AFL-CIO Community Service Activities records

Summary Information

Title: AFL-CIO Community Service Activities records
Dates: 1942-1967
Creator: AFL-CIO Community Service Activities
Extent: 6.5 linear feet (16 document boxes and two scrapbooks)
Language: English
Collection Number: SW0020
Abstract:

The records reflect organized labor's efforts to increase membership involvement in such community health, welfare, and recreation programs as blood banks, counselling and referral services, or strike assistance. The collection includes incomplete material from predecessor agencies: the AFL's Labor League for Human Rights and the CIO War Relief Committee, later renamed the National CIO Community Services Committee. Also included are correspondence, a reference manual, director's reports, conference summaries, subject files, and articles and speeches by Leo Perlis, the national director.

Repository: University of Minnesota Libraries. Social Welfare History Archives

Access and Use

Acquisition Information:

Gift of the Community Services Committee of the AFL-CIO Community Service Activities, received in 1967. In addition, several labor leaders donated their files to augment this collection.

The Community Services Committee of the AFL-CIO Community Services Activities voted on November 10, 1966, to deposit in the Social Welfare History Archives those "records, publications, and correspondence which are no longer necessary for the day to day operations." The materials arrived in six shipments between February and November, 1967, and were processed in 1973. Since many of the older files, particularly those preceding the merger of the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, had been destroyed, numerous labor officials were contacted in an effort to locate copies of the papers. As a result, the collection has been drawn together from several sources within the AFL-CIO Community Service Activities or its predecessors.

Access Restrictions:

Open for use in Social Welfare History Archives reading room.

Copyright:

Contact the archivist for copyright information.

Processing Information:

Gathered from multiple sources, the papers reflected no single or established filing system to suggest order for the collection. Consequently, though the integrity of the folders as they were received was maintained as much as possible, it was necessary to impose an external order within which to arrange them.

Arrangement

• Series 1. Predecessor Agencies
• Series 2. Corporate Papers and Records
• Series 3. Correspondence and Papers, General
• Series 4. Subject File
• Series 5. Local Activities
• Series 6. Relations with other Organizations
• Series 7. Miscellaneous Organizational Papers

Historical Note

Until World War II labor's concern in the field of health and welfare was fragmented among various committees dealing with subjects such as housing, social security, education, unemployment, and legislation. The war, with its insatiable demand for relief funds, provided the stimulus for organized labor to develop the organizational means for concentrating its health and welfare efforts more efficiently. In 1938 the AFL formed the Labor League for Human Rights as its relief arm to "help mobilize organized labor in its fight against tyranny and barbarism." AFL vice-president Matthew Woll was associated with the League from its inception and served as its highest official, first under the title of chairman and later as president. Just before Pearl Harbor the CIO, at the urging of its president, Phillip Murray, authorized the formation of a similar organ, the National Committee for American and Allied War Relief.

The two labor groups also sought to enhance their effectiveness by coordinating their efforts with those of other organizations. During the summer of 1942 they reached a working agreement with the Community Chests and Councils, Inc. The effects of the agreement were far-reaching: labor representatives became involved not only in fund-raising but also in policy decisions. The Labor League and the War Relief Committee were among the groups whose pressure in 1943 resulted in the establishment of the National War Rind, a body designed to improve the coordination of fund-raising efforts for war relief and domestic services.

Although overseas aid continued during the early postwar period (particularly through the Labor League's Free Trade Union Committee which sought to restore labor organizations abroad), labor's emphasis shifted toward involvement with social welfare agencies in domestic affairs as the war neared its end. Labor representation on boards of social agencies increased markedly. The CIO acknowledged this change in 1945 by renaming its War Relief Committee the Community Services Committee. Irving Abrahamson, head of the New Jersey CIO, continued as chairman and Leo Perlis, who had become national director of the War Relief Committee in 1944 remained in that capacity. The Community Services Committee established the policy that the welfare of union members would better be served by cooperation with existing agencies than by the creation of separate organizations. Consequently, one of its chief projects was the development of a union counseling program which trained union members to act as referral agents to existing community agencies. Strike relief programs developed along similar lines.

As early as 1945 the AFL's Labor League for Human Rights opened a bureau in New York City to offer information and referral services to union members concerned with social and health problems. The League served a function comparable to that of the CIO’s Community Services Committee at the national level although it did not match the extensiveness of the CIO's local programs. In 1953 the AFL executive council called for the establishment of local committees "to increase the effectiveness of union efforts in the area of community affairs." This was followed in 1954 by the formation of a national Community Relations Committee.

