D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections and University Archives

 John E. Jervis Labor Collection 
(1949-1977)

Acquisition #1 M77.12.1-5 ; OS77.12.1-3 ; Acquisition #2 M79.17.1-5; OS1979.17.01-02

John E. Jervis Labor Collection (1949-1977)
 D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Title  John E. Jervis Labor Collection (1949-1977)
Creator John E. Jervis
Identifier http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/jervis_john/default_jervis.html
Subject Keyword John E. Jervis ; Labor relations ; Unions ; Central Labor Union ; Labor unions ; American Enka Plant ; William Brownwell Company ; Committee on Political Education
Subject LCSH Jervis, John E.
Central Labor Union (Asheville, N.C.)
American Enka Corporation
Labor unions -- Officials and employees -- United States 
Labor unions -- North Carolina -- Asheville
Labor unions -- Southern States -- History -- 20th century
Textile workers -- Southern States -- History -- 20th century
Labor movement -- Southern States -- History
Labor movement -- North Carolina -- History
Working class -- Southern States -- History
Southern States -- Social conditions
Labor union democracy -- North Carolina -- Asheville
Description

John Jervis was born in Marshall N. C., on March 10, 1909, to a family of educators. His grandfather Jervis was president of Mars Hill College. His father taught school briefly and then owned and edited newspapers in Marshall, Old Fort, and Bryson City, N. C.

Jervis was an early employee of American Enka, where he worked from the late 1920s until he retired in 1966. During this time he was an officer in the local union at Enka, and simultaneously an officer in the Central Labor Union, organized in Asheville in 1881. Jervis became a trustee and delegate of the C.L.U. in 1940, secretary-treasurer in 1941, and president in 1946, a post he held continuously through the time of donation (1977), except for a two-year hiatus when he was absent from Asheville working with the furniture union.

The John E. Jervis Labor Collection portrays the activities and concerns of labor unions in western North Carolina associated with the Central Labor Union of Asheville in the years from 1949 to 1977, with special emphasis on the years 1969-1977. The collection includes some correspondence, and much printed material, from local, state, and some national unions. It portrays union interest in local and state politics; recruitment techniques; and examples of contracts with such local companies as the Slosman Corporation, the William Brownell Company, American Enka, and others.

The John E. Jervis Labor Collection arrived without any order apparent, so the material was arranged in the following series. Note that the order of the series is not consecutive in the same order with the document cartons; for example, Series One and Series Three are in M77.12.1, whereas series two is in M77.12.2, etc. The container numbers are included in the following series descriptions (see also the usual inventory container listings).

Publisher D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Contributor John E. Jervis ; Southern Highlands Research Center
Date 2001-05-02; updated 2005-12
Type Collection ; Text 
Format 5 cu. ft. [update: acquisition #2 adds 5 cu. ft]
Source M77.12.1 ; M77.12.2 ; M77.12.3 ; M77.12.4 ; M77.12.5 ; OS77.12.1 ; OS77.12.2
Language English
Relation Thad Eckard Labor Relations Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections ;
Coverage 1949-1977 ; Western North Carolina ; Southeastern United States
Rights Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.  
Donor Donor number 32, Acquisition #1 ; 73, Acquisition #2
Acquisition  1977-10-14 ; 1977-11-18 ; 1979-07-19
Citation John E. Jervis Labor Collection (1949-1977), D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
Processed by Special Collections staff, 1977 and 2001

 

SERIES LIST
Series One Correspondence of the Central Labor Union office, spanning the years from 1952 to 1977, the bulk being after 1968
Series Two Grievances, collective Agreements, and contracts; arranged alphabetically by union and company
Series Three Manuals explaining union operations: materials include booklets, pamphlets, and other items useful to stop stewards in operating local unions and managing shop affairs
Series Four  Union recruitment, arranged by subject or local union: illustrates the appeals unions made to area workers not yet unionized, and includes items on the earnings gap in North Carolina, strikes and boycotts, and other matters
Series Five  Union publications (two cartons): examples of scores of union-sponsored publications arranged by title, then chronological within each title
Series Six  Laws and court decisions affecting labor: arranged by law; includes files on the National Labor Relation Act, right-to-work legislation, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, child labor laws, the Hatch Act, and others
Series Seven Campaign materials: includes political campaigns in Asheville, North Carolina, and national material from the Committee on Political Education
Series Eight Political and social issues: arranged by subject; includes items on civil rights cases, aging, foreign affairs, health care, welfare, and other issues
Series Nine Miscellaneous: ten folders, including a scrapbook assembled by Jervis
ITEM LIST

Box

Folder

Folder contents

Series One: Correspondence of the Central Labor Union Office

M77.12.1

1

Asheville Central Labor Union - Minutes - 1971, 1973, 1975 (5 items)

.

2

Correspondence, News Releases - 1952, 1955, 1963, 1968 (16 items)

.

3

Correspondence - 1969 (10 items)

.

4

Correspondence, National Labor Relations Board Petition, Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate - 1970 (27 items)

.

5

Correspondence - 1971 (9 items)

.

6

Correspondence - Jan-May 1972 (54 items)

.

