The GREATER CLEVELAND LABOR HISTORY SOCIETY was founded in 1982 by Jean Tussey and David Knapp as a resource center and museum to educate today's workers about the daily life of the ordinary workingman in the past. Located in the Sidney Hillman Building at 2227 Payne Ave., the society collected historic records, books, photographs, and memorabilia from various sources, including material from the UAW, Intl. Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Carpenters' Local 95, and the Typographical Union, among others. In order to make information about labor's past struggles in Cleveland available to the public, the organization published numerous pamphlets, including a "History of Cleveland Labor" by MAX S. HAYES and a reprint of a rare 1902 Labor Day Souvenir Booklet. The society also mounted exhibitions, including "Sewing the Fabric of Cleveland," and "The Life and Times of A. Philip Randolph," a traveling exhibition from the A. Philip Randolph Institute. The labor history society is supported by dues from over 300 institutional and individual members as well as private donations.
The organization faded away after Jean Tussey's death in 2010.