The wartime cooperation with the Community Chests and Councils, Inc. led to the establishment in January, 1947, of a labor participation department within the CCC. This created a new figure, the labor staff representative who, as a liaison, spoke for the interests of organized labor and promoted increased labor participation in fund drives. The concept was applied at both the national and local level to other organizations as well, notably the American Red Cross.

These cooperative efforts of the community service repre¬sentatives of the AFL and the CIO facilitated the unification that came with the merger of the parent organizations in December, 1955. AFL-CIO president George Meany appointed a thirteen-man Community Services Committee chaired by Joseph Beirne, president of the Communications Workers of America, to direct the affairs of the new department known as Community Service Activities (CSA). Meany also appointed Leo Perlis to serve as national director with responsibility for day-to-day operations.

With its increased manpower and organization, CSA was able to expand its fund-raising and counseling activities as well as its cooperation with other organizations. Additionally, it developed a variety of new projects focusing on areas as diverse as retirement problems, rehabilitation, assistance for Hungarian and Cuban refugees, and polio vaccinations. Labor's changing societal role in the 196O's is reflected in the increased emphasis on leisure, recreation, and earlier retirement.

Prior to 1955 the CIO used "Community Services Committee" in a generic sense covering all aspects of its health, welfare, and recreation program. Probably for that reason there was a tendency for several years after the merger of the AFL and CIO to let "Community Services Committee” refer to the overall program as well as to the committee which functioned as its board of directors. But for the most part "Community Service Activities" and "Department of Community Services" have been employed alternatively as the generic term. For purposes of clarity and consistency this description will refer to the AFL-CIO's overall program as "Community Service Activities" (CSA). "Community Services Committee" should be understood to apply to the committee, i.e. the smaller governing body (except when referring to the CIO organ).

Collection Scope and Content Note

Organization of the AFL-CIO Community Service Activities Community Service Activities was governed by the Community Services Committee. Composed of officers of international unions and appointed by the AFL-CIO president, the committee functions as a board of directors and is the final determinant of policy. The national staff of the department carries responsibility for the execution of the programs as well as for developing new proposals for the committee's consideration. A National Advisory Committee, composed of professional leaders in the area of social work and medical care, met several times a year in a consultative capacity until it was disbanded in 1966 in favor of specialized advisory committees organized on an ad hoc basis.

CSA jurisdiction overlaps somewhat with the AFL-CIO's Department of Social Security. In theory responsibility in the health and welfare field is divided so the Community Services concerned itself with the community and voluntary agencies while the Social Security concentrated on public, tax-supported agencies. But in fact the distinction is far from absolute. For example, in 1961 Leo Perlis expended considerable effort in responding to the controversy over Newburgh, New York's public assistance program.

Related Material

Unpublished inventory available. Please contact Archives for more information.

Subject Terms

Index Terms

• This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
• Leo Perlis
• AFL-CIO Community Service Activities
• Community Services Committee

