History
LAWCHA was founded in 1998. At the time, various labor scholars felt that existing professional organizations, while effective and worthwhile in their own way, did not focus on labor history and lacked an emphasis on workers and local worker organizations. Conversations about forming a new organization occurred on various listservs, especially, H-Labor, part of H-Net.
At a caucus of interested historians at the 1997 North American Labor History Conference in Detroit, Michigan, participants decided to form a new association. An organizing committee, chaired by Elizabeth Faue and Julie Greene, and a constitution and by-laws committee, led by John Bukowczyk and Roger Horowitz, were formed. A constitution was drafted in late 1997 and early 1998, and the organizing committee debated the constitution in mid-1998.
The organizing committee presented the draft constitution to the founding members of LAWCHA at the 1998 North American Labor History Conference. The constitution was approved, and LAWCHA officially founded. Jacquelyn Dowd Hall (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) was elected LAWCHA's first president and Joe W. Trotter, Jr. (Carnegie Mellon University) its first vice-president.
LAWCHA grew steadily throughout 1999, and held its first public meetings as part of a panel at the 1999 North American Labor History Conference. LAWCHA quickly began hosting an extensive program of activities at various history conferences in the U.S. and Canada.
LAWCHA's other past presidents have included former James Green and Alice Kessler-Harris.
Read more about this topic: Labor And Working-Class History Association
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