African American Labor Center (AALC) records

The African American Labor Center (AALC), also referred to as the African American Labor Institute, was established between 1964 and 1965 with the assistance of Jay Lovestone. The Center was headquartered in New York, with several regional offices across Africa whose locations changed over time - known regional offices include Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nairobi, Kenya, and Lome, Togo. Irving Brown served as the first executive director, and Patrick J. O'Farrell served as the second executive director of the AALC.

The purpose of the institution was to form international links with trade unionists and practical trade union causes in Africa, such as collective bargaining. The AALC was also responsible for union education centers in Africa, where local activists participated in workshops, seminars, and conferences in labor issues and activism. To further the trade union cause, the AALC was also very active in collaboration with regional labor organizations, such as the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), to whom they provided funding and accessory services or support. Initially, the African American Labor Center was structured to have an executive director, supported by deputy directors in specialized areas. In 1997, the AALC was combined with three other AFL-CIO international labor institutes, the American Institute for Free Labor Development (AIFLD), the Asian-American Free Labor Institute (AAFLI), and the Free Trade Union Institute (FTUI), to create the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, the records of all of which are preserved and held in the archives at the University of Maryland.

From its inception, the AALC had a broad range of priorities and goals. At its core, the organization was primarily focused on supporting development projects in African nations. The Center was driven by a Board of Directors composed of representatives from American trade unions - usually the presidents or other high-ranking officials. The organization rarely worked alone, but instead tended to support other local/regional organizations in an effort to facilitate the founding of organized labor infrastructure in Africa that would mirror what existed in the US. Frequent collaborators include the Ghana Trade Unions Congress (GTUC) in Ghana, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) in Kenya, the National Confederation of Togolese Workers (CNTT) in Togo, and the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU). They also worked with other intergovernmental organizations like the International Labor Organization (ILO) and various United Nations departments pertaining to labor and economic development.

The Center considered itself to be the “international assistance arm” (AALC Fact Sheet 1972) of the AFL-CIO operating in Africa in its support of the African national labor movements. They emphasized that any projects undertaken were filling direct requests and needs vocalized by the national labor centers. Major project categories included vocational and technical training, cooperatives and credit unions, medical assistance (usually supplies), literacy training, leadership and organizing seminars, and general trade union and workers’ education. They also provided funds for building construction renovations and the purchase of tools and equipment, as well as facilitated visits and meetings between African and American labor leaders. Projects typically consisted of the issuing of funds directly to requesting organizations, with some administrative support from the Center if necessary. The AALC was known to be active in the following countries, although this list may not be exhaustive: Botswana, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Center held annual staff conferences from 1965 to 1985 (approximate) in a different African nation each year. These conferences were an opportunity for the staff from the headquarters office in New York to connect with the field staff based in regional offices throughout Africa. The agenda typically consisted of discussion of the status of any recently completed, ongoing, or upcoming projects as well as strategic planning regarding organizational goals, infrastructure, and management. Annual board meetings were held separately, but consisted of similar updates about the status projects. The annual reports (also in this collection) were created prior to these meetings and provide a concise but detailed summary of the Center’s activities and projects for a given year, including budget and expenditure information.

The AALC Reporter was a monthly (later bimonthly) newsletter published by the Center from 1965 to 1985 - this collection contains almost the complete run of the publication. It was published in English and French, as well as Arabic for the later portion of the run. Typical contents of the newsletter include updates on AALC activities, reports on union activity in various African nations, discussion of international relations issues (e.g. broader U.S. involvement in African conflicts), updates on broader AFL-CIO activities pertaining to Africa, and reporting on visits and meeting between African and American labor leaders.