7

Correspondence - June-Dec 1972 (41 items)

.

8

Correspondence - Jan-June 1973 (40 items)

.

9

Correspondence, OSHA Complaint - July-Dec 1973 (32 items)

.

10

Correspondence - Jan-Feb 1974 (37 items)

.

11

Correspondence - Mar-June 1974 (25 items)

.

12

Correspondence - July-Dec 1974 (12 items)

.

13

Correspondence - Jan-June 1975 (27 items)

.

14

Correspondence - July-Dec 1975 (40 items)

.

15

Correspondence - Jan-June 1976 (28 items)

.

16

Correspondence - July-Dec 1976 (68 items)

.

17

Correspondence, Press Releases - 1977 and undated (39 items)

Series Two: Grievances, Collective Agreements and Contracts

.

18

Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America (26 items)

.

19

Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America, cont. (58 items)

.

20

Bi-Lo Stores (25 items)

.

21

City of Asheville (20 items)

.

22

Crawford Nursing Home (10 items)

.

23

Enka Corporation (14 items)

.

24

Ethan Allen (13 items)

.

25

Gerber Products (14 items)

.

26

Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (34 items)

.

27

Holly Farms (7 items)

.

28

Ingle's (6 items)

.

29

Lea Industries (5 items)

.

30

Magnavox (4 items)

.

31

Metropolitan Sewer District (5 items)

.

32

Slosman Corporation, 1972 (37 items)

.

33

Swift and Co. (5 items)

.

34

Theatres (3 items)

.

35

Williams-Brownell (4 items)

.

36

Miscellaneous (21 items)

.

37

Miscellaneous, cont. (34 items)

.

38

Upholsterer's International Union, Local 336 - Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers - 1959-1971 (129 items)

Series Three: Manuals Explaining Union Operations

M77.12.2

1

Lists of unions and members (25 items)

.

2

Manuals, booklets (7 items)
item 1 - "Hobby for Governor" button
item 2 - "A 'Freedom Budget' for All Americans," booklet, October 1966, A. Philip Randolph Institute
item 3 - "AFL-CIO Resolutions: Book 1," booklet, 1969
item 4 - "Policy Resolutions," booklet, December 1973, AFL-CIO
item 5 - "Food Processing, Poultry & Seafood," booklet, June 1973, AFL-CIO
item 6 - "Consumer Program," booklet, 1973, North Carolina State AFL-CIO
item 7 - "Staff Training Conference: Operation Manpower Project," manual, December 1970, AFL-CIO

.

3

Leadership training material, etc. (5 items)
items 1A, 1B - "1976 Legislative Questionnaire" (2 copies)
item 2 - "Model Constitution for Central Union Body"
item 3 - "Statements and Reports Adopted by the AFL-CIO Executive Council," February 21-28, 1977
items 4A, 4B - "Leadership Training Manual: North Carolina State AFL-CIO" (2 copies)
item 5 - notebook of assorted training materials

.

4

Instruction manuals for stewards, particularly concerning specific federal laws (13 items)
items 1A, 1B - "Some DOs and DON'Ts for Supervisors" (2 copies)
item 2 - "Civil Rights and the Law: A Guidebook for Local Unions and Their Members"
item 3 - "A Layman's View of the National Labor Relations Act"
item 4 - "Rehabilitation and Labor Health Services: Guidelines for Action"
item 5 - "Civil Rights: A Handbook for Local Unions"
item 6 - "The Physician and Labor Health Plans"
item 7 - "TWUA Songs" booklet
item 8 - "Protection for Workers in Imminent Danger," OSHA booklet
item 9 - "Organizing a Safety Committee," OSHA booklet
item 10 - "ILPA Press Relations Guide"
item 11 - "AFL-CIO Legislative Department: Compulsory Arbitration, 1972 Fact Sheet No. 3"
item 12 - "Construction Industry: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act," February 1973
item 13 - "HRDI Manpower Advisory," Volume 4, Number 4, June 1976

.

5

Procedural manuals for stewards (15 items)

.

6

Procedural manuals for stewards (12 items)

Series Four: Union Recruitment

.

7

Amalgamated Clothing Workers: "Look Out Consumer!" leaflet (1 item)

.

8

Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen (16 items)

.

9

American Federation of Teachers (2 items)

.

10

Committee on Public Education (10 items)

.

11

Communication Workers of America, AFL-CIO (7 items)

.

12

Earnings Gaps in North Carolina (18 items)

.

13

History of Labor Unions (5 items)

.

14

Ladies Garment Workers (2 items)

.

15

Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Association, pamphlets (4 items)

.

16

Office Employees International Union  (3 items)

.

17

Public Employees Union, pamphlets (2 items)

.

18

Religious Leaders and Unions (7 items)

.

19

Sheet Metal Workers (4 items)

.

20

Strikes and Boycotts, includes 4 photographs (34 items)

.

21

Third Party Endorsement of Labor (6 items)

.

22

United Furniture Workers (4 items)

.

23

United Plant Guard Workers, booklet (1 item)

.

24

Union Recruitment - Misc. (11 items)

.

25

Union Recruitment - Misc., cont. (40 items)

.

