Work, Union and Politics, 1933-2007, Undated 9.9 cubic ft.
This series documents Helen Quirini's extensive union activities through her membership in Local 301. When Quirini joined this local it was affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE). During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the federal government kept UE leadership and its members under surveillance because of suspected Communist ties. In his aggressive investigations of accused Communists, Senator Joseph McCarthy, chairman of the Committee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations, subpoenaed Quirini and she was one of many members of the UE to testify in a pre-hearing before Congress in February 1954. She swore under oath that she was not and had never been a member of the Communist Party. Citing these supposed Communist connections, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) expelled the UE in 1949 and replaced it with the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (IUE). During subsequent years many UE locals elected to join the IUE, including Local 301 in June 1954. This series features materials related to all of the aforementioned events, including Quirini's subpoena, anti-McCarthy literature issued by unions, Quirini's surveillance files and a significant amount of propaganda from both unions issued before Local 301's vote to join the IUE.