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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Miami Labor Citizen (Miami, Fla.) 1949-1956

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About Miami Labor Citizen (Miami, Fla.) 1949-1956

Miami’s Central Labor Union began publishing a newspaper in March 1918, due to lack of coverage in the Miami Herald and the Miami Daily Metropolis. Formerly known as the Miami News, the union newspaper became the Miami Citizen in November 1937 to avoid confusion with the Miami Daily News. As the official newspaper of the Florida Federation of Labor, Central Labor Union, Building Trades Council, and Labor’s Citizenship Committee, the Miami Citizen promoted workers’ rights and labor interests. It claimed to be the “Only Labor Paper in Dade County” and was the most widely distributed labor newspaper in the city. In 1949, the newspaper added ‘labor’ to its name and became the Miami Labor Citizen. In 1956, it dropped ‘Miami’ from its name, becoming the Labor Citizen, to reflect its broadening geographic scope.

From its office in downtown Miami, the Citizen published a weekly four-page newspaper every Thursday. In 1952, the newspaper expanded to eight pages per issue. Labor Day special editions were much longer, some as many as sixty-eight pages. The newspaper benefitted from long running and dedicated publishers and editors. The first publishers in 1918 were E. K. Dahlman, J. M. Sanderson, and Walter Hoyt. Later publishers included Gordon H. Russell (?–May 1938), Walter Hoyt (1938–1947), the Estate of Walter Hoyt (1948), Charles F. Towle (1948–1957), The Labor Press, Inc. (1958), and Alpha Publications (1959–?). Named editors included Stephen C. Singleton, who was the first editor in 1918, John R. Livingston (1938–1947), F.J. Reede (1948–1949), Herb McCusker (1949–1950 and 1953), and Charles F. Towle (1954–1959). In addition to being publisher and editor, Towle was also business manager of the newspaper and President of The Labor Press, Inc. Mrs. M. E. Roberts is also mentioned as being instrumental to the paper in the late 1940s.

Most of the newspaper’s coverage focused on local unions and trades, including, but not limited to, the Building and Trades Council, retail clerks, Women’s Union Label League, Central Labor Union, electricians, Electrician’s Auxiliary, chauffeurs, bakers, musicians, Painter’s Local Union No. 365, Printers, Miami Typographical Union, Women’s Auxiliary to Typographer’s Local Union, and Local 172 National Federation of Post Office Clerks. Much of this content was submitted and managed by the unions themselves in recurring columns, such as the “Paint and Brush,” “Musicians’ Notes,” and more complex sub-publications, such as “Post Office Clerks’ Mail,” which had its own editor, mailing address, and volume numbering within the Citizen.

As the official organ of the Florida Federation of Labor, the Citizen also worked to unite local branches and strengthen labor at the state and national levels. It covered major news from labor organizations throughout Florida, especially in Tampa, and statewide legislation and elections with an emphasis on voter registration and voting initiatives. From late 1940 until early 1942, the Citizen also included a four-page once-monthly “Florida Industrial Forum” section edited by Walter Hoyt which offered deeper coverage of industry, labor, and legislation in Florida, as well as the effects of national trends and federal policies on labor and industry in Florida.

At the national level, the Citizen shared news from the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) relating to strikes, new unions, and legislation. In the 1930s, there was significant coverage of the New Deal, especially the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA). After WWII, the quantity of news coverage about women in the workforce, including articles written by and for working women significantly increased. From 1949 onward, the paper regularly included multiple political cartoons relating to current labor events and policy.

Provided By: University of Florida

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Miami Labor Citizen (Miami, Fla.) 1949-1956

Dates of Publication

  • 1949-1956

Created / Published

  • Miami, Fla. : Labor Press, 1949-1956.

Headings

  • -  Labor unions--Florida
  • -  Miami (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Miami-Dade County (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Labor unions
  • -  Florida
  • -  Florida--Miami
  • -  Florida--Miami-Dade County
  • -  United States--Florida--Dade--Miami

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 31, no. 28 (Oct. 20, 1949)-v. 37, no. 52 (Apr. 5, 1956).
  • -  Labor citizen (DLC)sn 95047212 (OCoLC)33315900

Medium

  • 7 v.

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn95047211

OCLC Number

  • 33315899

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

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Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Miami Labor Citizen Miami, Fla. -1956. (Miami, FL), Jan. 1 1949. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn95047211/.

APA citation style:

(1949, January 1) Miami Labor Citizen Miami, Fla. -1956. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn95047211/.

MLA citation style:

Miami Labor Citizen Miami, Fla. -1956. (Miami, FL) 1 Jan. 1949. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn95047211/.