Activity Reports, 1956-1975

The AFL-CIO Organizing Department required each member of the field staff to file reports of daily activities. This series comprises the copies of those reports that were regularly forwarded to the department.

While the quality and content of the reports varies widely, the series offers a number of perspectives on organizing tasks at the grassroots. Used in conjunction with material from other series, these records provide an opportunity to reconstruct specific organizing efforts and to analyze strengths and weaknesses in the organizing efforts. The field organizers' reports also present a unique view of the life of the organizer: the effects of organizing on family life, on health and life style, on promotional opportunities, and on retirement benefits. Few other records offer such details on the life and work of labor union employees.

Because the forms used were double sided and created in duplicates, researchers should use care in reconstructing the chronology within any one organizer's reports.