Title: International Confederation of Free Trade Unions Records
Inclusive Dates: 1961-1968

Creator:

• International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

Call Number: Mss 519

Quantity: 2.4 c.f. (6 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of the New York office of an international association of labor unions. The organization, formed in 1949, is concerned with the influence of communist unions in economically underdeveloped nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and has consultative status to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. The records reflect the New York office's activities of informing and influencing the United Nations on worldwide issues such as racism, unionism, workers' rights, economic development, and trade. The materials in the collection include correspondence, telegrams, reports, texts of statements, United Nations documents, and newspaper clippings.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00519

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The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was formed in 1949 by trade union federations that had withdrawn from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) after disagreements with communist unions. The principal unions organizing ICFTU were the British Transport and General Workers Union, the British Trade Union Congress, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The first congress of ICFTU was held in London in early December of 1949. At its foundation the organization had nearly 48 million members from 70 labor organizations in 53 countries or territories. By 1964 its membership had increased to nearly 60 million members in 120 affiliated organizations in 94 countries or territories.

The objectives in forming ICFTU were to unite workers organized in the non-communist and democratic trade unions of the world, and to afford a means of consultation and collaboration between them. The organization's activities are concerned officially with upholding universal values of human dignity; political and economic democracy and social justice through peace, freedom, self-determination and national independence; trade union rights; and economic and social progress. To promote democratic unionism in economically undeveloped countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, ICFTU has established vocational training centers and cooperatives for both health care and low cost housing.

To effectively fulfill the purposes and objectives of ICFTU, regional organizations were set up in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and later in Africa. The Asian Regional Organization (ICTFU-ARO), with headquarters in New Delhi, was developed in 1951. Also in that year the Latin American Association -- Organizacion Regional Interamerica de Trabajadores (ORIT) -- was established in Mexico City. The European Regional Organization (ICTFU-ERO) began in 1957.

Soon after ICTFU was formed in 1949, it obtained consultative status to the United Nations and the UN's specialized agencies. The various agencies to which the union makes suggestions and conducts observations include the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); the Regional Economic Commissions for Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America; the Trade and Development Board; the Commissions on Human Rights and on the Status of Women; the International Labor Organization (ILO); and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). To facilitate communication with the agencies of the United Nations, ICFTU offices were established in New York, Paris, and Geneva.

The major periodical publications of ICFTU are Free Labor World, Economic and Social Bulletin, and International Trade Union News.

Although the collection consists of the records of the New York Office from 1961 to 1968, the records are far more comprehensive for the period after the office was reorganized in 1962. The materials include correspondence, telegrams, reports, texts of statements, and newspaper clippings. Since the correspondence is arranged both by individuals and by subjects, there is some duplication of correspondence. In addition, while the majority of the material is in English, the international scope of the organization is reflected by records in Spanish, French, and German.

The ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS OF THE NEW YORK OFFICE document the internal operation of the office. Although some correspondence for 1961 is contained in scattered files throughout the collection, the majority of information for that year is included in the outgoing correspondence of Bill Kemsley and Marvin Schlaff. The staff activities related to the United Nations and other organizations are reflected in the miscellaneous correspondence. There are also a few reports on activities for 1963-1964, correspondence and reports on the activities of individuals visiting the office, staff procedures for handling such things as telephone messages and correspondence, and miscellaneous correspondence not included in the various subject files.

The series CORRESPONDENCE comprises over a quarter of the collection. Also included here are statements on issues and activity reports. Among the correspondents are individuals associated with ICFTU, including New York office personnel, personnel of the Brussels headquarters, personnel of ICFTU regional organizations, and ICFTU consultants. These records cover a wide range of topics including routine business; activities related to Africa, Asia, and Latin America; and activities related to the United Nations and its various agencies. The emphasis of the informational records is concentrated on trade unions, development of trade, and economic development in Third World nations.

Included in the series UNITED NATIONS are letters, statements, memos, reports, and United Nations documents. Besides records created to inform and influence the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and various missions to the General Assembly, the documents illustrate activities directed toward United Nations' sponsored commissions, organizations, and appeals for human rights and international cooperation. Also documented here is ICFTU's involvement in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, from December 1962 through November 1967. Records concerning the conference include correspondence, reports, and statements relating to trade unions, trade questions, rights of workers, and economic development.

Within the series OTHER ICFTU ACTIVITIES OF THE NEW YORK OFFICE can be found correspondence, reports, press releases, and resolutions about vocational training, cooperatives, and the status of women and youth. Also in this series is information on the seventh and eighth world congresses of ICFTU.

