Accession consists of archival records of the Confederation of Canadian Unions, including textual records (correspondence, minutes, proceedings, reports, constitutions, print matter, and other materials), photographs, audio and video recordings, and a caricature documenting all principle functions and activities of the CCU, as well materials on the 1968-1969 discussions that led to its founding. The records pertain to: CCU conventions; the CCU National Executive Board; CCU Provincial Councils; unions affiliated to the CCU; other labour organizations; relations with non-labour groups; briefs to government and government correspondence; electronic files of secretary-treasurer John Lang; correspondence with CCU officers; CCU newsletters and other publicity/public relations records, including photographs; labour schools and education; CCU history and material on secretary-treasurer R. Kent Rowley and Madeleine Parent; relations with labour and political/liberation movements in other countries; photographs used for purposes; and other topics.
Textual records in the accession consist of correspondence, minutes, proceedings, reports, constitutions, print matter, and other materials documenting all principle functions and activities of the CCU during the period 1969-2000, as well materials on the 1968-1969 discussions that led to its founding. The files pertain to CCU Conventions, the CCU National Executive Board, CCU Provincial Councils affiliated unions, other labour organizations, relations with other (non-labour) groups, government relations, labour schools and education, communications and public relations, international affairs, Madeleine Parent and R. Kent Rowley, and other topics.
Electronic textual records in the accession consist of correspondence, reports, circulars, and other material, created or accumulated by John Lang in his capacity as CCU secretary-treasurer.
Art material in the accession consists of a caricature.
Convention speeches and proceedings from CCU conventions in Mine Mill Hall in Sudbury, Ontario (October 1989)and the Citadel Inn in Ottawa, Ontario (October 1993) including speeches from Maude Barlow and Madeline Parent. Also included is: material relating to the following conventions: Canadian Association of Industrial, Mechanical and Allied Workers; The Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers (along with a documentary detailing the labour strife at Royal Oak Mines Giant Mine); Canadian Textile and Chemical Union and a Mine Mill Convention; a speech by CCU treasurer John Lang; instructional material on the CCU labour school in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; an episode of TV Ontario's The Education of Mike McManus featuring a debate between Secretary Treasurer of the CCU Kent Rowley and Conrad Black titled Duplessi and labour: Friend or Foe?; lectures and an NFB documentary Who Wants Unions?.
Sound recordings include proceedings from six CCU conventions including: Mine Mill Hall, Sudbury, Ontario (July 1969); Sheraton Mt. Royal Hotel, Montreal, Quebec - including banquet activity - (July 1981); Georgia Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia (October 1983); Westbury Hotel, Toronto, Ontario - including banquet activity - (October 1985); Georgia Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia - including banquet activity - (October 1987); Mine Mill Hall, Sudbury, Ontario (October 1989). A compilation from the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice, two CBC news specials on labour, songs sold as strike support fundraisers for the Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers and a vinyl record of songs The Rugged Miner.
The photographs cover a variety of activities of the CCU, including many organizational meetings, workgroups, and workshops. There are also some examples of industrial action at various worksites. Some portraits of individuals active in the CCU are found in the fonds; some individual events, such as the funeral for Kent Rowley, are also covered.
