United Faculty records, publications, and papers, 1969-2013
Scope and Contents
About half of the papers were fairly well arranged in clearly labeled notebooks and file folders. The other half of the papers showed no apparent signs of arrangement; they were mixed and loose in their boxes. Some of the papers had suffered pest damage at some point in the past. Gerald Peterson processed the better organized material first and let those papers form the framework for the arrangement. He then put the disorganized material into that framework at the appropriate points. The resulting arrangement is roughly chronological, with material concentrated around biennial contract negotiations.
Integrating disorganized material into organized material resulted in duplication and overlap that, due to time constraints, cannot be remedied now. For example, correspondence for a particular year may be found in a file labeled "Correspondence" as well as in a "President's notebook" for that year. Material relating to negotiations may be located in a "Negotiations" file as well as in committee files or correspondence files.
Researchers should also note that labeling in the original, organized material is not completely accurate. For example, folders relating to negotiations for a particular contract may also include material from negotiations for earlier contracts. Negotiators probably used older material in the course of their current negotiations. Consequently, researchers interested in negotiations for a particular contract should also look at material relating to the next biennial contract
For years in which they exist, United Faculty president's notebooks can be valuable snapshots of a particular year or two. The notebooks tend to be inclusive and well-organized. They often include correspondence, newsletters, memoranda, notes, and minutes. The negotiations folders, on the other hand, are large, but not well-organized. Overall, negotiations from the early years are better documented than are later negotiations.
As stated earlier, the overall arrangement of the collection is chronological. However, for the sake of convenience, there are final copies of all master agreements in Box 1. Also, all personal grievances have been placed in Boxes 16-23. Access to personal grievances is limited to the grievant, those whom the grievant may designate; and the current United Faculty President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Executive Director, Chair of the Collective Bargaining Team, and Past President.
Dates
- Creation: 1969-2013
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
United Faculty delivered its older papers and records, in the course of an office shift, to the University Archives in the summer of 2004. Public History Intern Will Dodds inventoried the material in the fall of 2004. University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson processed and arranged the papers in January and February 2006. Additional material was donated in 2015.
Processing Information
This collection processed by Gerald L. Peterson, University Archivist, with assistance from Public History Intern Will Dodds; finding aid prepared by Gerald L. Peterson, January-February 2006; last modified June 24, 2010. Collection reprocessed and new material added by Library Associate Dave Hoing, March 2016.