, pamphlets and addresses dealing with industrial and economic problems, which are founded on accurate information, sound principles and which will prove helpful in removing the false conception of existing theories of industrial, political and social economy. #Encouraging all schools, colleges, universities, libraries, trade union centers, and all institutes of learning to secure copies of the books, pamphlets and addresses recommended for use by those interested in securing accurate and reliable information regarding industrial problems. #Encouraging textbook writers and publishers to avail themselves of the library and the records of the A. F. of L. upon all subjects dealing with the industrial development and progress, as well as the movement of the wage-earners, in the preparation of textbooks on industrial problems and movements. #The preparation of a textbook by the A. F. of L. to supplement the existing works of President Gompers and other recognized authorities of the American trade union movement, to be prepared by a competent trade unionist under the direction of the executive officers of the A. F. of L. in cooperation with a special committee for this purpose. #Encouraging and assisting affiliated international trade unions in the preparing of textbooks for their membership, dealing with economic laws, the development of their trade and the solving of trade problems, as well as the influence of their trade union activities upon the development of industrial relations.
In the same report, the Constitution of the organization is stated. Under its Constitution, WEB affirmed that its purpose is to, "collect and to disseminate information relative to efforts at education on any part of organized labor; to coordinate and assist in every possible manner the educational work now carried on by the organized workers; and to stimulate the creation of additional enterprises in labor education throughout the United States." In 1951, WEB formally integrated into the AFL (and later, after the merger with the
Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of Labor unions in the United States, unions that organized workers in industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in ...
, the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...
) as its Education Department. In 2003, the AFL-CIO transferred the duties and programs of the Education Department to the George Meany Center-National Labor College.


Officers

1921: * Officers:
James H. Maurer James Hudson Maurer (April 15, 1864 – March 16, 1944) was a prominent American socialist politician and trade unionist who twice ran for the office of vice president of the United States on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. He served ...
Chairman; Spencer Miller Jr., Secretary-Treasurer * Executive Committee: John Brophy,
Fannia M. Cohn Fannia Mary Cohn (April 5, 1885 – December 24, 1962) was a leading figure in the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) during the first half of the 20th century. She is remembered as one of the pioneers of the workers' education ...
, H.W.L. Dana, W.F. Kehoe, Frieda S. Miller, H.A. Russell, J.B. Salutsky ( J. B. S. Hardman) * Advisory Committee: Mary Anderson, Robert Bruere, J.M.
Budish Budish is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Armond Budish (born 1953), American politician * Eric Budish, American educator * Jacob M. Budish (J.M. Budish), 20th-century American labor economist * Zach Budish Zach Budish (bor ...
, JR Copenhaver, James A. Duncan, Alexander Fichandler, John Fitzpatrick,
Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, advocating judicial restraint. Born in Vienna, Frankfurter im ...
, Mabel Gillespie, Arthur Gleason, Walton H. Hamilton, Alexander Howat, Arthur M. Huddle, Thomas Kennedy, Susan M. Kingsbury, W. Jett Lauck, PJ McGrath, Bertha H. Mailly,
Broadus Mitchell Broadus Mitchell (December 27, 1892 – April 28, 1988) was a 20th-century American historian, writer, professor, and 1934 Socialist Party candidate for governor of Maryland. Background John Broadus Mitchell was born on December 27, 1892, in G ...
, Agnes Nestor, Julia S. O'Connor,
Roscoe Pound Nathan Roscoe Pound (October 27, 1870 – June 28, 1964) was an American legal scholar and educator. He served as dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law from 1903 to 1911 and was dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936. He was a ...
,
Joseph Schlossberg Joseph Schlossberg (in Yiddish: יוסף שלאסבערג‎; May 1, 1875 – January 15, 1971) was a Belarusian-born Jewish-American garment worker, newspaper editor, labor leader, and politician who served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Amalgamat ...
,
Rose Schneiderman Rose Schneiderman (April 6, 1882 – August 11, 1972) was a Polish-born American labor organizer, feminist, and one of the most prominent female labor union leaders. As a member of the New York Women's Trade Union League, she drew attention t ...
, Charles B. Stillman,
John H. Walker John Hunter Walker (April 27, 1872 – August 27, 1955) was a Scottish-born American labor unionist and politician. Born in Binniehill, in Scotland, Walker emigrated to the United States with his family in 1881. They settled in Braidwood, I ...


