The Fitch papers consist of the following nine series: BIOGRAPHICAL AND STUDENT MATERIALS; GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE; INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FILES; ARBITRATION CASES; LECTURE NOTES AND SOURCE MATERIAL BEFORE 1946; SPECIAL FILES; ALPHABETICAL FILES; REGULAR FILES; and WRITINGS AND SPEECHES. The papers document the varied activities -- investigation, writing, teaching, arbitration -- of an early labor relations expert, as well as provide background information on the growing attention to the labor problems and subsequent labor and social legislation of the first half of the 20th century. Fitch's extensive class outlines, notes, and background materials also serve as a source for the study of education on labor issues during that time.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND STUDENT MATERIALS, 1897-1974, include Fitch's own college papers, as well as research materials collected by great-grandson Joshua B. Hill and a paper by Hill about Fitch's career.
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1904-1959, consists of professional correspondence, arranged alphabetically. Prominent correspondents in this series include John R. Commons, Paul U. Kellogg, William M. Leiserson, Frances Perkins, and Ida Tarbell.
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FILES, 1907-1955, consist of the results of Fitch's ongoing studies of labor conditions, strikes, and unions, especially in the steel industry. Notable among the investigations are the Pittsburgh Survey, the case of Thomas J. Mooney, and the investigation of steel industry working conditions for the Cabot Fund. Files are arranged alphabetically by subject.
ARBITRATION CASES, 1918-1959, include some of the many cases arbitrated by Fitch, both independently, as a member of the National War Labor Board's Regional Labor Board during World War II, and as a member of the National Railway Labor Panel's Railroad Emergency Board. The cases, which were scattered in Fitch's papers, have been organized into the above three categories, and thereunder arranged chronologically.
LECTURE NOTES AND SOURCE MATERIAL BEFORE 1946 includes lecture notes, source materials, and some other writings, mainly for his Columbia classes. Subjects include industrial relations, labor problems, social legislation, and unemployment, with the files arranged alphabetically by subject by Fitch. Where known, the course title, number, and dates are indicated.
SPECIAL FILES, 1947-1957, also contains lecture notes and source materials for several courses that Fitch taught after his retirement, as well as for articles in journals, such as The Survey, The Reporter, National Council of Churches Information Service, and Christianity and Crisis. Subjects include arbitration, collective bargaining, industrial relations, and labor and the law. Files are arranged alphabetically by subject, preserving Fitch's original arrangement.
Both ALPHABETICAL FILES, 1907-1955, and REGULAR FILES, 1937-1959 (also arranged alphabetically) seem to be reference files, but were organized separately by Fitch. Files generally contain articles, clippings, press releases, and Fitch's notes, and several also include writings and correspondence. Subjects include Brookwood Labor College, Brookwood Labor Institute, labor law, railroads, the Social Service Employees Union (of which Fitch was a member), the Taft-Hartley Act, unemployment insurance, unions, and the Wagner Act.
WRITINGS AND SPEECHES, 1923-1959, include Fitch's published and unpublished book reviews, books, articles, manuscripts, and speeches, arranged in those categories.
