IAM LOCAL HISTORY PROJECT REPORT
THE COURSE WAS HELD AT THE WILLIAM W. WINPISINGER EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER (W3)
DATE : 7TH-12TH SEPTEMBER, 2025
‘THOSE WHO CANNOT REMEMBER THE PAST ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT.” – GEORGE SANTAYANA
The goals for the History Workshop training were two-fold according to Traci Drummond, Research Librarian at the W3 and Lisa Vallen, Southern Labor Archivist, Georgia State University Library.
The first goal was to help the participants get started with a History Project for their local and the second was to encourage us to find ways to tell our story that will involve as many members and retirees as possible.
According to Traci and Lisa, Union History is too important to leave to the historians alone, and trade unionists must either recover their history or lose it.
In the introductory session participants were taught to lay the Groundwork of the potential History projects. This could be done by talking to members and retirees who would also be interested in getting involved. We would ask questions like.
- Do histories of your local already exist?
- Does your local have historical records?
- How is the history of your local currently being shared?
- Do you have the support of your officers?
The way to go about deciding on possible History Projects is to find one that suits our purpose, interests, skills, timeframes and resources.
Some ideas that were floated were:
- Active members to interview retirees and then index and archive the recordings
- Designing a labour history curriculum that features our local’s history. It could be taught by veteran members to new members or stewards or could be put on the local’s website.
- Identifying, collecting and preserving the union’s records.
- Writing a history of the Union based on oral history interviews with retirees and executive board members or activists.
- Making a video featuring interviews with retirees and activists.
- Doing a photo text exhibit that features our local’s history.
- Organizing a labour history festival.
- Designing a history website for our local.
All history projects are designed for a specific purpose. We were encouraged to find what was our eventual goal in the collection, preservation and sharing of our story.
Was it to inform new members about the local’s past? Or to add to the body of Labour History literature? To commemorate a specific anniversary? To share the Union’s story with the public? To mobilize members? Build bridges with the community? Preserve records? Or all the above?
Participants were given the tools to evaluate their project design and were taught the five stages of a successful History Project. This included.
- Getting organized 2. Locating the information 3. Making the product 4. Producing the project 5. Thinking about the future.
Oral History was another segment of the course. Participants had a hands-on experience in conducting interviews and were taught techniques and skills to have a successful interview. We were also taught the importance of release forms and why it is important to acquire them to protect us from any legal backlash. A release also protects the interviewee as he /she knows they won’t be embarrassed by use of the material without permission. Knowing that, he/she can feel more comfortable about co-operating with you.
Managing your Local’s Records is important if an organization values it’s History. It’s therefore necessary, to preserve original letters, minutes reports, photographs, publications and other documents that officers or members have produced and compiled over the years. This material provides unique testimony to the achievements of the local and have important legal, administrative, fiscal and pr value.
The participants were also involved in an exciting hands-on project to exhibit, document and preserve local records. This involved, learning how to maintain records and organize material in the display cases at the W3.
Basic practices, archival do’s and don’ts and preservation guidelines were part of the curriculum.
Dr James Benton, Director, Race and Economic Empowerment Project of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, gave an informative lecture on the Research process and insights on how he got material and records together for his book ‘Fraying Fabric’ – How Trade Policy and Industrial Decline Transformed America. Followed by an interesting Q&A session. He gifted a signed copy of his book to our Local. Thank you Dr James Benton!
Participants learned how to form a History committee and the importance of having a purpose statement, delegating and assigning tasks and responsibilities, membership criteria, time commitments, roles of the chair and leadership and the reporting structure.
In conclusion: The History project class has proved to be an essential part of our education. Offering us besides knowledge and information, critical thinking, research skills and a deeper understanding of how the past shapes our present and future.
By exploring historical perspectives, analyzing sources and engaging in meaningful discussions, we not only learned about the labour movement, but also about ourselves and our responsibilities as informed union members.
This project encouraged curiosity, reflections and stronger connection to the human experience across time, making it a truly valuable part of our journey in the union.
Excerpts of the original course material are reproduced here in the above report.