Local Subject Terms

• Alcoholism
• Labor unions
• Public Assistance
• Public health
• Refugee Relief

Detailed Description of the Records

Location		Title
		Series 1. Predecessor agencies, 1942-1956  Note Series 1 includes incomplete papers from the AFL's Labor League for Human Rights and the CIO War Relief Committee, later renamed the National CIO Community Services Committee. Documents related to the merger of the two organizations are included, particularly in folder 4. It should be noted that additional material pertaining to the pre-merger committees is scattered throughout the collection. Such items were left in the folder where they were found when topically related to its contents. folder dates predating 1956 suggest the presence of such material.
Box 1		AFL, Labor League for Human Rights 1945-1946 Box 1, Folder 1 Note Correspondence and papers of the AFL’s predecessor to the Community Services Committee. Prominent topics include fund-raising, Red Cross, and CARE.
		CIO War Relief Committee, Union Counselling 1944-1945 Box 1, Folder 2 Note The union counselling courses were designed to train union members to act as referral agents to existing community service agencies. Includes training course manual and minutes of courses in Philadelphia and Chicago.
		CIO Community Services Committee, Program Planning Division 1945-1945 Box 1, Folder 3 Note Documents related to the Committee’s organization and activities; strike assistance is a prominent subject.
		CIO Historical Materials 1942-1956 Box 1, Folder 4 Note Miscellaneous papers of the CIO Community Services Committee and the Labor Participa­tion Department of the Community Chests and Councils of America. Some material relating to merger of AFL and CIO and subsequent Community Services Committee adjustments.
		Series 2. Corporate records, 1954-1965  Note The basic organizational documents and records of policy-making organs comprise Series 2. The manual (folders 5-6) compiled to serve as a reference tool for local community services representatives offers a convenient index for CSA activities for the period 1955-1965. In many cases documents referred to in correspondence throughout the collection may be located here. Similarly, virtually every program undertaken by CSA was first approved by the Community Services Committee (folders 7-10). The director's report, included with each committee meeting, provides another useful survey of activities. The range of subjects considered by the Community Services Committee makes it impractical to list them all in either the partial subject inventory or folder descriptions; the researcher may assume that most subjects occurring elsewhere in the collection are also discussed here. To a somewhat lesser extent, the same assumption may be made about the papers of the National Advisory Council (folders 11-16). Here the CSA was seeking to utilize the expertiseof social work and health care professionals. While the range of subjects considered is not as extensive, the discussion is more penetrating. Also included in the second section are the summaries of the annual CSA conferences (folders 17-20). These are only indirectly related to policy-making; they reflect the effort to transmit policy to staff representatives at the state and local level. Items within the categories described above are all arranged chronologically.
Box 1		Community Services Committee Manual 1955-1965  Box 1, Folder 5 to 6 Note Contains AFL-CIO constitutional provisions governing the Community Services Committee and a compilation of documents generated by various organs and individuals within the AFL-CIO over the period 1955-1965.
		Community Services Committee 1955-1966 Box 1, Folder 7 Note Minutes and papers. The committee, composed of presidents and secretary-treasurers of international unions, is the final determinant of policies and programs. Included in the folder are agendas, minutes, director’s reports of recent activities, and various reports and presentations. The materials are grouped by meetings.
Box 2		Community Services Committee 1955-1966 Box 2, Folder 8 to 10 Note Continued from previous folder
		National Advisory Council 1954-1956 Box 2, Folder 11 Note Minutes, papers, and correspondence. The council, composed of professional leaders in the area of social work and medical care, existed to provide expert advice and to judge the soundness of proposed programs. Most of the correspondence, primarily routine notification of upcoming meetings, is between council members and Julius Rothman or Leo Perlis in the CSA office. Michael Davis, M.D., is a prominent correspondent throughout folders 11-16. Blood-banking and health education are prominent topics in folder 11,
		National Advisory Council 1957-1958 Box 2, Folder 12 Note Minutes, papers, and correspondence contain discussions of blood-banking, council membership appointments, racial tension and the Little Rock, Arkansas, Community Chest, and a tribute to Dean Kenneth Johnson.
		National Advisory Council 1958-1959 Box 2, Folder 13 Note Minutes, papers, and correspondence. Rehabilitation and public assistance are prominent topics.
Box 3		National Advisory Council 1959-1960 Box 3, Folder 14 Note Minutes, papers, and correspondence. Public assistance, voluntary social agencies, and leisure and recreation are prominent topics.
		National Advisory Council 1960-1961 Box 3, Folder 15 Note Minutes, papers, and correspondence. Leisure and recreation and labor representation on agency boards are prominent topics in addition to material re future agenda items.
		National Advisory Council 1961-1965 Box 3, Folder 16 Note Minutes, papers, and correspondence discuss leisure and recreation and consumer counseling. Very few items after 1963.