Institutional members

In 1922, WEB's second national convention listed the following as "trade union colleges, study classes, and workers' educational enterprises":
: California: :: Sacramento Labor College, :: San Francisco Labor College :: Labor Temple (Los Angeles) :: People's Institute (San Francisco) :: Workers Educational League (Oakland) : Colorado: Denver Labor College : Connecticut: Labor Education Alliance (Hartford) : District of Columbia: :: Washington Trade Union College :: Progressive Education Association : Illinois: :: Palatine Cooperative Society (Chicago) :: Chicago Trade Union College :: Amalgamated Labor Classes :: Training School for Women Workers (Chicago) : Kansas: People's College (Fort Scott) : Maryland: Baltimore Labor College : Massachusetts: :: Boston Trade Union College :: Springfield Workers' Classes :: Amherst Classes for Workers: Holyoke Workers' Classes :: Amherst Classes for Workers: Unity Center (ILGWU) :: Workingmen's Educational Institute ::: Labor Lyceum Association (Chelsea) ::: Malden Labor Lyceum (Malden) : Michigan: Workers Educational : Minnesota: :: St. Paul Labor College :: Minneapolis Workers' College :: Work Peoples College (Duluth) :: Work Peoples College (Smithville) : Missouri: :: Kansas City Workers College :: St. Louis Workers College : New Jersey: :: Passaic Trade Union College :: International Labor Temple Association (Paterson) :: Workers' Study Class (Newark) : Nebraska: Labor Temple School (Omaha) : New York: :: Amalgamated Workers' Classes (Rochester) :: Rochester Labor College :: Amalgamated Workers' Classes (New York City) :: Active Workers' School ACW (New York City) :: Workers' University (ILGWU) (New York City) :: Waist Makers' Unity Center (New York City) :: Harlem Unity Center (The Bronx) :: Brownsville Unity Center :: Second Bronx Unity Center :: Lower Bronx Unity Center :: Workers' Class (Fancy Leather Goods Workers) (New York City) :: Labor Temple School (New York City) ::
Rand School of Social Science The Rand School of Social Science was formed in 1906 in New York City by adherents of the Socialist Party of America. The school aimed to provide a broad education to workers, imparting a politicizing class-consciousness, and additionally served a ...
(New York City) :: Brookwood Workers' College (
Brookwood Labor College Brookwood Labor College (1921 to 1937) was a labor college located at 109 Cedar Road in Katonah, New York, United States. Founded as Brookwood School in 1919 and established as a college in 1921, it was the first residential labor college in the co ...
) (Katonah) :: Syracuse Labor School :: Poughkeepsie Labor Class :: Workers' Study Class (Mt. Vernon) : Ohio: :: Workers' Study Class (ILGWU) (Cleveland) :: American Academy of Christian (Cincinnati) :: Youngstown Study : Oregon: Portland Trade Union College : Pennsylvania: :: Pittsburg Trade Union College :: Bryn Mawr Summer School :: Erie Labor School :: Harrisburg Labor School :: Bethlehem Labor School :: Reading Labor School :: Lancaster Labor School :: Pottsville Labor School :: Pen Argyl Labor School :: Philadelphia Trade Union College :: Workers' Study Class (ILGWU) : Washington: :: Seattle Workers' College :: Spokane Workers' College :: Tacoma Labor College : Wisconsin: Milwaukee Workers' College : Wyoming: Trade Union College (Sheridan)


References


External links


Guide to Workers' Education Bureau of America records, #5277. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
{{Authority control American Federation of Labor Defunct trade unions in the United States Labor schools Educational organizations established in 1921 1951 disestablishments 1921 establishments in the United States