This document provides an overview of resources for researching American labor history. It outlines chronologies, encyclopedias, handbooks, bibliographies, finding tools like library catalogs and indexes, primary sources such as newspapers and legislation, and style guides. Key resources mentioned include the Samuel Gompers Papers, The Black Worker documentary history, labor law compilations, newspapers on Factiva and LexisNexis, and the Making of America digital library of 19th century texts. The document serves as a starting point for researchers to explore the various materials available.

1. American Labor History
Finding Books: Finding
Encyclopedias and
Chronology Bibliographies Library Articles:
Handbooks
Catalogs Indexes
Source Style
Newspapers Legislation Gateways
Collections Manuals
RUL Home Page RUL Indexes Ask a Librarian
Chronology
An Eclectic List of Events in U.S. Labor History
Chronology, with brief descriptions, of events from 1806 to 1989. Links to
more extensive sites when available. Compiled by Allen Lutins.
Time Line 1850-1924
Chronology of the trade union movement. From the Samuel Gompers
Papers at the University of Maryland.
Encyclopedias and Handbooks
First Facts of American Labor: A Comprehensive Collection of
Labor Firsts in the United States. Edited by Philip Foner. New York,
Holmes & Meier, 1984.
Alphabetical arrangement plus index.
Dana Call Number: Ref. HD8066 .F55 1984
American Labor Sourcebook. Bernard and Susan Rifkin.
New York, McGraw-Hill, 1979.
Includes historical information on labor unions, legislation, and

2. court decisions.
Dana Call Number: Ref. HD8072.R53
American Federation of Labor: History, Encyclopedia,
Reference Books. Washington, D.C., AFL, 1919-60.
Historical essay, photographs, AFL organizers and unions, etc.
Dana Call Number: Ref. HD6508 .A512A
Labor Conflict in the United States: An Encyclopedia.
Edited by Ronald L. Filippelli. New York, Garland, 1990.
Signed entries, with brief bibliographies, on major labor disputes
involving the use of force.
Dana Call Number: Ref. HD5324.L32 1990
Bibliographies
Labor History Bibliography
Reprint of Timothy G. Borden's annotated list (OAH Magazine of History
11 (Winter 1997): 27-30)of "some of the leading works of the literature of
American working-class studies."
Working-Class Bibliography
Topical bibliographies on subjects such as classism, education issues and
working class students, class as culture, and Labor History.
Finding Books: Library Catalogs
IRIS The online catalog for the Rutgers University Libraries.
Subject headings that you can use to search IRIS include:
Labor United States History
Labor Laws and Legislation United States History
Labor Movement United States History
Labor Unions United States History
Working Class United States History

3. Newark Law Newark Law library materials are not listed in IRIS.
Use the above subject headings to find relevant publications.
Indexes
Humanities Index 1984-
Index to over 350 core English-language periodicals in the humanities,
including history, philosophy, religion, and related subjects. Restricted Access.
America: History and Life 1964-
The most comprehensive index to American (U.S. and Canada) history.
Indexes over 2000 journals worldwide, as well as book reviews and
dissertations. Restricted Access.
EconLit 1969-
Comprehensive bibliographic index for economic literature. Indexes
journal, books, dissertations, working papers, and volumes of articles.
Restricted Access.
Public Affairs Information Service 1972-
Index to books, reports, government documents, and journals dealing with
political, social, and public policy issues. Restricted Access.
SocioFile 1974-
Index to approximately 1900 journals in sociology and related disciplines.
Restricted Access.
Newspapers
For links to many newspaper sites with online searchable archives,
as well as to physical collections of newspapers see the
Newspapers Research Guide.
Factiva Restricted Access.
A vast archive which includes the full-text of 8,000 leading newspapers,
magazines, trade journals, newsletters, and television and radio transcripts.
Ten to twenty year+ backfile for many titles. Examples of newspapers
covered include:
The Boston Globe beginning 1 January 1987.
The Chicago Tribune beginning 1 January 1985
The Detroit Free Press beginning 1 January 1994
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (Va.) beginning 1 January 1989
The Washington Post beginning 1 January 1984
LexisNexis Academic "News" section indexes and provides access to a
large collection of U.S. and international newspapers, newsletters, wire
service reports, transcripts of television and radio news broadcasts, and
student newspapers. Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times