		Community Service Activities Annual Conferences, 1956-1965 Box 3, Folder 17 to 20 Note Program leaflets and summaries of proceedings.
		Series 3. Correspondence, general, 1956-1967  Note This small series contains material similar to the Subject Files (Series 4) but on topics for which there were apparently too few items to warrant the creation of individually defined folders. Items are arranged chronologically.
Box 4		Correspondence and Papers, General 1956-1967 Box 4, Folder 21 to 23 Note Prominent subjects include public assistance, fund-raising, labor and the performing arts, 1965 conference of local Community Services Committee chairmen, VISTA, Boy Scouts, Vietnam, California farm workers’ strike, leadership development course, urban unrest, and United Auto Workers strike of Ford Motor Company. Folder contains minimal personal correspondence.
		Series 4. Subject files, 1951-1967  Note Series 4, the largest segment of the collection, contains correspondence and papers chronicling the development and implementation of CSA's major projects. It appears to have served the dual function of infomation/resource file and correspondence file. Projects such as consumer counselling, cooperation in fund raising, and campaigning to increase the distriubtion of polio vaccine appear here. The emphasis is on national programs, although there is considerable reference to loca applications. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject headings, and chronologically thereunder.
Box 4		Asian Flu 1957, 196l Box 4, Folder 24 Note Correspondence and papers are primarily concerned with shortage and maldistribution of influenza vaccine. Folder contains numerous newspaper clippings and US Public Health Service releases.
		Blood-Banking 1951-1962 Box 4, Folder 25 to 26 Note Correspondence and papers describe efforts to promote labor participation in sound blood-banking programs. Much of the material is devoted to formulation of AFL-CIO policy statement on blood-banking and a subsequent agreement between CSA and Red Cross. Papers reveal a particular concern to be the avoidance of blood segregation. Later material is focused on development of blood-banking training institutes for labor representatives. The Red Cross’ labor liaison, Kenneth Kramer, is the prominent correspondent.
		Blood Program, Red Cross Study 1963 Box 4, Folder 27 Note Workbook.
		Blood Program, United Steelworkers of America 1958 Box 4, Folder 28 Note Manual.
Box 5		Cancer 1955-1964 Box 5, Folder 29 Note Correspondence and papers are primarily concerned with a dispute over Krebiozen, a cancer treatment developed by Dr. Andrew Ivy. Folder also contains material on lung cancer and smoking with frequent reference to American Cancer Society.
		Citizen Apprenticeship Program (CAP) 1957-1961 Box 5, Folder 30 Note Correspondence re CAP, a program designed to acquaint selected high school students with community health, welfare, and recreation services. It was tested in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and later expanded to other areas. Much of the folder’s correspondence involves John Carney, CSA staff representative directly responsible for development of the program. Also included is correspondence with James B. Conant re his study of the American high school.
		Citizen Apprenticeship Program 1957-1963 Box 5, Folder 31 to 33 Note Program materials consisting primarily of handbooks, manuals, and reports.
		Citizen Apprenticeship Program 1958, 1961 Box 5, Folder 34 Note Newspaper clippings from Sharon, Pennsylvania, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Camden, New Jersey.
		Civil Defense 1955-1961 Box 5, Folder 35 Note Correspondence and papers showing concern over inadequate civil defense planning and particularly over insufficient labor input. Considerable correspondence with local labor leaders in Des Moines re proposed Iowa civil defense legislation. W. P. Walsh, director of the Office of Labor Participation, Federal Civil Defense Administration, is a prominent correspondent.
		Community Health Education 1957-1958, 1961 Box 5, Folder 36 Note Correspondence and papers. Primarily 1953 correspondence with CSA representatives in Dayton, Ohio, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, about planned community health education institutes to be conducted in cooperation with local medical societies. Folder also includes material on hospitals.
		Community Leadership 1960-1961 Box 5, Folder 37 Note Correspondence re efforts to train labor personnel for community leadership roles.
		Consumer Counseling 1957-1966 Box 5, Folder 38 to 39 Note Correspondence and papers devoted to development of consumer information courses at the local level.
Box 6		Consumer Counseling 1957-1966 Box 6, Folder 40 Note Continued from previous folder
		Counseling, Pre-Retirement 1958-1959 Box 6, Folder 41 Note Correspondence and papers. Scope of material is somewhat broader than folder title would indicate, including items on many aspects of retirement and possible methods of dealing with them. Special focus on pilot projects conducted in Lansing, Michigan.
		Counseling, Pre-Retirement, Baltimore 1959-1960  Box 6, Folder 42 Note Correspondence and papers re development of an eight-session counseling course for workers aged 60-64 in Baltimore area. This and the Philadelphia course (see folder 43) were held concurrently as a pilot project. Most of the correspondence is between John Carney and the local coordinators.
		Counseling, Pre-Retirement, Philadelphia 1959-1960 Box 6, Folder 43 Note Correspondence and papers re course conducted concurrently with that in Baltimore (see folder 42).
