Hoover Acquires the Papers of Free Trade Unionist Steven Slezak

Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) - The Hoover Institution Library & Archives has acquired the papers of former free trade labor unionist Steven Slezak, consisting of unique photographs, letters, official documents, video recordings, an oral history, and a 1,200-page diary relating to the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department and the Free Trade Union Committee.

The collection offers primary source information on AFL-CIO international activities during a crucial time in world history: the period leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the liberation of Central and Eastern Europe, a time of major technical and strategic innovation in U.S. armed forces and national security that resulted in the collapse of the Soviet empire. Documents describe international labor leadership and operations during this period. Also included in the collection is an assortment of international labor memorabilia, gifts, flags, and badges.

Assembled by Steven Slezak, the collection's contents provide an unmatched inside perspective on labor's role during this period, specifically on individuals he knew from long professional and personal experience, especially Irving Brown, Tom Kahn, Rosy Ruane, Robert Gabor, and Jay Lovestone. The collection complements many of Hoover's existing collections related to the Cold War labor movement and anti-communism, including the papers of Lovestone, Sidney Hook, and David Brombart.

Mr. Slezak grew up on a cattle ranch in California and attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He started his labor career as a college intern with the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department, where for two years he assembled and organized Free Trade Union Committee files and publications, most notably the Free Trade Union News. He created a comprehensive index of file contents and acquired intimate knowledge of U.S. labor's international operations since World War II. During this time, he shared an office with Jay Lovestone.

Mr. Slezak graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where he studied under Roy Godson, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Cord Meyer (former head of the Covert Action Staff of the CIA's Directorate of Plans), and U.S. Ambassador Martin F. Herz.

Mr. Slezak joined the Free Trade Union Institute in 1983 to work on a daily basis with Irving Brown and Rosy Ruane. His focus was development of global exchange and education programs for U.S. and foreign labor leaders. In this capacity, he led program activities of the AFL-CIO's four international institutes. He also supported close AFL-CIO relations and activities with the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) and the Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (ÖGB). He wrote a brief history of German-American labor collaboration for the period 1945 through 1985.

In 1986, Mr. Slezak was brought into the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department, reporting to its director, Tom Kahn. His responsibilities expanded to include logistical assistance to workers in Eastern and Central Europe, the Soviet Union, and Cuba. He participated in American labor representation to the International Labour Organization in Geneva and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the 1991 International Labour Conference.

He led AFL-CIO special projects on national security and in support of free labor activities involving Cuba and China. Mr. Slezak produced numerous studies and policy analyses on these topics, preparing reports, studies, presentations, and documentation used by both executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government in preparation and execution of policy.

In 1992, Mr. Slezak became managing editor of Interco Press, an international wire service of the International Affairs Department, working under editor-in-chief Robert Gabor. Interco disseminated hundreds of opinion pieces, photographs, news articles, and political and national security analyses to major media publishing outlets around the world. Mr. Slezak edited, wrote, and distributed articles and helped manage the Interco Press Office at the United Nations in New York.

Mr. Slezak resigned from the AFL-CIO in 1996 to pursue graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. During the next three decades, he crafted careers in business and education. He managed trading operations for futures and options contracts at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He taught quantitative finance and management at Johns Hopkins. At California Polytechnic State University, he joined the agricultural economics faculty and taught for nine years. He also worked in financial management for a tech startup and in data science for a major insurance company.

Now retired, Mr. Slezak lives and works on a horse farm in California, where he trains and rides not far from the ranch where he grew up. His horse Rosy, a recent national champion, is named after legendary labor leader Rosy Ruane.