At UTA Libraries Special Collections, the Texas Labor Archives preserves more than a century of stories about work, family, resilience, and community across Texas. 
 

Through photographs, letters, newsletters, oral histories, contracts, and personal papers, the collection documents the experiences of workers and labor organizations that shaped industries and communities throughout the state. Some materials capture major moments in labor history, while others reflect everyday life, showing how working Texans organized, advocated for change, and supported one another through generations of social and economic shifts. 
 

Founded in 1967, the Texas Labor Archives was the first archive established at UTA, years before Special Collections formally existed. What began as an effort to preserve labor history in Texas has grown into one of the library’s signature collections. 
 

For Evan Spencer, Outreach and Instruction Archivist at UTA Libraries, the collection stands out because of the people behind the records. 
 

“These collections tell stories about people,” Spencer said. “Not just organizations or major historical moments, but families, workers, and communities.” 
 

Today, the archives contain material from hundreds of union locals and labor councils, statewide labor organizations, labor attorneys, political groups, and the personal papers of labor leaders and activists. Collections range from the 1870s to the present, offering researchers and visitors a broad look at the history of organized labor in Texas.

Much of the foundation for the archives was laid by Dr. George Green, a labor historian and professor emeritus at UTA who worked closely with unions and labor activists across Texas to encourage them to preserve their records at the university. 

 
“He convinced unions that their stories mattered and that they would be preserved here,” Spencer said. “Instead of researchers having to travel all over Texas searching through file cabinets and storage rooms, those histories could be brought together in one place.” 

 
Over the years, the archives have become an important resource for historians, sociologists, communications scholars, students, and community members interested in Texas history and social movements. 

 
One recent classroom project showed how the collections can connect with students in unexpected ways. Students in a public relations course taught by Jennifer Lanter used materials from the Texas Labor Archives to study how labor unions communicated with both workers and the public. 

Using historical newsletters, posters, and strike materials, students analyzed how organizations used storytelling, emotional appeals, and visual messaging long before the digital age. 

 
“It helped students see these concepts in a real-world setting,” Spencer said. “They weren’t just reading about communication strategies. They were seeing them happen through primary sources.” 

The archives also preserve stories that reflect lesser-known parts of Texas history. 

One collection documents the Moving Picture Operators Union of Dallas, preserving the history of workers who operated movie theater projectors decades before digital cinema transformed the industry. The archive also includes records from a segregated Black chapter formed after Black projectionists were excluded from the white union during the late 1940s and early 1950s. 

 
Among Spencer’s favorite collections is the International Ladies Garment Workers Union Local 180 records from San Antonio. 

 
The collection centers on women working in garment factories who organized strikes in the 1950s to demand better working conditions and fair treatment. Alongside newsletters and organizing materials are photographs that capture the deeply personal side of labor activism. 

 
“You see women holding picket signs with their children beside them,” Spencer said. “You really get a sense that these movements affected entire families and communities.” 

 
Some signs encouraged shoppers not to buy clothing produced by the factories involved in the strikes. Others asked neighbors and residents for support. The photographs, Spencer said, create a strong emotional connection to the experiences behind the historical records. 

 
“It makes history feel immediate,” he said. 

The Texas Labor Archives continues to grow as new materials are added from labor organizations and individuals across the state. Recent donations from organizations like the Association of Professional Flight Attendants have helped preserve contemporary labor history alongside records from earlier generations. 

 
The collections are available through Special Collections at UTA Libraries, where detailed finding guides hosted in ArchivesSpace help visitors identify materials connected to specific organizations, industries, and historical events. Oral history interviews with more than 200 labor leaders and activists also provide firsthand accounts that add another layer to the collection.  
 

For Spencer, the significance of the archives lies in the stories they preserve. 

 
“These are stories about people trying to improve their lives and support their communities,” he said. “That’s something everyone can connect with.” 

More information about the Texas Labor Archives is available online through MavMatrix, UTA’s Institutional Repository and Archival Hub.