		Counseling, Union 1960-1967 Box 6, Folder 44 Note Papers. Union counseling courses were designed to train union members to serve as referral agents to existing community service agencies.
		Cuban Refugees 1960-1962 Box 6, Folder 45 to 47 Note Correspondence and papers. Various social welfare and relief agencies combined to deal with the influx of Cuban refugees in 1961. CSA assigned Robert Flaherty to the Refugee Emergency Center in Miami. Much of the material consists of his daily reports submitted to Leo Perlis in the CSA office. AFL-CIO counseled those Cubans with employment problems.
Box 7		Cuban Refugees 1960-1962 Box 7, Folder 48 to 49 Note Continued from previous folder
		Cuban Refugee Airlift 1965 Box 7, Folder 50 Note Folder includes newspaper clippings from Miami papers and a CSA letter urging support of airlift efforts.
		Excise Tax 1964-1965 Box 7, Folder 51 Note Correspondence and papers re surreys in Milwaukee and Miami of effects and implementation of 1965 excise tax cut, i.e., whether the savings were passed on to consumers.
		Fluoridation 1958-1965 Box 7, Folder 52 Note Correspondence and papers describing CSA efforts, primarily educational, in support of fluoridation programs.
		Food Stamp Programs 1960-1966 Box 7, Folder 53 Note Folder comprised primarily of newspaper clippings, copies of various state require­ments, and US Department of Agriculture literature re the 1961 pilot program. Also includes a significant amount of correspondence with Homer Harper, Birmingham, Alabama, CSA representative, regarding that city’s decision to terminate surplus foods program in response to Negro boycott of downtown merchants.
		Fund-Raising 1956-1961 Box 7, Folder 54 Note Correspondence and papers, mostly from or about the United Community Funds and Councils of America.
		Fund-Raising in the Building Trades 1955-1959 Box 7, Folder 55 Note Correspondence and papers. CSA attempted to deal with problems in soliciting United Rind contributions caused by the special nature of the Building Trades Union, e.g.,short periods of employment by many different contractors and diverse nature of union membership.
Box 8		Fund-Raising in the Building Trades 1955-1959 Box 8, Folder 56 Note Continued from previous folder
		Fund-Raising within the Federal Establishment, 1956-1958 Box 8, Folder 57 to 58 Note Correspondence and papers. On June 27, 1956, President Eisenhower approved a new policy designed to insure "true voluntary giving" in fund-raising solicitations of federal employees, both military and civilian. The folder contains reactions from fund-raisers. Much of the material is in the form of photoduplicated copies of United Community Fund and Councils of America correspondence.
		Hospital Boards, Labor Representation On 1957-1960, 1963 Box 8, Folder 59 Note Correspondence and papers. Stimulated by concern both for the quality of medical care available to labor and for the working conditions of nonprofessional hospital employees, CSA conducted an effort to in­crease the participation of labor people on hospital boards and committees. Folder includes a 1958 survey to determine the extent of that participation. Also included in a 1963 AFL-CIO policy statement on hospitals.
		(American) Indian Project 1959-1962 Box 8, Folder 60 Note Correspondence and papers re CSA proposal to cooperate with the US Bureau of Indian Affairs to help relocate Indians wishing to leave reservations, particularly by over­coming the problem of typically menial employment opportunities.
		Mental Health Conference 1963-1964 Box 8, Folder 61 to 62 Note Correspondence and papers. CSA sponsored a two-day conference in May 1964, as a first step toward developing a comprehensive policy on labor’s role in mental health. Conference topics included special nature of mental health problems in industry, methods of making mental health services available to low-income persons, development of mental health services through collective bar­gaining, and labor participation in community mental health programs. Folder contains correspondence on selection and invitation of participants as well as copies of papers presented to the conference.
Box 9		Mental Health Conference 1963-1964 Box 9, Folder 63 to 65 Note Continued from previous folder
		Murray Award/Murray-Green Award 1948-1967  Box 9, Folder 66 Note Correspondence and papers. The Philip Murray Award was given annually by the CIO Community Services Committee in recog­nition of individual or organizational achievement in the fields of health and welfare. After the formation of the AFL-CIO in December, 1955, the name was changed to the Philip Murray-William Green Award. Folder consists primarily of programs from the awards dinners.
		National Health Fund 1945-1966 Box 9, Folder 67 to 70 Note Correspondence and papers. A national health fund, an idea first conceived by Leo Perlis in 1943, would develop a federation of voluntary health agencies which would raise, budget, and allocate funds for basic medical research and service, thus reducing the duplicative effort of multiple campaigns and placing allocation on the basis of relative need. The folder contains material related to CSA’s efforts to promote the concept, particularly in the 1957-1959 period. Includes the responses of executives of the major health agencies to the proposal. Also contains numerous United Community funds and Councils of America reports and documents.
Box 10		National Health Fund 1945-1966 Box 10, Folder 71 to 72 Note Continued from previous folder
Box flat 17		National Health Fund 1960 Box flat 17, Folder 1 Note Folder contains xerox copies of newspaper articles about Phoenix, Arizona, United Fund’s decision to drop from membership five area health agencies until they unified to increase their efficiency.