The last two series in the collection are RECORDS RELATING TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES and RECORDS RELATING TO VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. Documented in these series are interests and concerns of ICFTU relating to such topics as human rights, rights of workers, political prisoners, unions, colonialism, and racial discrimination. These materials include correspondence, press releases, reports, resolutions, and statements on union activities around the world. Here are also newspaper clippings from 1962-1965 on some of the conflicts between ICFTU and one of its chief sponsors, the AFL-CIO.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, New York, 1974. Accession Number: M74-185

Processing Information

Processed by Katherine Unertl and Joanne Hohler, 1980; and Geoffrey Wexler, 1986.

	Series: Organizational Records of the New York Office
Box   1 Folder   1	Activity Reports, 1963-1964
Box   1 Folder   2-3	Outgoing Correspondence, 1961
Box   1 Folder   4	Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1961-1968
Box   1 Folder   5	Staff Procedures, 1963-1964
Box   1 Folder   6	Visitors, 1962-1967
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
	Subseries: New York Office Personnel
Box   1 Folder   7	Aguirre, Jose, 1965-1966
Box   1 Folder   8	Baah, Kwaku, 1965-1968
Box   1 Folder   9-10	Barton, Paul, 1962-1967
Box   1 Folder   11	Beichman, Arnold, 1962-1968
Box   1 Folder   12	Brown, Irving, 1962-1967
Box   1 Folder   13	Cadet, Dorothy, 1962-1967
	Subseries: Brussels Headquarters Personnel	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1	Barry-Braunthal, Tom, 1964-1967
Box   2 Folder   2	Becu, Omar. 1961-1966
Box   2 Folder   3-4	Braunthal, Alfred, 1961-1967
Box   2 Folder   5	Paladino, Morris, 1967
Box   2 Folder   6	Pateet, Herman, 1966
Box   2 Folder   7	Riddle, John, 1961-1967
Box   2 Folder   8	Tulatz, Herbert, 1965-1967
	Subseries: Regional Personnel and Organizations	⇧
Box   2 Folder   9	African Regional Organization (ICFTU-AFRO), 1965-1967
Box   2 Folder   10	Asian Regional Organization (ICFTU-ARO), 1965-1967
Box   2 Folder   11	Gonzalez-Hermosilla, Basilio, 1964-1966
Box   2 Folder   12	Gonzalez-Tellechea, Ignacio, 1966-1968
Box   2 Folder   13	Jaurequi, Arthura, 1964-1965
Box   2 Folder   14	Organizacion Regional Interamerica de Trabajadores (ORIT), 1961-1967
Box   2 Folder   15	Valdivio, Raul, 1966-1967
Box   2 Folder   16	Vazquez, Rolando Lopez, 1964-1965
	Subseries: ICFTU Consultants	⇧
Box   2 Folder   17	Bernaut, Roman, 1966-1967
Box   2 Folder   18	Collinet, Michael, 1966
Box   2 Folder   19	Ford, Charles, 1965-1968
Box   2 Folder   20	Gorkin, Julian, 1964-1965
Box   2 Folder   21	Klatt, Werner, 1966-1967
Box   2 Folder   22	White, Lawrence, 1967
	Series: United Nations	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1	General Assembly, 1962-1967
Box   3 Folder   2	Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), 1962-1966
Box   3 Folder   3	Trade Union Representation in the United Nations, 1965
Box   3 Folder   4	ICFTU Representation in the United Nations, 1965
	Missions to the United Nations
Box   3 Folder   5	United States, 1961-1966
Box   3 Folder   6	United Kingdom, 1961-1965
Box   3 Folder   7	Other Countries, 1961-1965
Box   3 Folder   8	Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), 1963-1965
Box   3 Folder   9	Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA), 1962-1965
Box   3 Folder   10	Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 1966
Box   3 Folder   11	Human Rights, 1962-1967
Box   3 Folder   12	International Cooperation Year, 1964-1966
Box   3 Folder   13	International Labor Organization (ILO), 1963-1966
Box   3 Folder   14	Organization for Industrial Development, 1966-1967
	United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
	Conference on Trade and Development (UNCAD),
Box   3 Folder   15-16	1962-1964, February
Box   4 Folder   1-2	1964, March - 1967
Box   4 Folder   3	ICFTU Committee on International Trade Questions, 1964
Box   4 Folder   4-5	ICFTU Subcommittee on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 1964-1966
	Series: Other ICFTU Activities of the New York Office	⇧
Box   4 Folder   6	Vocational Training, 1963-1967
Box   4 Folder   7	Women and Youth Department, 1961-1967
Box   4 Folder   8	Working Group on Cooperatives, Vocational Training, and Other Forms of Economic and Social Action, 1966
Box   4 Folder   9	World Youth Rally, 1963
	World Congresses of ICFTU
Box   4 Folder   10	Seventh Congress, 1962
Box   4 Folder   11	Eighth Congress, 1965
Box   5 Folder   1	ICFTU Resolutions, 1963-1966
	Series: Records Relating to Various Countries	⇧
Box   5 Folder   2	Argentina, 1963-1967
Box   5 Folder   3	Australia, 1962-1965
Box   5 Folder   4	Barbados, 1964-1966
Box   5 Folder   5	Burandi, 1966
Box   5 Folder   6	Ceylon, 1962-1965
Box   5 Folder   7	Costa Rica, 1964-1965
Box   5 Folder   8	Cuba, 1962-1965
Box   5 Folder   9	Cyprus, 1962-1965
Box   5 Folder   10	Germany, 1966-1967
Box   5 Folder   11	Great Britain, 1961-1965
Box   5 Folder   12	India, 1961-1965
Box   5 Folder   13	Italy, 1965-1966
Box   5 Folder   14	Japan, 1965-1966
Box   5 Folder   15	Malaysia, 1963-1964
Box   5 Folder   16	Pakistan, 1966
Box   5 Folder   17	Rhodesia, 1965-1966
Box   5 Folder   18	South Africa, 1963-1966
Box   5 Folder   19	Spain, 1961
Box   5 Folder   20	Sweden, 1965-1967
Box   5 Folder   21	Trinidad and Tobago, 1965-1967
Box   5 Folder   22	Tunisia, 1964-1965
Box   5 Folder   23	Venezuela, 1962-1967
Box   5 Folder   24	Vietnam, 1962-1966
	Series: Records Relating to Other Organizations	⇧
	Subseries: Associated and Sponsored Organizations
Box   5 Folder   25	African-American Labor Center, 1962-1967
Box   5 Folder   26	African Labor College, 1965-1967
Box   5 Folder   27	African Research Office of ICFTU, 1965
	AFL-CIO
Box   6 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1962-1967
Box   6 Folder   2	Newspaper Clippings, 1962-1965
Box   6 Folder   3	AFL-CIO Affiliates, 1965-1967
Box   6 Folder   4	Confederation Generale du Travail - Force Ouviere (CGT-FO), 1962-1967
Box   6 Folder   5	Miners International Federation (IMF), 1965-1966
Box   6 Folder   6	Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International (PTTI), 1965-1967
Box   6 Folder   7	Public Services International (PSI), 1962-1967
	Subseries: Organizations Seeking ICFTU Support	⇧
Box   6 Folder   8	American Negro Leadership Conference on Africa, 1966-1967
Box   6 Folder   9	American Institute for Free Labor Development, 1966
Box   6 Folder   10	Amnesty International, 1965-1967
Box   6 Folder   11	Citizens Committee for a Free Cuba, 1963-1966
Box   6 Folder   12	Council Against Communist Aggression, 1966
Box   6 Folder   13	Federation of Former Hungarian Political Prisoners, 1965
Box   6 Folder   14	Foreign Services of the United States of America, 1963-1966
Box   6 Folder   15	Frente Obrero Revolucionario Democratico Cubano (FORDC), 1963-1966
Box   6 Folder   16	International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1962-1966
Box   6 Folder   17	International Council of Voluntary Agencies, 1965
Box   6 Folder   18	International Rescue Committee, 1962-1966
Box   6 Folder   19	International Society for Rehabilitation of the Disabled, 1964-1965
Box   6 Folder   20	International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), 1964-1967
Box   6 Folder   21	Various Jewish Organizations, 1963-1966

