Craig D. Robinson Papers
A labor attorney and activist, Craig Robinson was born in Hartford, Conn., on August 6, 1952, and raised in Stafford. After rising tuition led him to drop out of the University of Connecticut in 1971, Robinson worked in a variety of manual jobs until he was hired by the US Postal Service in 1974. From the time of his assignment to the bulk mail facility in Springfield the next year, Robinson was an active member of the American Postal Workers Union, eventually serving as steward, vice president, and president of his Local, and his activism often created friction with management. Earning his BA at UMass Amherst (1980) and JD from the Western New England School of Law (1984), he began practicing labor law, moving to full time in 1991. Devoted to workplace justice, he served as General Counsel for the Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council and for Locals of the United Roofers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union, among others, and was a founding board member of the Western Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. Robinson died on June 17, 2007, and is survived by his wife Linda Tonoli, and son.
The Robinson papers contain a record of labor activism in the Pioneer Valley and beyond. The collection includes retained copies of legal filings relating to arbitration and other labor-related cases, along with articles written by and about Robinson, and an assortment of other notes and correspondence.
Background on Craig Robinson
Craig D. Robinson (1952-2007) worked as a labor lawyer for several decades, primarily representing postal workers in court cases. Cases of labor abuse, and personal experiences working in laborer jobs drove Robinson to pursue a career in labor law. He was especially motivated by work as a postal clerk first in the U.S. Postal Service in Stafford Springs, Conn. (1974), and later, in the Springfield Bulk Mail Center (1975) where he witnessed cases of abuse and negligence. Prior to his employment at the mail center, he worked as a draft counselor in Voluntown, Conn., a day laborer picking fruit on migrant farms in 32 different states, a cloth miller, and roofer while attending Manchester Community College (Manchester, Conn.). Robinson was previously enrolled in the University of Connecticut, but was forced to drop-out due to exorbitant tuition costs by the state’s governor in 1971. His organizing activities, and labor activism, began in 1980 when he led a slowdown against the post office during which trailers of mail had to be parked in the employees’ parking lot. He quickly became actively involved in organizing, and was an active member of the Taft-Hartley Repeal Committee (circa 1980), as well as being involved in the American Postal Workers Defense Committee (1980) at the end of college. Along with representing the local American Postal Workers Union as the General Counsel, Robinson represented the local Amalgamated Transit Unions (bus drivers and other transit employees), the Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, and the United Roofers’ Union Local 248. His firm also represented the U.S. Mail Handlers Union, Local 301, the local Teamsters Union (Local 404), and the American Federation of Government Employees for Westover Air Force Base between 2001-2003.Robinson participated, and won, prominent cases in relation to the United States Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), and the American Disability Act (ADA) during the late 1980s, and 1990s. He also served as a National Arbitration Advocate for the American Postal Workers Union, taking court cases to national panels before federal judges in Washington D.C.
Robinson obtained a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1980. He obtained a J.D. from Western New England School of Law in 1984 after which he began to practice law. Robinson was admitted to the U.S. District Court Bar for Massachusetts in 1988. He continued to work for the U.S. Postal Service on the work-room floor until 1991 when he turned to focusing solely on his legal career. Along with this career, Robinson was very active in numerous union and local organizations.
Robinson sat on the board of numerous organizations, and served as an advisor for many others with a social, and economic justice focus. He served as the President of the American Postal Workers’ Union in 1977, and again in 1985 when it merged with the Local 497. Some such boards include the Western Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH), the Union Community Fund of Western Massachusetts, and the Town Finance Committee. He advised and was a member of Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice.
