History

Madison Labor:
Building a City, Building a Movement

Organized labor has a rich history in Madison dating back to the late 1800s. That history is documented on these pages in four chapters and as downloadable pdf files.

Madison Labor: Building a City, Building a Movement was originally published in Union Labor News in May, 1993. The occasion marked the 100th anniversary of the South Central Federation of Labor which was founded in 1893 as the Federated Trades Council.

Written by Dexter Arnold, then-managing editor of Union Labor News and assistant to the SCFL president, the one hundred year history was based on research Arnold had done for a video produced in 1985 with funding in part from the Wisconsin Humanities Committee. The most recent chapter, A Union City, covering the period 1993-2005 was written by Jim Cavanaugh, president of the South Central Federation of Labor.

Download the full version of Madison Labor: Building a City, Building a Movement (4.2MB)

Chapter One: The Early Years (1893 – 1929) PDF file here (1.3MB).

Chapter Two: Organizing a Broader, Stronger Movement (1930 – 1940) PDF file here (1.1MB).

Chapter Three: Progress and Empty Promises (1941 – 1993) PDF file here (1MB).

Chapter Four: A Union City (1993 – 2005) PDF file here (60KB).

A Photo Gallery is also available with pictures of notable labor activities and events from Madison’s past. Click here: (Page 1) (Page 2) (Page 3) (Page 4).

For the Wisconsin Labor History Society’s Bibliography on Madison Labor click here.

Download page as .pdf