The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections The University of ToledoFinding Aid Richard T. Gosser Papers (1943-1974) MSS-025 |
Size: 15 linear feet
Provenance: Ruth Ann Gosser Harrison donated the papers of her late husband to The Ward M. Canaday Center in 1981. She had removed and destroyed certain items from the collection which she felt were "too sensitive" before she made the donation.
Access: Open
Collection Summary: Collection includes Local 12 (Toledo) scrapbooks, with clippings from Toledo and Detroit general and labor newspapers, runs of United Auto Worker and Solidarity (1947-1963), interviews with long-time members of Local 12 (1963), and correspondence from the 1960s (primarily relating to a federal case against Gosser). Gosser's official UAW correspondence files and related items are housed in the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, Detroit MI.
Subjects: Labor, Medicine and Health
Related Collections:
Processing Note: None
Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns. Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code. The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.
Completed by: Paul M. Gifford, June 1986; reformatted by Arjun Sabharwal and Tamara Jones, October 2011; last updated: June, 2014
Biographical Timeline
1900, Dec. 13 |
born in Toledo, son of James E. Gosser, a railroad switchman and yardmaster, and Mary (Bradly) Gosser |
1918 |
began working at Willys-Overland |
1919-1921 |
served 30 months in Ionia (Michigan) reformatory |
1921 |
resumed working as electrician at Willys-Overland |
1924 |
promoted to assistant chief electrician (foreman) |
1933-1934 |
involved in organizing union at Willys-Overland |
1935 |
joined the United Automobile. Aircraft, Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW); demoted from his job |
1937 |
elected union chairman of Willys-Overland |
1938-1942 |
president of Local 12, UAW, Toledo |
1942-1947 |
director of Region 2B, UAW-CIO; member of International UAW-CIO Board |
1947 |
founded children's summer camp for Local 12 children |
1947-1963 |
international vice-president for skilled trades, UAW-CIO/UAW-AFL-CIO |
1950 |
married Ruth Ann |
1954 |
an organizer of the Toledo Industrial Development Council |
1955 |
founded Willys Unit Diagnostic Clinic |
1955-1967 |
member of Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority |
1959 |
testified before the McClellan Committee of the U. S. Senate in regard to his personal affairs and administration of the UAW |
1962 |
indicted before grand jury on charges of conspiracy; Gosser had obtained a confidential Internal Revenue Service report on his personal finances |
1963 |
Willys Unit Diagnostic Clinic became independent as Toledo Health and Retiree Center, Inc., with Gosser as consultant |
1965 |
U. S. Supreme Court upheld his conviction |
1965-1966 |
served a one-year term in the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri |
1969 |
died in Toledo |
Scope and Content Note
As local president, regional director and international vice-president of the United Automobile, Aircraft, Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO, UAW-AFL-CIO). Richard 'T. Gosser carried a lot of weight in Toledo. He forged alliances with Democratic Party figures and business leaders in Toledo. As a result, he found himself sitting on the wrong side of the political fence more than once. In his role as labor advocate, Gosser pursued negotiations with the Willys-Overland Corporation, yet maintained cordial relations with its chief officers. Henry J. and Edgar Kaiser.
The Gosser Papers, although they cover a range of thirty years, do not fully document Gosser's career. Internal UAW circular letters and Local 12 correspondence, for example, are conspicuously absent. On the other hand, the Local 12 scrapbooks, with clippings largely from Toledo and Detroit general and labor newspapers, do record the public activities of both local and international unions. Other UAW material deals with proposals for union-owned television stations with state political activity1 and with Gosser’s resignation. The series of international executive board minutes, of the proceedings of the constitutional conventions and the runs of United Auto Worker and Solidarity together form an invaluable. If not unique, source for the union's international activity from 1947 to 1963. Finally, a group of interviews collected about 1963 from tong-time members of Local 12 recount the local's formation and earl y struggles.
Related to the UAW material are files from Gosser's service as consultant to the Toledo Health and Retiree Center, a clinic originally established by Gosser for Local 12 members but, since 1963, open to all -Other personal interests which are reflected in this collection are the advocacy of retirement at sixty, contained in the material on Sixty Now, and summer recreation for children of union members, exemplified by the material on the Children's Summer Camp in Onsted, Michigan.
The bulk of the material in the Gosser Papers dates from the 1900$. Prominent correspondents include Charles Ballard and Thomas Ludlow Ashley. During this period, the last decade of his life, Gosser's most troubling concern was a case against him, his assistant Donald J. Pincotti, and Toledo numbers racketeer Ted Maison, on charges of conspiring to take a confidential report of an investigation into Gosser's finances from the Internal Revenue Service. Toledo trade unionists made the case a cause célèbre in their efforts to obtain clemency and pardon for Gosser. Although the case estranged Gosser from Walter Reuther and the international leadership of the UAW, many other leaders of labor and other causes wrote letters in defense of Gosser to the President.
