United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Massachusetts State Council Records

1891-1983
2 boxes (1 linear feet)
Call no.: MS 015
rotating decorative images from SCUA collections

One of the largest building trade unions in the U.S., the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was established in 1881 by a convention of carpenters' unions. An early member of the American Federation of Labor, the Brotherhood began as a radical organization, but beginning in the 1930s, were typically aligned with the conservative wing of the labor movement.



The records of the Massachusetts State Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America contain reports and other information generated during the union's annual conventions as well as copies of the constitution and by-laws, handbooks, and histories of the union.

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Background on United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Massachusetts State Council

One of the largest building trade unions in the United States, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was established by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert in 1881 to work for collective bargaining, fairer wages, and better hours, benefits, and working conditions. Five years later, the UBCJA became one of the first unions to join the American Federation of Labor, and throughout its early years it was regarded as a militant force in American labor. The Brotherhood organized large-scale strikes in 1886 and 1890, eliciting a violent response from employers and the authorities, and the union also accepted African American members into its ranks from early on, though often only into segregated locals.

The UBCJA evolved in a more conservative direction during the early decades of the twentieth century, at times opposing industrial organizing and aligning in opposition to President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal policies. Since the late 1980s, the Brotherhood has pursued a strategy of consolidating locals into district councils, generally maintaining its membership levels even as other unions have declined. Internal dissension and national political considerations led the Brotherhood to disaffiliate from the AFL-CIO in 2001, and although they subsequently united with other unions in the Change to Win Coalition, hoping to pressure the AFL-CIO to change to facilitate organizing, disputes with other Coalition members led them again to disaffiliate from that organization in 2009.

Scope of collection

The records of the Massachusetts State Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America contain reports and other information generated during the union's annual conventions as well as copies of the constitution and by-laws, handbooks, and histories of the union.

Inventory

Apprenticeship
1946-1963
Box 1: 1
By-laws
1892-1950
Box 1: 2
Carpenter's handbook (photocopy)
1895
Box 1: 3
Constitution
1938-1958
Box 1: 4
Constitution and by-laws
1959-1979
Box 1: 5
Directory
1956
Box 1: 6
Executive Board Reports
1955-1966
Box 1: 7
History
1980
Box 1: 8
Jurisdiction agreement: "Pipe fitter-millwright agreement interpretation"
1957
Box 1: 9
Locals' history
1983
Box 1: 10
National Convention materials
1946
Box 1: 11

Includes program, published proceedings, convention report, newspaper

National Officer Reports
1955-1958
Box 1: 12
Pension fund
1978
Box 2: 1
President's Reports (incomplete)
1951
Box 2: 2
Proceedings of Annual Conventions
1956
Box 2: 3
Proceedings of Annual Conventions
1958
Box 2: 4
Proceedings of Annual Conventions
1964
Box 2: 5
Proceedings of Annual Conventions
1965-1966
Box 2: 6
Proceedings of Annual Conventions
1967-1968
Box 2: 7
Resolutions
1975
Box 2: 8
Secretary's Reports
1955-1975
Box 2: 9
Treasurer's Reports
1955-1966
Box 2: 10
Wage scales and jurisdictions
1942-1953
Box 2: 11
Wage scales and jurisdictions
1955-1970
Box 2: 12

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Provenance not recorded.

Processing Information

Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, Aug. 2013.

Language:

English

Copyright and Use (More information )

Cite as: United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Massachusetts State Council (MS 015). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Search terms

Subjects

  • Carpenters--Labor unions
  • Labor unions--Massachusetts

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