THE TRADE UNION PRESS: AN HISTORICAL ANALYSIS.

The article presents historical analysis of trade union press. Labor journalism has come a long way since the appearance of the Machinists and Blacksmiths International Journal in 1863. With more than 600 publications and an estimated readership exceeding 20,000,000, the union press wields a major influence on the American public. Today the union press is read by union members and the general public in steadily increasing numbers, and the frequency with which it is quoted by reporters for the daily newspapers, editorial writers, and others indicates that these publications have something of broad interest to tell the American public. Among the 600 publications there is a wide variety of organizational sponsors. Papers and/or magazines are published by the national federations such as the American Federation of Labor (A.F.L.) and Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) and the associated railroad brotherhoods; by national unions such as the Steelworkers, Automobile Workers, and Carpenters; by districts of various unions; and by state, county, or city A.F.L.-C.I.O. federations, as well as by local unions.