Iowa Labor History Oral Project

An oral history project instigated to document labor history in Iowa. The project was modelled after a pilot project known as the Quad Cities Oral History Project. The project was carried out by the Iowa Federation of Labor (IFL) between the late 1970's and the early 1980's. Funding was provided by the IFL with supplemental funds coming from the Teamsters and the UAW. Interviews were conducted throughout the state. Interviewees represented 75 different occupational groups from all of Iowa's industrial cities and from many smaller communities, as well as union activists and leaders. IFL president James Wengert (elected in 1979) and secretary-treasurer Mark Smith put together an advisory board to supervise the project. The tape-recorded interviews were transcribed and deposited with the State Historical Society of Iowa.