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United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Records

1885-1978
57 boxes 30 linear feet
Call no.: MS 110

The first local of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners to be founded in western Massachusetts was chartered in 1885 as Springfield Local 96, followed in quick order by locals in Holyoke (390) and Chicopee (685). With the pace of unionization picking up at the turn of the century, the Springfield District Council was established in 1906 to coordinate collective bargaining efforts and apprenticeships, and to enforce work rules in the local construction industry. Holyoke carpenters formed their own District Council soon thereafter. Tthe logic of consolidation and a unified voice eventually led the Springfield locals to consolidate as Local 32 in 1968, which in turn merged with the Holyoke District Council in 1973 to form Local 108.

The records of the Western Massachusetts locals and district councils of the UBCJA documents the rise of unionization among carpenters in the Connecticut River Valley since the 1880s. This collection represents a merger of separate accessions for the District Councils in Springfield (MS 110), the Pioneer Valley (MS 231), and Holyoke (MS 108), along with post-merger records for Local 108. In general, each has been maintained as a distinct series

Background on UBCJA

With a long history of labor activism in their trade, Peter J. McQuire and Gustav Luebkert organized the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in 1881 to serve as a focal point for collective bargaining in the building trades. Holding its first convention in Chicago that August, the new union began to expand nationally, growing from barely 2,000 members in its first year to nearly 100,000 twenty years later.

The first local of the UBCJA founded in western Massachusetts was chartered in 1885 as Springfield Local 96, followed in quick order by locals in Holyoke (Local 390), Chicopee (Local 685), and other towns. Several locals represented the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the region, with Locals 96, 685, and 390 drawing mostly from among French Canadians and Locals 177 (Springfield), 222 (Westfield), and 1888 (Holyoke) focused on Anglophones.

With the pace of unionization picking up at the turn of the century, the Springfield District Council was established in 1906 and played an immediate role in coordinating collective bargaining, apprenticeship, and work rules in the local construction industry. Although Holyoke carpenters formed their own District Council soon thereafter, the logic of consolidation and a unified voice eventually prevailed. The Springfield locals consolidated as Local 32 in 1968, which in turn merged with the Holyoke District Council in 1973 to form Local 108.

Contents of Collection

The records of the Springfield District Council of the UBCJA includes strong documentation of the rise of unionization among carpenters in the Connecticut River Valley from the 1880s through 1980s. The collection includes by-laws, correspondence, and subject files of the Springfield District Council along with minutes, membership records, financial records, contracts, agreements and trials, and some correspondence for Locals 96 (Springfield), 685 (Chicopee), 177 (Springfield), 222 (Westfield), and 32 (Springfield).

Collection inventory
Series 1. Springfield District Council
1897-1964
Subseries A. Executive
1906-1968
Constitution and by-laws
1925-1968
Box 1: 1
Minutes (volumes)
1906-1911
Box 1: 2-3
Membership minutes (bound)
1913-1919
Box 1: 4-6
Membership minutes (bound)
1934-1940
Box 1:
Minutes
1944-1954
Box 2: 7-16
Minutes
1944-1954
Box 3: 17-26
Minutes
1955-1961
Box 4: 27-34
Minutes
1962-1968
Box 5: 35-37
Subseries B. Correspondence
1920-1968
Correspondence
1920-1933
Box 6: 38-45
Correspondence
1934-1937
Box 7: 46-51
Correspondence
1938-1945
Box 8: 52-59
Correspondence
1946-1955
Box 9: 60-67
Correspondence
1956-1968
Box 10: 68-76
Subseries C. Subject files
1929-1968
Agreements
with other locals
1929-1968
Box 11: 77
Anchorage houses
1945-1946
Box 11: 78
Building trades assessments
1958
Box 11: 79
Building Trades Employees Association
1931-1966
Box 11: 80
Business agent elections
1953-1965
Box 11: 81
Connecticut Valley local unions
1958-1959
Box 11: 82
Contractors correspondence
1952-1968
Box 11: 83-84
Delegates
1953-1966
Box 11: 85
Drywall
1961
Box 11: 86
Fidelity bonds
1942-1951
Box 11: 87
Financial reports
1931
Box 11: 88
Golf tournament
1967
Box 11: 89
Health and Welfare Fund
1951-1968
Box 11: 90
Holyoke D.C.
1967
Box 11: 91
Home study course
undated
Box 12: 92
Injunctions
1957-1959
Box 12: 93-94
Insurance
1950-1971
Box 12: 95
International union circulars
1961-1968
Box 12: 96-97
International union office

