Alabama By-Products was founded in 1920 as the North Birmingham By-Products Coke Oven Plant by the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Company. The company is still in operation and is a major supplier of foundry coke. This small collection contains wage agreements, material relating to unionization of workers and other material relating to the UMW.

Bound transcripts and supporting documentation of interviews conducted by Carl Elliott, Sr. in the 1970s, primarily dealing with black lung disease.

The origin of the Alabama Coal Operators' Association can be traced to June 1900 when officials of several Alabama coal mining and steel companies met in Birmingham to discuss wage-scale negotiations with coal miners organized under the United Mine Workers (UMW). In 1908, the association organized and drafted a constitution. In response to mounting labor tensions, the ACOA adopted an open-shop policy and refused to recognize the United Mine Workers. In response, the UMW called a strike. On August 10, 1908, this strike was defeated through the intervention of Governor B.B. Comer who forbid the union to hold meetings and ordered the state militia to raze the mine workers' makeshift tent settlement. The ACOA also defeated the UMW in the later strikes of 1917 and 1919 and in the strike of 1920-1921. Aside from its concerns with labor problems, the ACOA advocated the general interests of the coal companies. It worked to improve mine safety, to import new technology, and to keep tax assessments on mineral lands low. The association opposed regulation of corporation wage-scales and commissary prices. With labor tensions considerably eased after the turmoil of earlier years, the AMI turned its attention to promoting the interests of Alabama coal mining companies. In 1992, the AMI became the Alabama Coal Association. The records contain minutes, proceedings, publications, correspondence, the constitution, annual reports of the Alabama Mining Institute, annual reports from the State Inspectors of Coal Mines, and subject files. The subject files consist of newspaper articles, speeches, reports, and pamphlets.

This small collection includes minutes of meetings for the period 1890 to 1893 and membership lists for 1891.

This collection contains correspondence, membership records, financial records, annual reports, a constitution and ritual handbook and other material relating to the activities of the Society.

This collection contains copies of correspondence with labor leader Samuel Gompers and others, publications and other material relating to the activities and internal discord in Painters’ unions in Alabama and other states.

In this oral history interview, conducted by Alice M. Hoffman in 1975, Burttram discusses his career as a coal miner in the Birmingham area (1921-1924), as a steel worker at U. S. Steel’s Fairfield Works (1924-1942) and describes his work as a CIO labor organizer.

This scrapbook includes newspaper clippings describing labor unrest at Hayes, a Birmingham aircraft modification facility.

These photographs depict child laborers in a variety of industries in Alabama.

This collection includes an incomplete set of minutes books for the period 1933 to 1967, receipt books, a daybook and other material.