American Labor Conference on International Affairs.

The American Labor Conference on International Affairs (ALCIA) was organized in February 1943 by several labor leaders from the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the Railway Brotherhoods. The membership of ALCIA included American labor leaders, American and European scholars, and representatives of the European labor movement who lived in the United States. ALCIA studied political, economic, labor, and educational problems arising from World War II. It published reports, the quarterly "International Postwar Problems," the biweekly, "A.L.C. News Letter," and the monthly, "Modern Review." The ALCIA also participated in labor conferences.

From the description of Records, 1939-1950. (New York University). WorldCat record id: 17268897

The American Labor Conference on International Affairs (ALCIA), a non socialist group, was organized in February 1943 by several labor leaders from the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial organizations, and the Railway Brotherhoods. The membership of ALCIA included not only American labor leaders but also American and European scholars and representatives of the European labor movement who were residing in the United States during World War II. Among the officers of ALCIA who were most prominent in labor and intellectual circles were William Green, David Dubinsky, Raphael Abramovitch, Clinton S. Golden, George M. Harrison, Louis Hollander, James T. Shotwell, Matthew Woll, Alfred Braunthal, and Albert Halasi.

The primary purpose of ALCIA was to engage in research on international economic and political problems for the benefit of the American labor movement. More specifically, ALCIA engaged in a systematic study of problems arising from the political, economic and social effects of World War II. Under the leadership of Varian Fry, ALCIA's executive secretary, the organization established four working commissions to research political, economic, labor, and educational questions. The commissions drafted reports and memoranda on such subjects as the White Plan for currency stabilization, disposal of government owned plants after World War II, the Baruch Report and economic welfare, 1945 tax reduction, postwar educational planning, the Bretton Woods Conference, and the Dunbarton Oaks proposals. These reports were then published by ALCIA as "Studies in Postwar Reconstruction" and "Occasional Papers". The commissions also provided information on labor and international affairs to a wider audience through a quarterly periodical entitled, International Postwar Problems, and a bi weekly news service entitled, The A. L. C. News Letter.

Besides its publications, ALCIA also submitted reports, memoranda, and statements on a variety of international issues to several labor conferences held during the mid 1940s. In May 1944, ALCIA representatives submitted amendments to the International Labor Organization's constitution at the annual ILO Conference in Philadelphia. During the summer of 1944, ALCIA sponsored a labor and politics forum at Pendle Hill, Pennsylvania. This two day conference featured discussions on the impact of the Dunbarton Oaks proposals, the relationship between labor and American foreign policy, and the status of international labor unity. Among the noted speakers at this special conference were Dr. Robert MacIver, Sir Norman Angell, Matthew Woll, Sen. Joseph H. Ball of Minnesota, Dr. James T. Shotwell, William Green, and Raphael Abramovitch. ALCIA also held several organizational conferences from 1943 to 1946.

In 1945 and 1946, David Dubinsky and other members of the Congress of Industrial organizations resigned from ALCIA because of a fundamental disagreement over the editorial policy of the organization. The CIO withdrawal caused the ALCIA leadership to change its policies concerning the gathering and distribution of information on American labor and international affairs. The result of this change was the publication of a monthly magazine entitled, Modern Review. In the first issue of Modern Review in March 1947, the editors stated that the journal signaled

"the first comprehensive effort of a significant section of organized labor in the U.S., and its liberal and democratic socialist allies here and abroad, to carry their views on world affairs to the public at large."

From this objective, the Modern Review staff sought to infuse "labor, liberal and progressive thought in America with the understanding of man's relationship to society that has emerged out of the sufferings abroad while projecting overseas such concepts as the rights and dignity of man."

Under the editorial supervision of Travers Clement and Lewis A. Coser, the staff of the Modern Review sought to achieve these goals by publishing articles from such noted writers as Hannah Arendt, Leon Blum, John Childs, Louis Fischer, Granville Hicks, Paul Keckskemeti, Solomon Schwarz, and Bertram D. Wolfe. The success of the Modern Review was short lived, however, as financial problems and ideological disputes among the editorial board members caused ALCIA to cease publication of the magazine in 1949. With the demise of the Modern Review, ALCIA terminated its operations in 1950.

From the guide to the American Labor Conference on International Affairs Records, 1939-1950, (Tamiment Library / Wagner Archives)