United Steelworkers of America, Local 1033 records collection, 1942-2001

Materials were a gift of United Steelworkers of America, District 7 (accession #:2003.0261.4).

This collection is open for research use.

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

United Steelworkers of America, Local 1033 (Chicago, Ill.) records (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Meeting minute books, attendance ledgers, correspondence, memoranda, press releases, grievances, pamphlets, and other administrative records of the United Steelworkers of America, Local 1033. Topics include political and union elections, union policies, safety issues, and relations with Republic Steel Corporation and its successors. Local 1033, with an office at 11731 South Avenue O on the far Southeast Side, represented workers at the Republic Steel mill located on the east bank of the Calumet River, mainly in the South Deering community area of Chicago. Also included are drafts of articles for the union's newsletter 1033 News and Views. The records show increasing numbers of Hispanic and African American leaders in the union. The files also reflect the growth, evolution, and end of Republic Steel as it was acquired by the LTV Corporation and became LTV Steel in the 1980s. LTV Steel filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and closed in Dec. 2001.

United Steelworkers of America (USWA) Local 1033 was founded in Chicago in 1942 and grew out of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) that led the Little Steel Strike in 1937. The strike involved workers protesting at small steel companies throughout Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana, including the Republic Steel Corporation plant in the South Deering community area of Chicago (Ill.). Republic Steel refused to sign a union contract, and when strikers and supporters demonstrated outside the Republic Steel plant, Chicago police clubbed and shot demonstrators, reportedly killing ten people, an event that became known as the Memorial Day Massacre. Republic Steel recognized the union in 1941, and Local 1033 was formed. Republic Steel eventually merged into LTV Corporation. USWA Local 1033 closed its office in 2002 after the bankruptcy of LTV Steel Corporation.

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Victor Storino papers on United Steelworkers of America, Local 1033; the collection known as "United Steelworkers of America, Local 65 and Local 1033 records"; other collections of United Steelworkers records; and photographs and newsletters of Local 1033. Also, a banner of Club Techaluta de Chicago is in the artifact collections of Chicago History Museum.

• Names
  • United Steelworkers of America--Local 1033 (Chicago, Ill.)--Archives
  • LTV Steel Company--Employees
  • Rebublic Steel Corporation
  • Rebublic Steel Corporation--Employees
  • United Steelworkers of America
• Subject
  • Iron and steel workers--Labor unions--Illinois--Chicago
  • Labor unions--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area
  • Minority labor union members--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Republic Steel Corporation Strike, Chicago, Ill., 1937
  • Steel industry and trade--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area
  • Strikes and lockouts--Steel industry--Illinois
  • Working class--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
• Geographic Coverage
  • Chicago (Ill.)--Economic conditions--20th century
  • Southeast Side (Chicago, Ill.)

This collection is arranged in five series.

Series 1. Chronological administrative files, 1991-1994 (box 1-2)

Series 1 consists of correspondence, memoranda, press releases, clippings, and other administrative materials documenting the daily business and activities of the union. The materials are chronologically arranged.

Series 2. General files, 1969-1998 (box 3)

Series 2 contains general office files such as correspondence, memoranda, and printed materials. Also included are materials on the 1990 and 1991 union elections and grievances (1983-1993) mostly relating to union workers at Republic Steel.

Series 3. Company files, ca. 1970s-1980s (box 3-4)

Series 3 consists of correspondence, memoranda, notes, and other materials documenting the union's relationship with Republic Steel, later LTV Steel, and General Mechanic (GM). The majority of the files document the working relationship with Republic Steel/LTV Steel.

Series 4. 1033 News and Views editorial files, ca. 1980s (box 5)

Series 4 contains handwritten and typeset drafts of articles for Local 1033's newsletter 1033 News and Views. The files also contain various union themed cartoons and correspondence. Writers include Joe Tratar, Eugene Rogers, Carl Turpin, Rosemary O'Neal, and Victor Storino.

Series 5. Membership, 1942-2001(box 6-19)

Series 5 is comprised of minute books (1942-2001), meeting attendance books (1967, 1970, 1975-1976), and two membership register volumes.