Organization of employers founded in 1916 as the Detroit Employment Managers' Club and concerned initially with issues of wage rates, hiring practices, working hours, and unionization, and after World War II with problems of affirmative action, arbitration, and labor-related legislation. The name of the organization was changed in 1955 to the Detroit Personnel Management Association. In 1988, it merged with the Industrial Relations Association of Greater Detroit to form the Human Resources Association of Greater Detroit. History, minutes, announcements, correspondence, membership material, and newsletters.
The records of the Human Resources Association of Greater Detroit have been arranged into one Organizational Records series. A History folder includes the constitution and bylaws of the Detroit Employment Managers' Club, a brief history of the early years, and several pamphlets explaining the purpose of the organization. The Minutes are probably the most interesting part of the record group. The minutes for the early period, 1918 to 1923, are fascinating. Although frequently rather cryptic (they mention only the general topics of discussion), the minutes still reveal the concerns of management. Researchers should note the occasional practice of having each member report on the situation in his plant (all members were male at this time) - how many people had been laid off, what wages were paid and what were the policies respecting African Americans, women, and aliens. There is not, unfortunately, a great deal of this kind of material. Minutes from subsequent years are less valuable, but they still clearly show the growing professionalization of a managerial class. From 1960 to the late 1990s, the issues of importance to the organization can only be gleaned from the lecture topics as the minutes reflect a new concern for organizational, rather than labor management, issues.