Baltimore Labor College

{{Infobox school | name = Baltimore Labor College | image = | alt = | caption = | motto = | motto_translation = | location = Baltimore, Maryland | country = United States of America | coordinates =  | other_name =  | former_name =  | type = workers' education | established =  | opened = c. 1919 | closed = c. 1931 | district = | grades = | superintendent = | principal = William Ross (president) | staff = | faculty = Broadus Mitchell, V.F. Calverton | gender =  | age_range =  | enrollment =  | campus_size = | campus_type = | team_name = | newspaper = | colors =  | communities = | feeder_schools = | website =  | footnotes = }} The '''Baltimore Labor College''' (c. 1919 – c. 1931) of Baltimore, Maryland, was an early 20th-century college, school, and enterprise for workers' education within the State of Maryland.<ref> {{cite book | title = Workers Education in the United States: Report of Proceedings Second National Conference on Workers Education in the United States | publisher = Workers Education Bureau of America | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=61o7AAAAYAAJ | pages = 193 | date = 1922 | access-date = 20 April 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite book | title = Proceedings of the National University Extension Association, Volumes 7-11 | publisher = National University Extension Association | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pDIwAQAAMAAJ | pages = 132 | date = 1923 | access-date = 20 April 2022}}</ref> Its president was Polish-born ILGWU organizer William Ross (b. 1899).<ref> {{cite book | first = Leilah | last = Danielson | title = American Gandhi: A. J. Muste and the History of Radicalism in the Twentieth Century | publisher = University of Pennsylvania Press | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=61o7AAAAYAAJ | pages = 103 (among other schools), 376 (president) | date = 25 September 2014 | access-date = 20 April 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite journal |date=1929 |title=Volume 44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeyfAAAAMAAJ |journal=Plumbers, Gas and Steam Fitters Journal |publisher=United Association of Journeymen Plumbers and Steam Fitters of the United States and Canada |pages=33 |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite journal |date=1929 |title=Volume 65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0sMAQAAIAAJ |journal=International Molders' and Foundry Workers' Journal |publisher=International Molders' and Foundry Workers' Union |pages=386 |access-date=21 April 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite journal | title = Brookwood Graduates, Members of A.F. of L., Reply to President Green | journal = The American Teacher | publisher = American Federation of Labor | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eXQeAQAAIAAJ | pages = 31 | date = March 1929 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

==History== The Baltimore Labor College was an outgrowth of the Education Department of the Baltimore Federation of Labor (founded in 1883) and started as Adult Education.<ref> {{cite journal | first = Robert E. | last = Machin | title = Baltimore Labor Begins Education | journal = The Horseshoers' Magazine | publisher = International Union of Journeymen Horseshoers of the United States and Canada | location = Cincinnati | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=61o7AAAAYAAJ | pages = 4 | date = April 1927 | access-date = 20 April 2022}}</ref> In 1919, one of the college's founders was Jess Perlman, director of the Jewish Educational Alliance in Baltimore<ref> {{cite journal | title = Jewish Social Service: Personals | journal = Jewish Charities | publisher = National Conference of Jewish Charities | location = New York | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DEs9AQAAMAAJ | pages = 271 | date = May 1919 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref> and executive director of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies' School for Social Service in Montreal,<ref> {{cite journal | title = Jewish Social Service: School for Social Service | journal = Jewish Charities | publisher = National Conference of Jewish Charities | location = New York | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DEs9AQAAMAAJ | pages = 65 | date = November 1920 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref> later a co-founder of the Grove School (Connecticut).<ref> {{cite journal | title = Jess Perlman, aka Philip Gray (1891-1984) | journal = "Strangers to Us All": Lawyers and Poetry | publisher = National Conference of Jewish Charities | location = New York | url = http://lawlit.net/lp-2001/perlman.html | date = | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACW) sponsored the Baltimore Labor College as well as Brookwood Labor College, the Rochester Labor College, and the Workers University of Cleveland.<ref> {{cite book | first = Steven | last = Fraser | title = Labor Will Rule: Sidney Hillman and the Rise of American Labor | publisher = Cornell University Press | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bAlYAAAAYAAJ | pages = 221 | date = 1993 | isbn = 9780801481260 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite book | first = Jo Ann E. | last = Argersinger | title = Making the Amalgamated: Gender, Ethnicity, and Class in the Baltimore Clothing Industry, 1899-1939 | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kNe6AAAAIAAJ | pages = 74–78 | date = 1999 | isbn = 9780801859892 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

=== 1920s === In 1920, the Baltimore Labor College had professors from Johns Hopkins University lecture to its worker students.<ref> {{cite journal | title = Labor Colleges | journal = The Vocational Summary | publisher = James R. Elkins | location = Washington, DC | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DEs9AQAAMAAJ | pages = 226 | date = April 1920 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

In 1921, A.K. Moran, a delegate of the Baltimore Labor College, asked the Workers Education Bureau of America whether a local Philadelphia union could affiliate directly with the Bureau as well as with the Philadelphia Labor College.<ref> {{cite book | title = Workers Education in the United States: Report of Proceedings, First National Conference on Workers Education in the United States | publisher = Workers Education Bureau of America | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7VI_AQAAMAAJ | pages = 81 | date = 1921 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

In 1924, the Baltimore Labor College joined a US delegation to the UK to visit the British Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Ruskin College. Other delegates came from the Workers Education Bureau, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), Washington Trade Union College, the Rand School of Social Science, Brookwood Labor College, and the National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL).<ref> {{cite journal | title = At Ruskin College | journal = Labor and Life Bulletin | publisher = National Women's Trade Union League of American | location = Chicago | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WJBZAAAAYAAJ | pages = 2 | date = October 1924 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