Box 10		National Health Insurance 1958-1960 Box 10, Folder 73 Note Correspondence and papers. CSA actively supported the Forand Bill which proposed to utilize the Social Security structure to provide insurance against the costs of surgical services as well as hospital and nursing hone care to those eligible for old-age, survivors, and disability benefits. Folder also contains material on an alternative voluntary old-age health insurance plan supported by the Eisenhower administration. Nelson Cruikshank, director of the AFL-CIO Department of Social Security, is a prominent correspondent.
		Polio Vaccinations 1956-1961 Box 10, Folder 74 to 77 Note Correspondence and papers. CSA campaigned to increase the distribution of Salk vaccine, advocating mass inoculation programs at low cost to the consumer. Local shortages of the vaccine led CSA to call for a federal allocation system. The 1960-1961 material also deals with the Sabin oral vaccine. Most of the correspondence is between the CSA national office and local representatives; a considerable portion deals with efforts to achieve cooperation with local medical societies.
Box 11		Public Assistance, Look Article 1961-1962 Box 11, Folder 78 Note Correspondence and papers. The November 7, 1961, issue of Look carried an article by Fletcher Knebel, "Has Welfare Become a Scandal?" Folder contains correspondence by Leo Perlis seeking response of welfare leaders and attempting to verify incidents alleged by the Knebel article.
		Public Assistance, Newburgh, New York 1961-1963  Box 11, Folder 79 Note Correspondence and papers generated in response to Newburgh city manager Joseph Mitchell’s plan to reduce the city’s welfare relief costs: copies of statements by various individuals and organizations in the area of social work, correspondence re development of a national citizens’ committee on public welfare to develop a positive response, and minutes of the resulting committee’s meetings.
		Puerto Rican Conference 1959-1960 Box 11, Folder 80 to 81 Note Correspondence and papers. CSA sponsored an advisory conference to help labor develop a coordinated approach to the health and welfare problems of the Puerto Rican community in cooperation with other national agencies and to acquaint them with union channels available for assis­tance. Most of the correspondence is with invited participants. Folder includes a copy of the published report of the conference proceedings.
		Rehabilitation 1957-1961 Box 11, Folder 82 Note Correspondence primarily in regard to a series of conferences and institutes on physical and vocational rehabilitation.
		Rehabilitation Conference 1963 Box 11, Folder 83 Note Proceedings of the December, 1963, CSA-sponsored National Labor Conference on Rehabilitation.
Box 12		Retirement 1953-1965 Box 12, Folder 84 Note Correspondence and papers re the 1953 CIO Community Services Committee attempt to survey existing union programs to prepare workers for retirement, development of pre-retirement counseling course, participation in 1959 Chicago Mayor’s Conference on Aging, and other miscellaneous retirement-related problems.
		Scholarships 1956-1958 Box 12, Folder 85 to 86 Note Correspondence and papers. Leo Perlis proposed to deal with the shortage of social workers by allocating one percent of federated fund-raising monies for undergraduate and graduate social work scholarships. Most correspondence is with social work educators and executives of fund-raising organizations. Prominent correspondents include Donald Stone, president of Springfield College, and Robert Bondy, director the National Social Welfare Assembly.
		Senior Citizens Centers, AEL-CIO Conference On, 1963 Box 12, Folder 87 Note Proceedings and discussion guide from the September, 1963, conference in Detroit.
		Strike Assistance 1966 Box 12, Folder 88 Note Correspondence and papers. Folder contains material disseminated to CSA staff to develop assistance programs in the event of a strike against General Electric. Includes a copy of CSA’s policy paper on strike assistance.
		Unemployment 1957-1959 Box 12, Folder 89 Note Correspondence and papers re effort to stimulate assistance for persons affected by rising unemployment during the 1958 recession. Much of the material is in the form of reports from local areas describing conditions and attempts to deal with them.
		Unemployment 1961 Box 12, Folder 90 Note Correspondence and papers related to a pre­sentation made by CSA staff representative Julius Rothman to a conference on unemployment in March, 1961, sponsored by the New Haven Central Labor Council.
		Unemployment Compensation Benefits Survey 1961 Box 12, Folder 91 to 92 Note Correspondence and papers. Folder contains the returns from a survey of cities with CSA representatives concerning services available to meet the immediate needs of the unemployed.
Box 13		Unemployment Compensation Benefits Survey 1961 Box 13, Folder 93 Note Continued from previous folder
		University Correspondence 1957-1963 Box 13, Folder 94 Note Correspondence with individuals (student or faculty) associated with institutions of higher education. In most cases the individual is seeking information on a labor-oriented topic or extending an invitation to participate in a conference or seminar. Consumer counseling is frequently discussed.
		USO Tour 1959-1960 Box 13, Folder 95 Note Correspondence and papers. AFL-CIO sponsored a USO entertainment troupe which toured US military installations in the Mediterranean area in September, 1960. Much of the correspondence concerns promotional and public relations aspects of the project. Skip Hobson, CSA representative on the USO staff, is the principal correspondent.