4. from June 1, 1980 to the present and the Washington Post back to 1977.
Restricted Access.
[Historical] New York Times Allows you to search and display
the full image of articles published in the New York Times back to
1851. The two+ most recent years are not included; use LexisNexis
Academic to find more recent articles. Restricted Access.
Ethnic NewsWatch A full-text collection of over 200 newspapers,
magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press.
Complete articles dating back to 1960, in English and Spanish.
Restricted Access.
Laws and Legislation
"Federal Labor Laws"
Article from the Congressional Digest (June-July 1993) briefly describing
the major federal labor laws from the Clayton Act (1914) to the Landrum-
Griffin Act (1959).
United State Code: Title 29 - Labor
Search or browse.
Internet Law Library: Employment, Labor, and Pension Law
Links to federal, state, and international compilations of labor laws and
related materials.
THOMAS - Legislative Information on the Internet
Browse or search legislation from the 93d (1973) Congress to the present.
A slightly dated but still valuable guide to Legislative Research with
Thomas has been prepared by Larry Schankmann at Mansfield University.
Source Collections
American Labor Unions' Constitutions and Proceedings: A Guide
to the Microform Edition, 1836-1978 / Compiled by Bernard G. Naas.
Sanford, N.C., Microfilming Corporation of America, 1980.
Index to the 431 reel microfilm set held by Alexander Library (Alex
Microforms No. 2243). This compilation includes constitutions,
proceedings of meetings, and officers' reports of both active and inactive
unions.
Dana Call Number: Ref. Z7164.L1N22
The Samuel Gompers Papers: A Documentary History of the
American Working Class

5. The web site includes photographs, copies of documents, quotations, an
excellent bibliography, a time line, and an online index to the published
volumes of the Samuel Gompers Papers.
Cornell University's Kheel Center for Labor Management
Documentation and Archives
In addition to their famous online collection of documents relating at the
1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, this site also has annotated guides
to primary resources on Agricultural labor, Women and Work, Radicals
and Reactionaries, African-American Labor, etc.
The Black Worker: A Documentary History from
Colonial Times to the Present / Edited by Philip S. Foner and
Ronald L. Lewis. Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1978-
Currently eight volumes of primary documents.
Dana Call Number: E185.B59
The Making of America
Digital project developed by the University of Michigan and Cornell
University. The Michigan site has a searchable library of primary
sources--approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles published
in the 19th century--in American social history from the antebellum
through reconstruction. While Cornell's site only provides access to the
text of some 270 books, they have digitilized major runs of twenty-two
19th century journals and allows you to search or browse over 100,000
journal articles.
United States Labor and Industrial History Audio Archive
Listen to conference presentations, hearings, and speeches from William
Jennings Bryan (1896) to Betty Friedan. From the Department of History
at SUNY-Albany.
Illinois Labor History Society
Includes interactive maps of Illinois and Chicago labor history sites/events
with links to articles and other resources relating to those events.
Gateways
American Labor History: An Online Study Guide
Links to general and research sites, as well as an online american labor
history text with links.
Labour and Business History: Resources
Links to labor history sites. International scope; part of the World Wide
Web Virtual Library.
Style Manuals

6. For print and other materials listed in the RedLightGreen
database, you can use that utility to format citations in APA, MLA,
Chicago Style Manual, or Turabian format for you.
A Brief Citation Guide for Internet Sources in History and
the Humanities
Written by Melvin E. Page for H-NET, Humanities and Social
Sciences Online and based in principle on Kate Turabian's Manual
for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (5th edition,
1987).
Citing Electronic Information in History Papers
Maurice Crouse, University of Memphis.
Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications
From the Regional Depository Library at the University of Memphis.
Corrections?
Natalie Borisovets (natalieb@andromeda.rutgers.edu)
February 15, 2000 rev. October 14, 2004