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Daniel W. Tracy Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: GTM-720101

Scope and Contents

The Daniel W. Tracy papers document his involvement in the labor movement spanning the period from 1913 to 1955. Included are correspondence, reports, minutes, speeches, labor publications, printed ephemera, newspaper clippings, and photographs concerning Tracy's presidency of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers from 1933 to 1940 and 1947 to 1954; his appointment as delegate to the ILO convention in Geneva in 1935; his term as Assiastant Secretary of Labor from 1940 to 1946, and his work on the executive council of the AFL. Note: Click on "External Documents" below for a link to the finding aid for the collection.

Dates

1933 - 1955

Conditions Governing Access

Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Biographical Note

Daniel W. Tracy was born in 1887, in Bloomington, Illinois. He was a well-respected and influential leader in the labor movement for over 40 years. After joining the electrical workers union in 1913 in Houston, Texas, he became business manager of the local union. In 1920, he was elected International Vice President for the 7th District of IBEW. In 1933, he became president of the IBEW and served in this capacity until 1954 except for 6 years as assistant secretary of labor. He served in this position from 1940 to 1946 during the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. The Secretary of Labor during this time was Frances Perkins.

In 1935, Mr. Tracy was the first labor delegate to the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1939, he was a representative at the Inter-American Trade Union conference in Lima, Peru and in 1945, he was an advisor at the San Francisco conference which created the United Nations. At one time, when the National Labor Relations Board invalidated some labor contracts including one that IBEW had with the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, the contract was reinstated after Mr. Tracy brought the case to the Supreme Court. In 1947 he became vice president of the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor and served in this capacity until 1955, the year of his death. He also was vice president of the metal trades department of the AF of L.