1940-1971
Box 12: 98
International union president
1937-1968
Box 12: 99-100
Jurisdictional claims
1931-1968
Box 12: 101
L.D. Phillips Co.
1961
Box 13: 102
Local merger
1968
Box 13: 103
Local union correspondence
1952-1968
Box 13: 104
Massachusetts Division of Employment Security
1956-1968
Box 13: 105
Massachusetts State Council, UBCJA
1940-1966
Box 13: 106
Membership
1955-1968
Box 13: 107-108
Merger-District Councils
1959-1960
Box 13: 109
National housing conference
1960
Box 13: 110
National Labor Relations Board
1959-1964
Box 13: 111
Pile drivers
1953-1964
Box 13: 112
Prestressed concrete
1956-1957
Box 13: 113
Referenda
1930-1968
Box 13: 114
Springfield BCTC
1952-1962
Box 14: 115
Springfield Labor Lyceum
1960
Box 14: 116
Strike ballots
1959-1968
Box 14: 117
Union h
ome building
1959
Box 14: 118
Union label
1954-1956
Box 14: 119
U.S. Internal Revenue Service
1944-1963
Box 14: 120
U.S. Labor Department
1955-1968
Box 14: 121-122
Westover Air Force Base
1959
Box 14: 123
Subseries D. Agreements and trials
1926-1968
Millwrights
1926-1961
Box 15: 124
Rower Power Plant
1956-1958
Box 15: 125
Springfield area
1931-1973
Box 15: 126-134
Trials **RESTRICTED**
1950-1962
Box 16: 135-136
Trials **RESTRICTED**
1963-1968
Box 17: 157-175
Subseries E. Finances
1938-1962
Treasurer’s cashbooks (volumes)
1938-1962
Box 18: 176-181
Series 2. Local 96 (Springfield, Mass.)
1885-1959
Minutes (volumes)
1885-1900
Box 19: 1-4
Minutes (volumes)
1900-1909
Box 20: 5-9
Minutes (volumes)
1909-1926
Box 21: 10-13
Minutes (volumes)
1926-1954
Box 22: 14-19
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1885-1898
Box 23: 20-24
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1898-1901
Box 24: 25-29
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1901-1912
Box 25: 30-40
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1913-1923
Box 26: 41-48
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1923-1924
Box 41: 1-2
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1927-1930
Box 421: 1-2
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1933-1940
Box 43: 1-4
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1941-1947
Box 44: 1-4
Daybooks (volumes)
1895-1918
Box 27: 61-67
Daybooks (volumes)
1918-1936
Box 28: 68-73
Treasurer’s cashbooks (volumes)
1899-1959
Box 29: 74-80
Series 3. Local 685 (Chicopee, Mass.)
1900-1968
Minutes (volumes)
1900-1958
Box 30: 1-5
Correspondence
1931-1968
Box 30: 6
Membership applications
1914-1918
Box 30: 7
Daybooks (volumes)
1900-1936
Box 31: 8-13
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1900-1918
Box 32: 14-19
Dues ledgers (volumes)
1919-1946
Box 33: 20-25
Monthly reports
1914-1916
Box 34: 26
Treasurer’s cashbooks (volumes)
1904-1966
Box 34: 27-35
Contingent Fund (volume)
1930-1932
Box 34: 36
Series 4. Local 177 (Springfield, Mass.)
1915-1968
Minutes (volumes)
1916-1923
Box 35: 1
Correspondence
1953-1968
Box 35: 2
Relief ledgers
1915-1916
Box 35: 3-4
Daybooks (volumes)
1931-1932
Box 36: 5
Treasurer’s cashbooks (volumes)
1946-1961
Box 36: 6-8
Series 5. Local 222 (Westfield, Mass.)
1952-1968
Minutes (volumes)
1958-1968
Box 37: 1
Correspondence
1952-1968
Box 37: 2
Series 6. Local 32 (Springfield, Mass.)
1968-1973
By-laws
undated
Box 38: 1
Minutes
1968-1973
Box 38: 2-4
Recording Secretary’s files
1968-1973
Box 38: 5
Correspondence, incoming
1968-1973
Box 38: 6-10
Correspondence
, outgoing
1968-1972
Box 39: 11-13
Negotiations
1970-1973
Box 39: 14-15
Inactive list
1968
Box 39: 16
Strike assessments
1968-1969
Box 40: 17
Voting list (volume)
1971
Box 40: 18
Daybooks (volumes)
1968-1972
Box 40: 19-29
Administrative information
Provenance

Placed on deposit by the UBCJA, Jan. 1986.

Processing Information

Reprocessed by I. Eliot Wentworth, Sept. 2015.

Copyright and Use (More informationConnect to publication information)

Cite as: United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Springfield District Council Records (MS 110). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Subjects

Carpenters--Labor unionsLabor unions--Massachusetts

Contributors

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America