		War on Poverty 1963-1964 Box 13, Folder 96 Note Correspondence and papers consisting primarily of materials on various federal assistance programs distributed to CSA staff members. Folder also contains items supporting creation of a national service corps.
		Series 5. Local activities, 1956-1967  Note Series 5 supplements the Subject Files with a block of material focused more specifically on local activities. The folders are arranged hierarchically from nationaal to local materials. They begin with a series of "action guides" (folder 97) and manuals from regional training institutes (folders 98-99); both were designed to instruct local CSA representatives. These are followed by a collection of brief local activities reports (folders 100-103) that were sent to the national offices. More extensive materials on several local programs are arrranged alphabetically by city of state at the end of the section (folders 104-110).
Box 13		"Action Guides" 1956-1966 Box 13, Folder 97 Note Folder contains a series of how-to-do-it manuals dealing with the following subjects: organizing state and city community service committees, conducting a community services institute, representation on united fund and agency boards, retirement, union counseling, unemployment, and newsletters. Also includes a 1962 survey of CSA staff representatives’salaries
		Regional Training Institute Manuals 1957-1963  Box 13, Folder 98 to 99 Note Manuals from institutes sponsored for CSA staff members by the national office in cooperation with a university labor education or industrial relations department. Most emphasize communication and learning theory as it applies to the various counseling programs. A few focus more on community leadership or on substantive issues. Folders include manuals from institutes held in Chicago, New Orleans, San Diego, Ithaca, New York, Columbus, Ohio, University Park, Pennsylvania, and Lansing, Michigan.
Box 14		Local Activities Reports 1958-1967 Box 14, Folder 100 to 101 Note Correspondence and papers, most of which are mimeographed items such as minutes of meet­ings, newsletters, promotional materials for special activities, and programs from awards dinners which were forwarded to the national office. Santa Clara, California, and Minneapolis are prominently represented but coverage of activities in other cities is less complete.
		Local Activities Survey 1963 Box 14, Folder 102 to 103 Note Correspondence and papers. The reports contained in the folders were generated by a request by the CSA public relations department for information on local projects.
		Atlanta Union Counselor Training Course 1964-1966 Box 14, Folder 104 Note The folder contains manuals prepared for course participants. Includes presentations on united appeal agencies, public assistance, youth guidance, counseling services, Red Cross services, health and medical services, workmen’s compensation, unemployment compensation, community planning, urban renewal and public housing, mental health services, Medicare and social security, and leisure time activities.
		Iowa Rehabilitation Conferences 1964-1965 Box 14, Folder 105 Note Programs from a series of conferences on Vocational rehabilitation sponsored jointly by the Iowa AFL-CIO, Iowa Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and Iowa Industrial Commission. Includes a summary of recommendations made by conference participants.
		Indianapolis Consumer Counseling Course 1965 Box 14, Folder 106 Note Folder contains the manual prepared for course participants which covers advertising, food purchasing, insurance, drugs, frauds, borrowing, and legal assistance.
Box 15		Indianapolis Union Counselor’s Handbook 1958 Box 15, Folder 107 Note The handbook was produced to serve as the reference tool for graduates of the union counselor training course. It provides the counselor with information on public assistance, voluntary social agencies, unemployment benefits, workmen’s compensation, and social security.
		Michigan Institute on Rehabilitation and Labor Health Services 1962 Box 15, Folder 108 Note Transcripts of speeches given at a conference cosponsored by the Michigan AFL-CIO and Michigan Rehabilitation Association. Included is a panel on rehabilitation in workmen’s compensation.
		Syracuse Union Counseling Program 1964-1965 Box 15, Folder 109 Note Program schedules with topics to be covered.
		San Diego Community Service Conference 1963 Box 15, Folder 110 Note The transcript of proceedings includes workshops on unemployment, the role of local health and welfare agencies, youth and youth problems, automation and the shorter work week, and community services within the local union as well as presentations on leadership and community organization.
		Series 6: Relations with other organizations, 1956-1962  Note Series 6 contains correspondence and papers that desccribe cooperative efforts with other organizations; these are arranged alphabetically by organization. The organizations included do not comprise a complete list with which CSA's interaction was most extensive, e.g., the American Red Cross and United Community Funds and Councils of America are not represented here. Instead, they apear under specific projects in the Subject Files.
Box 15		American National Council for Health Education of the Public 1960-1962 Box 15, Folder 111 Note Correspondence and papers re preparation for the 1962 International Conference on Health and Health Education to be held in Philadelphia. Leo Perlis was a member of the labor steering committee.
