Reel 56

Scope and Contents Following a meeting in Chicago, the leadership of the AMC decided to forego the organization of Louisiana sugar field workers in favor of sugar mill workers, since the latter were covered under the NLRA while the former were not. See especially Frank Lapeyrolerie's letters of protest to Patrick Gorman over this decision (Feb 17, 28), as well as Mitchell's letters to Harry R. Poole (Feb 18; March 4), and NSF Executive Secretary Fay Bennett (March 27). There is a letter from James Youngdahl to...

Scope and Contents The most interesting topic for these months is the "Louisiana Summer Project", a group of six students and six local residents who made a thorough canvass of the living conditions of sugar plantation field workers in southern Louisiana during June. The papers include a proposal and a brief report on the project (n.d. [June]), and several letters from Mitchell to Fay Bennett on the students' progress (June 18, 24, 27), but there is no detailed report. The best summary of the students'...

Scope and Contents During this period, Local 300 made an unsuccessful attempt to organize a rice mill at Abbeville, Louisiana, owned by Riviana Foods, Inc. In addition to numerous flyers and letters to the workers issued by both sides, the papers include three speeches by the Riviana management to the employees (July 11; Aug 13; Sept 23), the brief filed by the company with the NLRB (Aug 22), the NLRB decision in the case (Aug 28), a letter from Mitchell to the NLRB charging Riviana with unfair labor practices...

Scope and Contents For information on the fund-raising efforts of the Southern Mutual Help Association, see Mitchell to Mrs. George Biderman (Oct. 4, 8), as well as a set of materials sent out by the Association to prospective donors (Dec 7, 30). There is a memorandum by Mitchell on the proposed winter survey of sugar workers (n.d. [Nov]) and a copy of a New York Times article on the campaign (Oct. 22). Mitchell went on a speaking tour of various colleges during the Fall; the papers include his speech at the...