Labor Unions

Resources are listed in alphabetical order. More information can always be found by using our website search bar, or contacting a member of our staff.

Articles

Pages from our Past articles written by Bill Kemp

2 items

“In appearance the grand master suggests the banker or the prosperous businessman,” it was said of Patrick H. Morrissey. “In height he is about 5 feet 10 inches, weighs perhaps 185 pounds, wears a mustache and hair that is reddish in hue, and possesses a pair of blue eyes that can see things and understand.”

Labor leader product of west side railroad shops

Born and raised on Bloomington’s west side, Patrick Henry Morrissey became a national labor lea...

Article

Although of poor quality, this is the only known photograph of the Pullman Strike of 1894 as it unfolded at the Union Depot on Bloomington’s west side. Note all the idle Pullman coaches and sleepers. Marooned passengers found various ways to while away the hours. Riders on a Pullman sleeper attached to a C&A limited spent much of July 3 — “all the afternoon and all the evening till midnight” — singing popular songs of the day, such as “Sweet Marie,” “John Brown’s Body” and “In Old Madrid.”

Pullman Strike left Twin Cities at standstill

On July 3, 1894, area residents flocked to the Chicago & Alton Railroad on Bloomington’s we...

Article

Biographies

5 items

Crandall, June W.

June Crandall (1878-1910), a Kentucky native, came to Bloomington in 1898 and began working as ...

Biography

FitzHenry, Judge Louis

Louis FitzHenry was born in Bloomington on June 13, 1870. He was the oldest son born to Hiram a...

Biography

Law, David D.

David D. Law was born in Lebanon City, Pennsylvania on March 30, 1852 and was the son of Willia...

Biography

Penn, John

Humble service to his community marks John Penn’s commitment to his union, his community, and h...

Biography

Penn, Paul

Paul Penn helped create decent conditions for workers and through volunteer labor, built a bett...

Biography

Blog

3 items

McHistory: Bloomington Suffragist Lobbies in Springfield

Listen to the audio on WGLT's website hereMcHistory goes back in time to explore big momen...

Blog Post

McHistory: Bloomington-Normal's legacy of public protest not always civil

Blog Post

McHistory: When socialism really was socialism

Listen to the audio on WGLT's website hereMcHistory goes back in time to explore big momen...

Blog Post

Finding Aids

Archival collection finding aids (full contents of collections available on site)

9 items

Bloomington Education Association Collection

The Bloomington Education Association was organized in June 1967 with nearly half of District 8...

Finding Aid

Bloomington Trades and Labor Assembly

Bloomington labor unions banded together on October 18, 1891, to establish the Bloomington Trad...

Finding Aid

Kirk, Margaret

Margaret (Peg) Kirk was a beloved English teacher and speech coach at Normal Community High Sch...

Finding Aid

Lennon, John Brown

The John Brown Lennon collection contains newspaper articles, personal and professional corresp...

Finding Aid

Matejka, Michael

This collection includes biographical essays, essays and journal articles, speeches, labor unio...

Finding Aid

McKeon

The collection includes Marguerite McKeon and Geraldine McKeon’s personal correspondence from f...

Finding Aid

Railroad Time Books

Railroad foremen used time books to record workers’ names, hours, wages and specifics of projec...

Finding Aid

Wallace, Glen / Diamond-Star Motors / Mitsubishi Motors

Glen Wallace was an employee of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) for more than twen...

Finding Aid

Yeast, Laurence (Larry) J.

Laurence (Larry) Yeast was born in McLean County June 11, 1915. Yeast was a Bloomington High S...

Finding Aid

Publications

Digitized books and pamphlets. To see all books in our collection, search our library catalog.

1 item

Bloomington's C&A Shops: Our Lives Remembered

From the Civil War era into the early 20th century, the largest local employer was the Chicago ...

Publication

Research

1 item

Post Amerikan

Held by the MCMH and digitized by Eastern Illinois University. The Post Amerikan began publicat...

Article

Speakers Bureau

2 items

Hellraisers & Heroines

Speakers Bureau

McLean County Workers & Their World

Speakers Bureau

Videos

Livestreamed and recorded presentations by staff, experts, and community members.

1 item

Contested Civil Liberties in 19th Century McLean County, with Greg Koos

Video

Working for a Living

Digital Exhibit

3 items

Changing Shipping Practices

Many business owners continued to use the railroad to ship their products. But the trucking of ...

Digital Exhibit

Demand for Communication Services Increased

Telephone operators were first employed in 1874, when Bloomington business lines were installed...

Digital Exhibit

Powering the Community

Coal, used for generating electricity and for heating homes and businesses, was discovered bene...

Digital Exhibit