Researching Labor History in Our Collections

During the 20th century, Jews played a key role in the American labor movement. The Jewish labor movement was invigorated by the mass immigration of Eastern Europe Jews between 1880 and 1920, many of whom were socialists or Bundists from pre-revolution Russia. Jews created their own labor unions and labor-centric mutual aid societies including the United Hebrew Trades and Workmen’s Circle (later renamed the Worker’s Circle). The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC, est. 1944) advocated for labor rights and worked with various labor organizations, including the Jewish Labor Committee, the Jewish National Workers Alliance, and Worker’s Circle. Jewish activists also took on prominent roles in non-Jewish labor organizations. Examples represented in the JHC collections include National War Labor Board Mediator Rabbi Albert I. Gordon (1903-1968) and garment worker trade unionist Sarah Wernon Sloan (1888-1987). 

To view all collections in the JHC Archives related to this subject, click on the link below.

YIVO Bund Archives
Jewish Labor Committee Records
Remember the Triangle Fire Open Archive
New England Telephone Workers’ Strike
Labor Records at University of Massachusetts Amherst
Labor History Archives in the United States: A Guide for Researching and Teaching
Jewish Workers and Trade Unions
Boston's Labor Movement : An Oral History of Work and Union Organizing
Labor Movement in the United States