National Board of the Young Men's Christian Associations. Industrial Work Dept.

The YMCA's Industrial Work department was established in 1903 to administer to the particular needs of working class men. Educational programs and activities for blue collar workers were designed to promote the physical and moral well-being of workers, as well as to promote improved labor relations in the textile, mining, lumber, steel, and other industries.

The YMCA's Industrial Work Department, first established under the direction of C. C. Michener in 1903, administered programs similar to those used by other YMCA departments: Bible study, religious meetings, educational classes, recreational activities and social gatherings. Whereas the earlier programs had targeted primarily middle-class, white collar men, the YMCA's Industrial Department was an attempt to address the needs of the working class. As historian Thomas Winter explains, "the YMCA combined concerns for the physical and moral well-being of workers with grave apprehensions about the potential political radicalism of workingmen" (Winter, 3). In an era of heightened labor unrest, YMCA saw a role for itself as a benevolent force in industrial relations by providing wholesome and educational activities to the working class. During the three years Michener was secretary, the department was devoted to the study and extension of evangelism and work among miners and lumber crews. Later, these programs were taken to workers in steel production, textile milling, and other industries.

Michener was succeeded by C. R. Towson in 1907. It was under Towson, with the help of Marcellus Dodge, who was the chairman of the Industrial Subcommittee of the International Committee that the Industrial Department gained strength. The YMCA worked to secure the cooperation and financial support of management in industry, believing that labor conflicts could be overcome and working men's allegiance to the company built by improving the workers through activities such as shop Bible classes, English and citizenship classes for immigrants, thrift classes, or interfactory athletic leagues (Winter, 4). Facilities were often set-up within company buildings or constructed on company land. In 1916, Towson reported that there were 200 secretaries working for the Industrial Department and a total of 99 buildings given by industry; by 1920, 246 secretaries were employed at 154 buildings, with a total investment of over $6.6 million of both industry and membership funds.

In response to increased labor tension in the country after World War I, the Industrial Department instituted annual human relations conferences at Silver Bay, New York in 1919, and later in Blue Ridge, North Carolina, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Estes Park, Colorado. The conferences drew steadily increasing interest, but ultimately the conferences in Lake Geneva and Estes Park fell victim to the Depression. In 1922 Towson retired and his post was assumed by Fred Rindge. Rindge promoted the growth of Americanization classes and the development of educational programs for labor unions.

Unfortunately, the impact of the Depression on the Industrial Department was not limited to the demise of the conferences in Lake Geneva and Estes Park. As the 1920s drew to a close, funding from the YMCA International Committee decreased and by 1930 there was no staff. In 1931, E. C. Worman took over as senior secretary for the department and set about reviving the program by promoting the Silver Bay conference and widening the scope of the department to include industrial foremen, as well as workers.

The National Council of Foremen's Clubs was established in 1934, and administered by a national secretary. In 1948 the organization's name was changed to the National Council of Industrial Management Clubs to reflect the growing managerial duties of foremen. The name was changed once again in 1971 to the International Management Council.

By the 1950s a formal Industrial Department no longer existed, but the National Board included a secretary for industrial programs under the Program Services Department. This administrative arrangement continued until the mid-1960s, after which time the Industrial Management Council continued the work of the national secretary position.

Reference:

Winter, Thomas. Making Men, Making Class: The YMCA and Workingmen, 1877-1920. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.