Brookwood Labor College (1921 to 1937) was a labor college located at 109 Cedar Road in Katonah, New York, United States. Founded as Brookwood School in 1919 and established as a college in 1921, it was the first residential labor college in the country. Its founding and longest-serving president was A. J. Muste. The school was supported by affiliate unions of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) until 1928.
The Brookwood faculty's emphasis on trade union militancy and on advocacy of socialism was opposed by the AFL's Executive Council, which pressured the AFL's unions to withdraw support for the school. Brookwood was later riven by internal dissent over whether it should support militant unionism or remain strictly an educational organization.
Suffering from financial difficulties, Brookwood closed in 1937. It is considered one of the most influential labor colleges in American history and was known as "labor's Harvard." Its best known alumnus was Walter Reuther.
Formation, governance and mission
The Brookwood School
Between 1914 and 1921, a number of adult education and training organizations were founded to serve the American labor movement. Adult education was considered by these organizations and individuals to be the key to promoting class consciousness and teaching the skills needed to challenge the power of employers. Among the many different types of organizations created were labor colleges—experimental institutions of higher education designed to meet the needs of the labor movement as well as the educational needs of labor's often-uneducated adult members.
The Brookwood School was the predecessor to Brookwood Labor College. On March 19, 1914, William Mann Fincke, a liberal clergyman and son of a coal mine owner, purchased the Brookwood Estate in Katonah, New York, for $3,700. Deeply upset by the crushing of the steel strike of 1919, Fincke and his wife, Helen Hamlin Fincke, decided to found a school to teach working-class teenagers nonviolent ways to achieve social justice and political change. The curriculum was organized by Fincke to reflect the business life of the local community. The curriculum also emphasized social service and the study of economics, English literature, mathematics, social problems, and history. Students were urged to participate in the daily management of the school. With financial assistance and organizational support from Robert W. Dunn, John Nevin Sayre, and Norman Thomas, Brookwood School opened in the fall of 1919. The student body was initially 16- to 19-year-old males who were accepted on the basis of merit, and there was no tuition.
Formation of Brookwood Labor College
By 1921, the Brookwood School was facing major obstacles. The cost of running the school was mounting, and the Finckes realized that Brookwood needed to expand significantly in order to meet the needs of the working class. M. Tuscan Bennett and his wife, Josephine, joined the school in February 1921, and were close friends of the Finckes. After extensive discussion with the Bennetts, the Finckes decided to turn Brookwood School over to a group of trade union activists. The negotiations for the transfer of the estate occurred during a March 31-to-April 1, 1921, conference at Brookwood. Among those present at the conference were Fannia Cohn, education director of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union; William Z. Foster, leader of the 1919 steel strike; Abraham Lefkowitz, president of the American Federation of Teachers; James H. Maurer, president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor; Rose Schneiderman, president of the Women's Trade Union League; and A. J. Muste, pacifist minister and secretary of the Amalgamated Textile Workers of America. Brookwood Labor College was founded once the transfer was complete. Fundraising to open the new college then proceeded. Tuscan Bennett oversaw the effort, and the donors included Jane Addams, Stuart Chase, John R. Commons, Herbert Croly, John Dewey, and Freda Kirchwey.
Brookwood was governed by a 10-member Board of Directors, a majority of whom were officials of American Federation of Labor (AFL) unions. Faculty, student, and alumni representatives comprised the rest of the board. Unions providing scholarships for students were also eligible for seats on the board. Early board members included John Brophy, president of United Mine Workers of America District 2; John Fitzpatrick, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor; Clinton S. Golden, a former textile union organizer; Rose Schneiderman, president of the Amalgamated Textile Workers of America; and J.B.S. Hardman, education director of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. James Maurer was elected president of the board.