Guide to the Jared Day Collection on Nathan W. Shefferman, 1950s-1999 AIS.2010.10
- Repository
- ULS Archives & Special Collections
- Title
- Jared Day Collection on Nathan W. Shefferman
- Creator
- Day, Jared N.
- Collection Number
- AIS.2010.10
- Extent
- 0.21 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1950s-1999
- Abstract
- Nathan Shefferman was a labor relations manager for Sears, Roebuck and Company and responsible for cutting off union organizing activites at the company. In 1939 he founded the firm Labor Relations Associates, which was the most notorius union busting company in the country until Shefferman's activities were investigated by the Senate in the 1950s. This collection contains Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) files regarding Nathan Shefferman.
- Language
- English .
- Publisher
- ULS Archives & Special Collections
- Address
- University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Acquisition Information
Gift of Jared Day in January 2002.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Biography
Nathan Shefferman was a trained psychologist who studied many theories that were on the fringe of behavioral science, including phrenology and character analysis. He served as head of the National Labor Board in Philadelphia, where he made contacts with several corporate executives. From 1935 to 1948, Shefferman worked as a labor relations manager for Sears, Roebuck and Company to halt union organizers' efforts, a job he continued after founding his anti-union consulting firm, Labor Relations Associates (LRA), in Chicago in 1939. Using psychological techniques, the firm would isolate pro-union employees and promote anti-union sentiment throughout the workplace.
Shefferman would also act as an intermediary for companies to bribe union leaders with merchandise, money and the promise of not being labeled as a communist at the height of McCarthyism. This led to his subpoena during a Senate investigation of Teamster officer Dave Beck, and a later investigation of LRA by the Senate committee studying management abuses. During the investigation, most of Shefferman's clients and staff deserted him and formed other firms. Although he was not convicted of any wrongdoing due to loopholes in labor law, Shefferman's lasting legacy was that he trained many of the anti-union agents that operated into the 1990s.
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Existence and Location of Originals
The FBI retains the original files regarding Nathan Shefferman. The copies in this collection were made by the FBI for Jared Day per his request in 1996.
Previous Citation
Jared Day Collection on Nathan W. Shefferman, 1950s-1999, AIS.2010.10 , Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Preferred Citation
Jared Day Collection on Nathan W. Shefferman, 1950s-1999, AIS.2010.10 , Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Zachary Brodt in July 2010.
Scope and Content Notes
This collection contains Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) files regarding Nathan Shefferman. These files were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by researcher Jared Day. A paper by Day documenting Shefferman's career is also included.
Subjects
- United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Shefferman, Nathan W.
- Business and Industry
- Labor
- Union busting
- Industrial relations consultants