Roy Pearson, Records of the IUMSWA and the War Manpower Commission

Roy Pearson was a labor representative from the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, or IUMSWA, Local No. 9 in San Pedro, California. The IUMSWA was a labor union that represented all shipyard workers.

Established in the 1930’s, the Congress of Industrial Relations, or C.I.O, was a federation that organized industrial unions, such as the IUMSWA, in the United States and Canada. The C.I.O. merged in 1955 with the American Federation of Labor and is now known as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO.

The War Manpower Commission was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt via Executive Order 9139 in 1943. The function of the War Manpower Commission was to determine the need for employment in various industries, such as agriculture or industrial manufacturing; formulate programs and plans to recruit and train employees, and establish the most efficient use of its labor force in a manner that would assist in the war effort during World War II. The commission contained members representing the Departments of War, Navy, Agriculture and Labor, as well as the War Production Board, the Labor Production Division of the War Production Board, the Selective Service System, and the United States Civil Service Commission.

The War Manpower Commission corresponded with labor unions, such as the IUMSWA, about programs such as the Employment Stabilization Plan, which aimed to place workers in industry specific jobs during the war.

Roy Pearson acted as an alternate representing labor in meetings of the Southern California Area War Manpower Committee which, as a local offshoot of the War Manpower Commission, met weekly or biweekly to discuss labor and management issues in industries which assisted in the war effort.