Contents of Collection
This collection contains three series related to legal cases and actions, personal materials generated by Craig Robinson, and publications accumulated by Robinson primarily relating to law and labor in the United States. The bulk of the collection consists of civil actions such as court cases and proceedings from Robinson’s time as an attorney, primarily spanning the late 1980s to the early 2000s which deal with issues of workers’ discrimination on the basis of sex, race, and primarily, disability or health issues which led to worker suspension or termination by the U.S. Postal Service. Court files contain original grievance against employer filed, trial hearings along with testimonies or evidence, and/or resolutions by court such as awards. It also includes a file of testimonies related to the American Postal Workers Defense Committee (1980) which sought to represent and build support for postal workers who went on strike due to unfair conditions. The collection further consists of personal materials related to Robinson’s activities as a law student, and undergraduate, taking courses in history, ethics, and law. Materials from Robinson’s time as a student during the mid-1980s exhibit an interest in correcting unfair labor practices in the United States towards blue-collar workers, as well as socio-economic history. Other files and publications in the collection depict Robinson’s investment in improving unionized workers’ bargaining power through coalitions, and networks, as well as labor unions. Publications in the collection primarily relate to labor unions such as the American Postal Workers Union, labor abuses by the U.S. Postal Service primarily, monopoly capitalism, and labor law practice.
This series contains court cases, contracts, local impasse (grievances), proceedings, and summary orders for court related to Robinson’s legal work, primarily representing individuals for the American Postal Workers Union, as well as a file of testimonies from the American Postal Workers Defense Committee (1980) with which Robinson was involved. The cases span the 1980s-90s, and primarily deal with issues of work-related discrimination towards blue-collar workers, especially women, and minorities. Some of the cases, and grievances, mention racism, sexism, and discrimination against disability or health issues arising in the U.S. Postal Service such as Nelligan v. U.S. Postal Service, Ross v. U.S. Postal Service, Smith v. U.S. Postal Service, and Suprenant v. U.S. Postal Service respectively. A number of cases were won by Robinson, and involve arbitration on the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which sought to remediate unfair practices in the U.S. Postal Service among other agencies. A few cases deal with the topic of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity during which postal workers developed allergies to chemicals circulating while handling the mail, making work intolerable as in the case of M. Masse v. U.S. Postal Service. Other cases mention potentially unfair hiring practices, and disciplinary actions towards employees in the postal service. The series is organized alphabetically by material type, and court cases are organized by last name.
The series includes personal materials such as awards/certificates, correspondence, diplomas, a number of files, and organizational fliers related to American Postal Workers Union elections circa 1980, and major union issues, as well as educational materials from coursework, papers, and seminars attended. Some of the files and a paper relate to the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor Management Relations Act, 1947); a piece of legislation passed to restrict power of labor unions in the workplace known as the “slave labor†bill among union representatives. The series includes a file related to the Coalition to Save Jobs; a prominent labor movement that sought to return jobs being moved overseas or replaced by automation to the United States. Papers written by Robinson during his undergraduate and law school education are also present on such themes as undocumented workers (1980), and the working class (1974), as well as the movement to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act which would give more rights to labor unions (1980). Also included in the series is a single photograph of Robinson with Cesar Chavez; an American labor leader and civil rights activist, representing the National Farm Workers Association. The series is organized alphabetically by type of material.
This series contains publications relating primarily to labor, as well as some related to law such as informal publications including pamphlets, and handbooks, journals, magazine, news files, newsletters, and newspapers. Several news files document rising inflation, the Anti-Nuclear Coalition, and the death of Michael McDermott; a post office employee who was killed in a bulk mail sorter accident at a mail center in New York City in 1978 which led to the American Postal Workers’ Union encouraging strikes, and calling for tighter OSHA regulations and safety reforms in the wake of the accident. Informal publications deal with the issues of labor union organizing during the era of Reaganomics, alternatives to monopoly capitalism, as well as labor law and general law practice in the United States with a focus on economic justice and equality. Series is arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Language:
English
Provenance
Gift of Linda J. Tonoli, 2012.
Processing Information
Processed by Michelle C. Sigiel, January 2018.
Copyright and Use (More information
)
Cite as: Craig D. Robinson Papers (MS 739). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.