August Sallas papers on the Chicago Typographical Union No. 16, 1942-1994 (bulk 1960-1992)

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.

Gift of August Sallas, 2013 (accession #: 2013.0023.1).

August Sallas papers on the Chicago Typographical Union (Chicago History Museum), with a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

This collection contains meeting minutes, annual reports, correspondence, news clippings, publications, memos, mailing lists, wage information, union contract and union label use negotiations, union election material, and grievances related to August Sallas and his positions within the Chicago Typographical Union No. 16 (Chicago, Ill.), the Chicago Allied Printing Trades Council, the Hispanic American Labor Council and activities of the AFL-CIO in Illinois, the Chicago Federation of Labor, and the Chicago Independent Club.

August Sallas, known as Augie, a native Chicagoan, was an organizer for the Chicago Typographical Union No. 16 (CTU); he served as recording secretary for ten years, and, in the mid-1980s was elected as the first Mexican American president of the CTU, which is Local 16 of the International Typographical Union. During his years as president, Sallas was responsible for ending a forty month strike with the Chicago Tribune. He also served as secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Allied Printing Trade Council (CAPTC) for twelve years and as a delegate in both the state American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Chicago Federation of Labor. Additionally, he served as the president and is the founder of the Hispanic American Labor Council (HACL) and has been active in the politics of Little Village (the South Lawndale community) of Chicago.

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Andrew Placente papers on the Chicago Typographical Union No. 16, Chicago Typographical Union No. 16 records, and the Chicago Tribune strike collection [manuscript].

• Names
  • Sallas, August--Archives
  • International Typographical Union. Local 16 (Chicago, Ill.)--Archives
  • AFL-CIO
  • Chicago Allied Printing Trades Council
  • Chicago Federation of Labor and Industrial Union Council
  • Chicago Independent Club
  • Hispanic American Labor Council
  • International Typographical Union. Local 16 (Chicago, Ill.)
  • International Typographical Union
• Subject
  • Hispanic Americans--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Labor leaders--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Mexican Americans--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Newspaper publishing--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Printers--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Printing industry--Employees--Effect of technological innovations on
  • Printing industry--Employees--Labor unions--Illinois--Chicago
  • Printing industry--Vocational guidance--Illinois--Chicago
  • Publishers and publishing--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Strikes and lockouts--Illinois--Chicago
  • Union labels--Illinois--Chicago
• Geographic Coverage
  • Chicago (Ill.)--Economic conditions--20th century
  • Chicago (Ill.)--Politics and government--20th century
  • Little Village (Chicago, Ill.)
  • South Lawndale (Chicago, Ill.)

The collection is arranged in five series.

Series 1. Chicago Typographical Union and Chicago Allied Printing Trade Council administrative files, 1957-1981 (box 1-3)

Series 1 documents the business and activities of both the Chicago Typographical Union and the Chicago Allied Printing Trade Council. The series also contains Chicago Typographical Union executive committee and regular union meeting minutes, reports and correspondence, 1957-1961. Also included are Chicago Allied Printing Trade Council meeting minutes, 1960-1981.

Series 2. Chicago Typographical Union and Chicago Independent Club general files, 1942-1992 (box 3-4)

Series 2 contains correspondence, news clippings, surveys, election materials, publications, union communications, and other material in English and Spanish, including documents linking Mr. Sallas to the Hispanic American Labor Council. These documents were compiled by Mr. Sallas during and after his active years with the CTU. Also contains CTU administration activities including correspondence, election materials and ballots, calendars and directories. Chicago Independent Club 1949-1968 files were compiled by Tom Baker, president of the Independent Club and includes correspondence of Mr. Baker and Fred Hunt, Jr., CTU president in the 1960s, as well as other Independent Club officials.

Series 3. Chicago Typographical Union and related union material, 1951-1992 (box 5)

Series 3 includes Chicago Allied Printing Trades Council and related documents. In addition to the typographical trade, the Council included engravers, pressmen, electrotypers, and bookbinders. This series also contains correspondence of Henry L. Coco, the Council’s secretary-treasurer, including material which endorsed Dan Walker for governor in Illinois.

Series 4. Contract negotiations, 1959-1980 (box 6-9)

Series 4 consists of contract negotiations, correspondence, meeting notes, and other material relating to CTU contract negotiations with John Baumgarth Co., J.E. Bell Printing, Chicago Newspaper Publishers' Association, Superior Match Co., Western Typesetting, and others.

Series 5. Union label disputes, 1947-1976 (box 9-11)

Series 5 includes materials documenting the misuse of union labels resulting in disputes.