Starting small, the RILHS published books and pamphlets, sponsored lectures and commemorations, and collected and preserved working class and ethnic history.  Never formally organizing, meeting haphazardly, the group rarely had enough capital to carry out the projects envisioned.

Despite success with limited resources and an ever-changing landscape of activist members, in 1987, the previously-unnamed organization settled into permanent moorings.  Sending dues notices and organizing the first annual awards banquet, later to become a hallmark for the Rhode Island labor scene, in 1987 the Rhode Island Labor History Society was officially born.  As measured by membership responses and the sold-out banquet, there was great interest in the Society.

Since that time, the Society has branched into different directions, all the while maintaining its core values and working with the underlying mission in mind.  The most visible signs of its work, other than annual events, are the numerous publications produced by members of, or in association with, the Society.  In addition, through events on Labor Day and throughout the year, we continue to honor and illuminate figures from the past, to make them relevant to the future.