HISTORY

Since first established in 1935, the Alabama Department of Labor has had 19 agency heads, alternatively called directors or commissioners. They have all been appointed by governors and served as members of the cabinet.

Created to combat Depression-era labor problems, Gov. Bibb Graves, who had been elected with the support of organized labor, appointed Robert R. Moore, president of the Alabama Federation of Labor from Birmingham, as its first director. The
department was initially housed on the second floor of the First White House of the Confederacy across the street from the Capitol.

Although the agency was merged into the newly established Alabama Department of Industrial Relations in 1939 by Gov. Frank Dixon, it was re-established as an independent agency again in 1943 when he was succeeded by Gov. Chauncey Sparks.

COMMISSIONERS OVER THE YEARS
Please click to view photos of Labor Commissioners