There is other material useful for the study of postwar economic development in Toledo. This includes publications of the Toledo Industrial Development Council (1939, 1949) and a handbook of the Toledo Area Development Corporation (1962). The relations between individuals in Toledo labor unions, party politics, newspapers, and business can be studied through the use of different items in this collection. Gosser was known as a man with both many friends and many enemies. His collection, although not comprehensive in the representation of his entire career, does reveal the political power he had in his community.
Note: Gosser's official UAW correspondence files and related items are housed in the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.
Folder and Box listing
Box |
Folder |
Description |
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1 |
United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) Local 12, Toledo |
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1 |
Correspondence, press releases, etc. |
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2 |
Historical articles |
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3 |
Reports and summary of International |
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Executive Board: Action re Toledo Situation, 1950 |
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4 |
McClellan Committee subpoena of Gosser, 1959 |
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5 |
Reports, correspondence and press releases on Gosser case, 1962-1963 |
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6 |
Master plan for television station in Toledo, 1952 |
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7 |
Master plan for television station in Detroit, 1952 |
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8 |
Political program recommendation, 1961 |
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Toledo Health and Retiree Center, Inc |
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9 |
Board of Governors - constitution and minutes, |
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### |
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10 |
Charles Ballard, president - correspondence, 1965-1969 |
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11 |
Annual reports, 1963-1973 |
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Correspondence |
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12 |
March-September 1965 |
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13 |
October 1965 |
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14 |
November-December 1965 |
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15 |
Financial reports, 1972-1973 |
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16 |
Extended Care Center |
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17 |
Hill-Burton Program |
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18 |
Miscellaneous |
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19 |
Sixty Now, Inc. |
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20 |
Children's Summer Camp, Inc. |
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21 |
Richard T. Gosser Scholarship |
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Personal |
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Correspondence |
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22 |
1961-1964 |
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23 |
1965-1967 |
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24 |
1966 (while in prison) |
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25 |
1968-1969 |
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2 |
1 |
Dick Gosser Day, Dec. 13, 1960 |
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2 |
Testimonial dinner, June 18, 1964 |
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3 |
Homecoming party, Dec. 4, 1966 |
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4 |
Biography, 1963 |
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Personal (cont.) |
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United States vs. Gosser et. al. |
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5 |
Indictment, orders, petitions and other documents |
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6 |
Lawyers' correspondence, 1963-1965 |
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7 |
Memoranda, reports, etc. |
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8 |
Statements and affidavits (1) |
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9 |
(2) |
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10 |
Medical reports |
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11 |
Letters to the President and Congressmen regarding commutation |
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12 |
Motion for new trial, 1966 |
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13 |
Parole |
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14 |
Civil Liberties Committee - correspondence 1963-1967 |
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15 |
Toledo and Northwestern Ohio Civil Liberties Union |
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Trial in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, 1963 |
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16 |
General entry for judgment and commitment |
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Transcript |
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17 |
Volume 1 |
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18 |
Volume 2 |
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19 |
Volume 3 |
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3 |
1 |
Volume 4 |
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2 |
Volume 5 |
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3 |
Volume 6 |
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4 |
Motion for a new trial, 1963 |
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5 |
Oral arguments of counsel and sentencing of the defendants |
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6 |
Hearing on motion to suppress evidence and return of property |
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Trial in the U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit, 1964 |
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Brief of appellant |
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Appellant's index |
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Reply brief of appellant Gosser |
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Petition for rehearing |
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Trial in the Supreme Court of the United States, 1964-1965 |
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Petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit |
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Petition for rehearing of order denying certiorari |
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Brief for the U.S. in opposition |
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Petitioner's reply |
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7 |
Certificates, resolutions, etc. |
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* |
Portrait |
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8 |
Photographs |
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9 |
Miscellaneous |
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Newspaper clippings |
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General |
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10 |
1953-1962 |
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11 |
1963-1969 |
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12 |
Sixty Now |
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13 |
From prison term, 1966 |
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14 |
Scrapbook from prison term, 1966 |
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Scrapbooks |
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Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. - Army-Navy "E" Award Program, Jan, 28, 1943 |
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United Auto Workers - [AFL] - CIO |
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^ |
Political action literature - 1948 campaign |
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4 |
Local 12, Toledo |
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Mar. 1947-Feb. 1950 |
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Mar. 1950-Apr. 1951 |
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Dec. 1951-Mar. 1953 |
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Mar. 1953-Oct. 1954 |
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Jan. 1955-Nov. 1956 |
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Nov. 1956-Nov. 1958 |
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Dec. 1958-Sept. 1960 |
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June 1960-Mar. 1963 |
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June 1963-Sept. 1964 |
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Oct. 1965-Apr. 1967 |
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5 |
Published material |
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United Auto Workers - [AFL]- CIO |
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International Executive Board - Minutes |
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1947 |
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June 9-13 |
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Sept. 22-24 |
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Nov. 7-8 |
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Nov. 28-Dec. 1 |
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1948 |
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Jan. 15-16 |
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Mar. 1-5 |
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6 |
Mar. 30 |
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Apr. 20 |
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May 27-28 |
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June 7-11 |
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Sept. 13-15 |