26

Union Recruitment - Misc., cont. (60 items)

.

27

Union Recruitment - Misc., cont. (34 items)

Series Five: Union Publications

.

28

The American Federationist, AFL-CIO - 1972, 1975-1977 (15 items)

.

29

AFL-CIO - Misc. (26 items)

.

30

American Federation of Teachers (3 items)

.

31

A-I Labor Letter: American Income Life Insurance Co. (3 items)

.

32

The Appalachian Voice: AFL-CIO Appalachian Council, 1976, 1977 (4 items)

.

33

Barbers, Beauticians and Allied Industries International Assn. (17 items)

M77.12.3

1

Journal: Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers International Union

.

2

The Butcher Workman: 1969, 1974-1977

.

3

Carpenter: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977

.

4

Communities in Action

.

5

Memo from COPE: 1974-1977 and n.d.

.

6

COPE

.

7

Electrical workers

.

8

Miscellaneous labor issues

.

9

Miscellaneous labor issues

.

10

Miscellaneous labor issues

.

11

Miscellaneous labor issues

.

12

Various newspapers and periodicals on labor

.

13

Manpower

.

14

Newsletters of Meat, Food, and Allied Workers Union; Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen

.

15

New American Movement: 1972, 1973

.

16

N. C. AFL-CIO; Annual Weekend Institutes, 1976, 1977

.

17

In the Public Service: 1975, '76, '77 (Public Employee Department, AFL-CIO)

.

18

Advocate: 1975, 1976 (Retail Clerks' Union)

.

19

Senior Citizen News: 1975, 1977

.

20

Service Employee: 1974, 1977

.

21

Sheet Metal Workers of America

.

22

Labeletter: 1976 (Union Label & Service Dept.)

.

23

Furniture Workers Press: (United Furniture Workers of America)

.

24

Viewpoint (IUD quarterly); IUD Spotlight on Health and Safety

Series Six: Laws and Court Decisions Affecting Labor

M77.12.4

1

State child labor standards

.

2

Federal Labor Laws, including Jervis' notes on this

.

3

Federal law regulating labor activities

.

4

The Hatch Act

.

5

Health Acts, Laws and Articles

.

6

Labor laws and associated labor articles

.

7

Minimum wage issues, age discrimination

.

8

The Impact of State and Local Taxes in North Carolina and Southeastern States by Leslie E. Calbert

.

9

Miscellaneous, including report on juvenile delinquency

.

10

National Labor Relations Board

.

11

OSHA and related articles

.

12

"Right to Work" pros and cons

.

13

State Labor Laws

.

14

Unions, Collective Bargaining, and 14(B)

.

15

Labor and Wage for women

.

16

Workmen's Compensation, pensions, etc.

Series Seven: Campaign Material

M77.12.5

17

Committee on Political Education

.

18

Election Campaign Financing

.

19

Wilbur Hobby Election Campaign

.

20

Newspapers dealing with Wilbur Hobby Election Campaign

.

21

Federal Election Campaign Laws

.

22

Political Action campaigns in Asheville

.

23

Political Action - National level

.

24

National Political Action

.

25

Political Action in North Carolina

.

26

Voter Registration

.

27

Voting Rights Act, Hearings before the United States Commission on Civil Rights

Series Eight: Political and Social Issues

M77.12.5

1

Aging

.

2

Civil Rights Issues

.

3

The Economy

.

4

Education

.

5

Foreign Affairs

.

6

Health Care

.

7

Health Care

.

8

North Carolina Coalition

.

9

North Carolina issues; Booklet - A Community Service Project.

.

10

Political groups - Conservative

.

11

Welfare issues

.

12

Women

.

13

Compensation and pension plans

.

14

Miscellaneous Political and Social Issues

Series Nine: Miscellaneous

M77.12.5

15

Buncombe County Studies

.

16

Congress

.

17

John Jervis scrapbook

.

18

Labor Conference and Archives

.

19

Handbook of Labor Statistics - 1967

.

20

Methodist Church Industrial Conference

.

21

Serving Migrant Families, 1976

.

22

The North Carolina Earnings Gap

.

23

Miscellaneous

OS77.12.1

 

.

The Advocate/Native Stone: 1975-1976 (selected issues)

AFL-CIO News: 1975-1977 (selected issues)

Allied Industrial Worker: 1975-1976 (selected issues)

Carolina Labor News: Dec 1975 (single issue)

The Labor Advocate: 1966-1979 (selected issues)

The Paperworker: May-Oct 1976

Public Employee: 1976-1977 (selected issues)

White Collar: Nov 1975 (single issue)

OS77.12.2

.

The Asheville Advocate, weekly issues, 52 copies, Jan. 4, 1923 to Dec. 27, 1923, bound

OS77.12.3   The Labor Advocate: 1953, 1968-1972 (selected issues)

I Vote Democrat- Poster (2 copies)

The Log of Champion Activities: 1946 (bound collection of issues from 1946, donated in 2004 by Wayne Carson)
     - includes list of Champion family members who died in World War II
       (for more information on Champion Paper Company, see: Reuben R. Robertson Collection)

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