Directory of labour history organisations
The Society for the Study of Labour History is part of a wider family of organisations and networks focusing on labour (sometimes labor) history, each with its own international, national or regional focus. Here is a guide to some of these bodies.
(Links to libraries, archives and museums with extensive labour history collections can be found here).
North West Labour History Society
Formed in 1973 to promote and popularise the knowledge and study of all aspects of labour history in the North West of England, from Peterloo and Chartism to the growth of trade unionism, the Irish community and votes for women. NWLH publishes the North West Labour History Journal.
North East Labour History Society
Founded in 1967, making this Britain’s oldest regional labour history society, and dedicated to the study of working people’s history in the region, particularly during the modern period, the Society publishes the journal North East History.
Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Labour History Society
The Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Labour History Society is an organisation of members who have an interest in working class history, and the history of the labour movement in these two counties.
Scottish Labour History Society
Established in 1961 and becoming the Scottish Labour History Society in 1966, SLHS, is an independent organisation of academics, practitioners, labour and social activists and others interested in the development and history of Scotland’s working-class, trade union, labour and co-operative movements. It has published an annual journal since 1969.
Llafur
Llafur was formed in 1970 to promote and popularise the knowledge and study of all aspects of people’s history in Wales. It publishes Llafur: the Journal of Welsh People’s History.
Irish Labour History Society
Founded in 1973 to ‘promote the knowledge of Irish labour history and of Irish people in labour history abroad and labour history in general’, and with interests in the educational curriculum and the preservation of records and reminiscences, the ILHS publishes the journal Saothar.
European Labour History Network
Established in 2013 and supported by the International Institute of Social History, the ELHN collaborates with local and national labour and social history networks and organises a conference every two years. The website includes a directory of labour history networks across Europe.
Labor and Working Class History Association
The US-based LWCHA is made up of historians, labor educators, and working-class activists who seek to promote public and scholarly awareness of labor and working-class history through research, writing, and organizing.
Australian Society for the Study of Labour History
Founded in 1961 to study ‘the working class situation … and social history in the fullest sense’, the society aims to encourage teaching and research in labour history, and the preservation of the records of working people and the labour movement. It publishes the journal Labour History.
Society for the Study of Labour History 