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H. James Yount papers

 Collection
Call Number: RH MS 220

Overview

H. James Yount was a prominent Kansas labor leader from the 1940s to the 1970s; he was also an author, having published one book, Colored Water, as well as many articles for organized labor. The collection of correspondence, newsletters, pamphlets, photographs, and newspaper clippings follow H.J. Yount's work in organized labor from 1944 to 1976.

Dates

  • Creation: 1940 - 1980

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of H. James Yount

H. James Yount was a prominent Kansas labor leader since the 1940s-1970s. The son of a Baptist minister, he was born in Bloomfield, Iowa in 1914, and grew up in small towns in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. In 1942, after working as an aircraft mechanic, shipyard rigger, Oregon lumberjack, and in road construction, Yount took a job in a Kansas City aircraft plant. There he began work as a United Auto Workers organizer. By 1943, U.A.W. local 31 elected him as chairman of its Legislative and Political Action Committee. By 1944, Yount was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Congress of Industrial Organization’s state affiliate, the Kansas State Industrial Union Council (KSICC), and in 1945, began over thirty years of work as a labor lobbyist in Topeka. After the merger of Kansas C.I.O. and American Federation of Labor groups in 1957, Yount was elected Vice President of the Kansas State Federation of Labor for the first of six terms. As a union official, Yount has been involved in Kansas political campaigns and labor issues since the 1940s. A published author, he has written a novel, Colored Water, as well as many articles for organized labor. He has also worked with state and local civic organizations ranging from the Salvation Army and UNESCO to the Kansas Park Authority.

Extent

5.25 Linear Feet (8 boxes + 1 oversize box, 1 oversize folder, 1 volume)

Language of Materials

English

Physical Location

RH MS 220

Physical Location

RH MS R37

Physical Location

RH MS G71

Physical Location

RH MS 783

Physical Location

RH MS Q193

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, H. James Yount, 1977

Title
Guide to the H. James Yount Collection
Subtitle
H. James Yount papers
Author
Finding aid prepared by jom, 1981; revised by, cl 2010; Finding aid encoded by skt, 2006
Date
2006
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/5187713347
Preferred citation
H. James Yount Collection, Kansas Collection, RH MS 220, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334