		Boys Clubs of America 1956-1959 Box 15, Folder 112 Note Correspondence re local union projects in support of Boys Clubs. Included is a list of such projects for 1956. Principal correspondents are Boys Clubs executives John Gleason and Kenneth Weaver. (In 1959 the Boys Clubs presented their Golden Award for outstanding support and cooperation to the AFL-CIO.)
		Committee to Protect Our Children’s Teeth, Inc., 1957-1959 Box 15, Folder 113 Note Correspondence. This national citizens’ committee sought increased labor support for water fluoridation, particularly in New York City. Among the correspondents is Dr. Benjamin Spock, chairman of the committee.
		National Health Council 1957-1961 Box 15, Folder 114 Note Correspondence concerns CSA staff representative Julius Rothman’s decision not to accept invitations to serve on the council and later on one of its committees.
		National Health and Welfare Retirement Associa­tion 1960-1961 Box 15, Folder 115 Note Correspondence concerns meetings of the association’s board of trustees, of which Leo Perlis was a member.
		National Travelers Aid Association 1964 Box 15, Folder 116 Note Photographs of two mobile units presented by AFL-CIO.
		Religious Agency Representatives 1958-1959 Box 15, Folder 117 Note Minutes of two meetings called to acquaint representatives with CSA programs and to improve channels of communication. Among the organizations represented are Salva­tion Army, Goodwill Industries, National Council of Churches, National Jewish Welfare Board, Jewish Labor Committee, National Catholic Welfare Conference, and various Protestant denominations.
		US President’s Council on Youth fitness 1957-1962  Box 15, Folder 118 Note Correspondence. Folder includes items re conference on youth fitness which met in West Point, New York, in September, 1957.
		US President’s Committee on fund-Raising within the Federal Service 1959-1960 Box 15, Folder 119 Note Correspondence and papers re solicitations of federal employees and particularly the allowance of payroll deductions.
		US President’s Committee for Hungarian Refugee Relief 1956-1957 Box 15, Folder 120 Note Correspondence and papers. At Kilmer Reception Center (New Jersey) ten sponsoring agencies cooperated to assist the integration of Hungarian refugees into American society. CSA was represented by Robert Flaherty who contacted local community service staff members to provide vocational counseling for refugees preparing to relocate. Folder contains information in the form of correspondence, reports, and news releases.
		White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1958-1962 Box 15, Folder 121 Note Correspondence and papers re CSA participation, particularly in 1960 golden anniversary conference. The Aid to Families with Dependent Children program is a prominent topic.
		Series 7. Miscellaneous organizational records, 1955-1967  Note Miscellaneous items, arranged alphabetically by category, include articles and speeches by Leo Perlis, certificates for countellin courses, a newsletter idea file, publicity releases, and scrapbooks.
Box 15		Leo Perlis’ Speeches and Articles 1955-1967  Box 15, Folder 122 Note Folder contents deal with the following subjects: community service activities, medical care, hospitals, rehabilitation, mental health, Red Cross, workers’ emotions, alcoholism, fund-raising, national health fund, public assistance, Newburgh (see folder 79), Look welfare article, leisure time, labor-management relations, consumer education, children and youth, fee-charging, national service corps, and retirement.
Box 16		Leo Perlis’ Speeches and Articles 1955-1967  Box 16, Folder 123 Note Continued from previous folder
		Certificates n.d Box 16, Folder 124 Note Folder contains certificates awarded to persons completing courses in board membership and leadership training, consumer counseling, and union counseling. Also contains certificate for CSA "award of honor."
		Newsletter 1958-1960 Box 16, Folder 125 to 126 Note Correspondence and papers apparently collected as an idea file for the staff newsletter, "Just Among Ourselves." Subjects frequently appearing include labor-Red Cross cooperation in disaster programs, alcoholism, mental health, fund-raising, and responses to CSA conferences. The 1960 correspondence is domi­nated by a request for reactions to the newsletter and its value.
		Public Relations, Morgan Radio Program 1963 Box 16, Folder 127 Note AFL-CIO sponsored the Edward P. Morgan radio show. Folder contains scripts of commercials describing various CSA projects, both national and local.
		Public Relations, Press Releases 1963 Box 16, Folder 128 Note Folder contains drafts, carbons, and mimeographed copies of news releases from the CSA public relations department. Among the subjects covered are conferences on leisure time, Juvenile delinquency, senior citizens, and rehabilitation; speeches on blood-banking, national health fund, and workmen’s compensation; and CSA pamphlets re Boy Scouts and labor-Red Cross cooperation. Among the activities of local community service programs reported are the Birmingham, Alabama,, food stamp program; Newark study of labor representation on agency boards; Detroit contributions for hospital equipment; New Haven assistance for Algerian refugees; location of Jobs for Cuban refugees; and various local awards to union members.
Box flat 17		Scrapbook 1951 Box flat 17, Folder 1 Note The scrapbook was assembled to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the CIO Community Services Committee. It includes congratulatory letters and telegrams and items related to the 1951 Murray Award dinner.
		Scrapbook 1962-1964 Box flat 17, Folder 1 Note Scrapbook contains primarily clippings from labor newspapers.