Background
The Labor Legacy Web Site was started in 1999 by
Dr. David L. Rosenberg, Archivist, UE/Labor Archives, and John P. Montoya,
University of Pittsburgh, Class of 2002, as a project within the University
Library System's Archives Service Center. The Labor Legacy Website
represents a unique effort to "map" the historical terrain of the labor
movement in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania for the use of both the
academic and general public. To
date, the project has been funded by contributions from diverse labor
organizations, foundations, individuals, and support has been given from the
University Library System.
Features of the
Labor Legacy Web Site
An innovative Databank
section contains a web-accessible storehouse of historical information on
the officers, organizers, and chartering dates of Pittsburgh/Western
Pennsylvania unions. Data on
existing minute books and union newspapers is also included. At present, information on more than 500 local and regional labor
organizations is included. For
example, lists of the Presidents of the Pittsburgh Musicians and Typographical
unions, lists of officers of the Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania
Bricklayers unions, charter dates of Western Pennsylvania Steelworkers and
Electrical Workers locals and certification dates of Service Employees union
chapters - to name only a few - have been entered.
Document
Sets, which have been scanned onto the website, provide researchers and
the general public online access to original documents from the Archives. Examples are an original 1927 report of the Bethlehem Steel Coal and
Iron Police from Washington County; original Coroner's Inquest Files for those
killed in the Battle of Homestead (1892); and a complete original photo album
of the 1914 Westinghouse Strike at Union Switch and Signal.
A Chronological section, "Labor Through
the Years," assists users in obtaining a sense of the unfolding
historical development by making use of scanned materials from the Archives
Service Center's current collections; while the Union Profiles
section showcases specific unions and organizations. Information on specific key labor figures or union meeting places and
celebratory gatherings is found in the People, Places, Commemorations
section.
Special Features highlights "The UE in Pennsylvania" as well as
"McKeesport and its Tube Works" - this involves extended documentation
of these topics.