I. SPEECHES, STATEMENTS AND ADDRESSES OF JAMES B. CAREY, 1945-1964

Arranged Chronologically

Consists of speeches, addresses, statements, debate transcripts, and interviews made by James B. Carey. The bulk of the files includes mimeograph copies of Carey speeches along with edited typescript drafts, research material, press releases, cover correspondence, and ephemera documenting Carey's speaking engagements. As CIO Secretary-Treasurer, President of the IUE, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Industrial Union Department (IUD) of the AFL-CIO, Carey served as a principal spokesperson and representative for organized labor on many of the outstanding economic, legislative, and social issues confronting labor during the period 1945-1964. Carey issued statements and testified before House and Senate committees and various government boards. He was a frequent guest on important radio and T.V. news and public affairs programs (i.e., Meet the Press and Face the Nation). This series contains transcripts of his interviews with prominent journalists and news commentators, including interviews with Mike Wallace. Carey addressed IUE national conventions, CIO State Industrial Union Councils, IUD conferences, IUE district and local conventions and functions, and important educational conferences. An important part of his itinerary included appearances at annual Labor Day rallies and speeches delivered at the conventions of CIO-affiliated unions. Moreover, he accepted invitations to address civil rights and progressive political organizations (Americans for Democratic Actions), religious and civic groups, manufacturing organizations, and educational institutions. In instances where Carey had a scheduling conflict, other IUE officers, executive assistants, and department heads--Al Hartnett, Ben Segal, George Weaver, and Les Finnegan--served as his representative.

Carey's statements and testimony were prepared in conjunction with congressional committee hearings and investigations. Largely drafted by his administrative and research assistants (Les Finnegan, George Weaver, and David Lasser--also Research Director) they constituted the official IUE position on numerous legislative initiatives. Significant legislative topics covered include: proposed amendments to the Taft-Hartley Act; racketeering, corruption, and labor reform legislation (Landrum-Griffin Act); extension of minimum wage, social security, and fair labor standards legislation; internal security (McCarran Act); enforcement of fair employment provisions; unemployment compensation and supplemental unemployment benefits; and equitable administration of economic stabilization and defense production programs during the Korean War era. Carey also prepared statements covering a wide range of domestic and foreign issues vital to the interests of the IUE and labor in general: civil rights and civil liberties; Communism (Poland, Hungary); anticommunism and McCarthyism; equitable taxation policies; education; equal pay legislation; social entitlement; fair housing; automation and technological displacement; industrial decentralization (runaway shops); foreign trade agreements; and international labor affairs.

Carey addressed numerous civil rights conferences sponsored by the IUE, AFL-CIO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Urban League (NUL), and the Civil Rights Leadership Conference. In conjunction with the Prayer Pilgrimage For Freedom held in Washington, D.C., 1957, Carey delivered a welcome address to such prominent civil rights leaders as A. Philip Randolph, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Roy Wilkins. The series also includes texts of Carey's addresses before various American Jewish groups (The American Jewish Committee and B'nai B'rith) and Catholic-affiliated organizations, functions, and media programs. Carey, a devout Catholic, promulgated the theme of social justice governing relations between labor and management, and supported the church's activist role in advancing the social welfare of workers.

This series documents Carey's participation in the cooperative extension labor education movement. He attended Summer Labor Institutes and addressed students enrolled in the industrial relations programs of some of the nation's leading universities. Representative schools included Rutgers University, Howard University, the University of Virginia, and the University of California.