In 1929, the Baltimore Labor College reviewed open labor forums along with the Denver Labor College, the New Haven Trades Council, and the Detroit Federation of Labor.<ref> {{cite journal | title = Labor Congresses: Convention of Workers' Education Bureau, 1929 | journal = Monthly Labor Review | publisher = U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fnE0AQAAMAAJ | pages = 164 | date = May 1929 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

=== 1930s === In 1930, the Baltimore Labor College endorsed labor legislation along with other organizations including the American Federation of Labor.<ref> {{cite journal | title = unreadable | journal = American Labor Legislation Review | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fnE0AQAAMAAJ | pages = 15 | date = May 1930 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref>

According to a 1931 report, "control of the Baltimore Labor College rests in a board of trustees, which in turn, is elected by a board of control, composed of delegates of the Baltimore Federation of Labor."<ref> {{cite journal | title = unreadable | journal = American Labor Yearbook | publisher = Rand School of Social Science | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D4o7AAAAMAAJ | pages = 238 | date = 1931 | access-date = 21 April 2022}}</ref> In a 1980 oral history interview, William Ross stated: <blockquote> <small> One of the things I was involved with was the establishment of the Baltimore Labor College. It wasn't a college in the full sense – we just used that name. It consisted of classes for adults and sociological and historical subjects. We also developed a radio labor program, probably the first such program in the country. That was before television. And that was successful. It was paid for by an important New York firm... In addition to it I had to develop a cooperative program with Johns Hopkins University – its economics department. And the program was a joint organization of a number of seminars of very large size. Weekend seminars which would have people of national importance dealing with current labor and industry problems, such as the future of the railroad industry... I... wanted to do more things and I became interested in getting to learn more about the European labor movement and especially I wanted to attend the college known as Ruskin College in Oxford... And the people who were running the Brookwood Labor College arranged for me to go to Ruskin and to Oxford. Of course, the town of Baltimore became very thrilled and excited... My stay in Baltimore off and on was stretched over a five-year period.<ref name=Text-WilliamRoss> {{cite interview | last = Ross | first = William | subject = | subject-link = | last2 = | first2 = | subject2 = | subject-link2 = | last3 = | first3 = | subject3 = | subject-link3 = | last4 = | first4 = | subject4 = | subject-link4 = | interviewer = Walter Massy Phillips | title = William Ross Oral History, May 20, 1980 | type = | work = | date = 20 May 1980 | publisher = Temple University - Oral Histories - Temple Digital Collections | location = | page = | pages = | quote = | url = https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p16002coll12/id/1186/rec/1 | format = HTML text | url-status = | archive-url = | archive-date = | access-date = 19 April 2022}}</ref> </small> </blockquote>

== Teachers == Teachers included Broadus Mitchell<ref> {{cite conference | url = | title = Workers' Education and Adult Education | first = Jonathan D. | last = Bloom | author = | author-link = | date = March 1989 | conference = Breaking New Ground: The Development of Adult and Workers' Education in North America | conference-url = https://roghiemstra.com/breaking.html | editor = Rae Wahl Rohfeld | others = Irene Quinlan (copy editor) | volume = | edition = | book-title = | publisher = Syracuse University Kellogg Project | location = | pages = | format = | id = | isbn = | bibcode = | oclc = | doi = | access-date = | quote = | language = | page = | at = | trans-title = }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Rita |first1 = Heller |author-link1 = |editor-last1 = Kornbluh |editor-first1 = Joyce L. |editor-last2 = Frederickson |editor-first2 = Mary |orig-date = 1984 |chapter = Blue Collars and Blue Stockings: The Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers, 1921-1938 |script-chapter = |trans-chapter = |chapter-url = https://tupress.temple.edu/open-access/epub/15/Kornbluh_9781439917923.epub#epubcfi(/6/34[nav_29]!/4/2/2/1:0) |chapter-url-access = |chapter-format = |title = Sisterhood and Solidarity: Workers' Education for Women, 1914-1984 |script-title = |trans-title = |title-link = |url = https://tupress.temple.edu/open-access/epub/15/Kornbluh_9781439917923.epub#epubcfi(/6/34 |url-status = dead |url-access = |format = |type = |series = |language = English |volume = |edition = |location = Philadelphia |publisher = Temple University Press |publication-date = 2008 |pages = 120, 124, 154 |no-pp = |arxiv = |asin = |asin-tld = |bibcode = |bibcode-access = |biorxiv = |citeseerx = |doi = |doi-access = |jstor = |jstor-access = |lccn = |archive-date = 2022-08-16 |access-date = 2022-04-21 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220816040805/https://tupress.temple.edu/open-access/epub/15/Kornbluh_9781439917923.epub#epubcfi(/6/34 }}</ref> and V.F. Calverton.<ref> {{cite encyclopedia | last = Bly | first = Cynthia | author-link = | editor-last = Wintz | editor-first = Cary D. | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance: A-J | title = Calverton, V.F. | trans-title = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=z6Cs0Y1pvRAC | access-date = | language = English | edition = | date = 2004 | publisher = Taylor & Francis | series = | volume = | location = | id = | isbn = 9781579584573 | oclc = | doi = | pages = 208 | archive-url = | archive-date = | url-status = | quote = }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External sources== * [https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p16002coll12/id/1215/rec/1 William Ross Oral History, May 20, 1980] * [https://roghiemstra.com/bloom.html Workers' Education and Adult Education]

Category:Labor schools Category:Labor movement in Maryland Category:Education in Baltimore Category:Education in Maryland Category:1919 establishments in Maryland Category:1931 disestablishments in the United States