Guide to Organized Labor Resources

The Voices from the Great Hall collection consists of sound and moving image recordings, photographs, press releases, announcements, and ephemera documenting events - including many union and labor rights meetings - in the Great Hall at The Cooper Union from 1858 through the present. Materials are added regularly and can be explored via the website greathallvoices.cooper.edu

Founded in 1897, the People's Institute ran free lecture series, held training sessions for community workers, supported local labor unions, and advocated for affordable entertainment and education, among other things. The Records of the People's Institute contains material regarding the operations of the People's Institute itself as well as the Department of Social Philosophy, which took over education programming at The Cooper Union when the People's Institute ceased operations in 1934.

This collection contains records relating to the labor unions of Cooper Union: the Cooper Union Federation of College Teachers (CUFCT), the Union @ Cooper Union (UCU), and the Cooper Union Organization of Part-Time Faculty (CUOP). It includes labor contracts, union records and correspondence, legal records, Pioneers with union-related articles, and health plans.

The collection of ledgers and orders contains the accounts of The Cooper Union from 1858 to 1956. Items covered in these volumes range from sundries and payroll to commercial leases and rental fees for the Great Hall. The names of more than a hundred unique unions are recorded on these pages, as The Cooper Union was a favored site for meetings, particularly in the 19th and early 20th century.