The Board of Directors of the Labor’s International Hall of Fame established categories of criteria for the awards. Those categories include:

• Labor Leaders

  Living persons throughout the world, active or retired, whose administrative ability, personal fortitude and courageous stands have enabled them to assume effective leadership roles in the Labor movement.

• Unsung Labor Heroes

  …that person living or deceased who, although not achieving national or international prominence, epitomizes the ideals of the rank and file without gaining widespread recognition.

• Prominent Labor Champions

  Deceased persons throughout the world who have made a lasting contribution to the lives of working men and women.

The first Labor’s International Hall of Fame Awards Banquet was held in Detroit, Michigan in November of 1973. On that momentous day some 1,000 ballots that were sent out to labor newswriters, Union and civic leaders were tallied and the following nominees were the first elected into the Labor’s International Hall of Fame:

Paul Allen, William Bradley, Heywood Broun, Edward F. Carlough, Eugene V. Debs, Richard Fritzmeier, Andrew Furseth, Samuel Gompers, William S. Green, John Wayne Hall, William S. Haywood, Sidney Hillman, M. A. Hutcheson, Joseph Keenan, Robert LaFollette, John L. Lewis, Philip Murray, Thomas Pitts, A. Philip Randolph, Walter P. Reuther, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eddie R. Stahl, Norman Thomas

A full list of inductees ordered alphabetically by last name can be found here:
full list of inductees

A full list of trustees ordered alphabetically by last name can be found here:
full list of trustees

The Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization. The help of each and every one of you is needed to demonstrate to the world that organized labor is one of the cornerstones of a free and democratic society. Through the Hall of Fame, the history and pride of labor will, with your help, be preserved as a beacon to the working men and women of the future.