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Nov. 14-15 |
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7 |
Nov. 29-Dec. 2 |
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1949 |
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Jan. 10-11 |
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Jan. 12-13 |
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Feb. 3, 19; July 16; Sept. 21, 27-29 |
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Mar. 14-18 |
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Apr. 28 |
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8 |
May 3 |
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June 6-10 |
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July 7-9 |
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Aug. 9-12 |
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Oct. 24-28 |
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1950 |
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Jan. 23-27 |
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Apr. 24-28; June 22 |
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1950 |
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Sept. 11-15 |
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Nov. 17-18; Dec. 11-14 |
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1951 |
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Jan. 30-31; Feb. 1-2 |
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9 |
Feb. 17-24; Mar. 29-30; Apr. 7 |
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May 7-11 |
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June 8-9 |
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June 28; Aug. 27; Sept. 13 |
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Oct. 8-12, 16 |
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Dec. 4-5 |
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1952 |
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Feb. 4-8 |
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Mar. 13-14 |
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May 19-23 |
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Aug. 12; Sept. 15-18 |
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10 |
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1953 |
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Jan. 13-16; Feb. 12-13; Mar. 27; Apr. 17 |
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Apr. 28-May 1 |
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May 27, 29; July 7 |
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Sept. 8-11 |
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1954 |
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Jan. 18-21 |
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Feb. 22-23 |
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Mar. 9-10; Apr. 8 |
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May 3-7 |
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May 26; June 8; July 23; Oct. 8 |
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Sept. 20-24 |
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1955 |
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Jan 5-7, 10-11 |
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Apr. 25-29 |
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July 6-8 |
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Sept. 27; Nov. 8 |
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11 |
Oct. 3-7 |
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1956 |
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Jan. 9-11 |
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Mar. 26; Apr. 9; June 15; July 2; Oct. 10; Dec. 9 |
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May 1-4 |
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Sept. 10-14 |
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Nov. 26-30 |
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1957 |
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Jan. 18; Feb. 12, 19; Apr. 5, 12 |
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Mar. 6-8; Aug. 16; Nov. 12 |
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Apr. 17; May 3,6; July 1 |
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May 13-17 |
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Oct. 7-11 |
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1958 |
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Jan. 7-12 |
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Apr. 22-25 |
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12 |
1961 |
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Jan. 21; Mar. 5-6; Apr. 22; June 3, 13, 25 |
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1962 |
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Dec. 4-6 |
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Constitutional conventions |
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11th, Nov. 9-14, 1947 - Proceedings |
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12th, July 10-15, 1949 |
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Proceedings |
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Report of the President |
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13th, Apr. 1-6, 1951 |
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Proceedings |
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Report of the President |
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14th, Mar. 22-27, 1953 |
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Proceedings |
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Report of the President |
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Resolutions and reports |
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15th, Mar. 27-Apr. 1, 1955 |
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Proceedings |
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Report of the President |
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16th, Apr. 7-12, 1957 |
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Proceedings |
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Special, Jan. 22-24, 1958 |
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17th, Oct. 9-16, 1959 |
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Proceedings |
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Report of the President |
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Resolutions |
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18th, May 4-10, 1962 |
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Proceedings |
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Report of the President |
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Part 1 - UAW in action |
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Part 2 - Economic conditions |
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Part 3 - Departmental reports |
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13 |
21st, May 4-10, 1968 - Proceedings |
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Congress of Industrial Organizations |
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Proceedings of constitutional conventions |
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9th, Oct. 13-17, 1947 |
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10th, Nov. 22-26, 1948 |
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12th, Nov. 20-24, 1950 |
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13th, Nov. 5-9, 1951 |
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14th, Dec. 1-4, 1952 |
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15th, Nov. 16-20, 1953 |
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17th, Dec. 1-2, 1955 |
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American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations |
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Proceedings of constitutional conventions |
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1957 (2 volumes) |
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3rd, 1959 (2 volumes) |
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Industrial Union Department - Proceedings of 2nd constitutional convention, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 1957 |
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Toledo Area Development Corp., Toledo Technical Handbook (1962) |
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Toledo Industrial Union Council (C.I.O.) |
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Year Books, 1939, 1949 |
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Miscellaneous |
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^ SEPARATE |
United Automobile Worker |
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VOLUMES |
1942 |
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1943 |
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1947 |
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1948 |
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1949 |
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1950 |
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1951 |
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1952 |
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1953 |
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1954 |
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1955 |
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1956 |
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1957 |
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Solidarity: Michigan Edition |
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Dec. 16, 1957-Dec. 22, 1958 |
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1959 |
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1960 |
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1961 |
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1962 |
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1963 |
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*=oversize cabinet, drawer 1 |
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^=oversize area |
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**=locked cabinet |
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R-4=range four |