Appendix: Individuals Associated with ICFTU

Aguirre, Jose

Specialist on Latin America in the New York Office

Baah, Kwaku

New York Staff member primarily concerned with Africa.

Barry-Braunthal, Tom

ICFTU press officer in Brussels

Barton, Paul

Primarily concerned with economic and social affairs, New York office and in Switzerland

Becu, Omer

General secretary of ICFTU in Brussels

Beichman, Arnold

Press representative of the New York office

Bernaut, Roman

French trade union specialist considered for a New York Office position

Braunthal, Alfred

Assistant General Secretary of ICFTU in Brussels

Brown, Irving

Director of the New York Office

Cadet, Dorothy

Administrative Assistant of the New York Office

Collinet, Michael

Consultant to ICFTU on the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Ford, Charles

Trade Union Advisory Committee

Gonzalez-Hermosilla, Basilio

ORIT representative in Chile

Gonzalez-Tellechea, Ignacio

ORIT representative in New York

Gorkin, Julian

Director of the Centro de Documentacion y de Estudios, Paris

Jaurequi, Arthura

Secretary-General of ORIT in Mexico

Klatt, Werner

Consultant to ICFTU on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Paladino, Morris

Assistant General Secretary of ICFTU in Brussels

Patteet, Herman

Head of the Administration Department of ICFTU in Brussels

Riddle, John

Editor of Free Labour World

Tulatz, Herbert

Assistant General Secretary of ICFTU in Brussels

Valdivio, Raul

Assistant to the General Secretary of ORIT

Vazquez, Rolando Lopez

Director of ORIT's Departamento de Asuntos Economicos y Sociales, Mexico

White, Lawrence

Consultant to ICFTU on the International Labor Organization (ILO) and on trade and development