Carpenters Union history

Thirty-six delegates from eleven cities attended the first convention on August 8, 1881, at the Trades Assembly Hall in Chicago.

A few months later, carpenters in Hamilton, Ontario became the first Canadian UBC members, and Toronto Carpenters joined in early 1882.

In 1886, 340,000 workers demonstrated for shorter hours in cities across the United States; historians labeled it “the year of the great uprising of labor.” Workers from every industry participated, but building tradesmen were the central force.

In 1887, 700 carpenters and 400 non-union men walked off the job in Toronto over demands for a nine-hour day and a raise from 22.5 to 25 cents per hour.

By 1890 the UBCJ represented more than 53,769 members.

By 1896 at the ninth general convention the Brotherhood lost 121 chartered locals.

In 1899 more than 40 journeymen signed a petition calling for a meeting on May 9th at the plasterers' union hall for "organizing a carpenters union."

McGuire remained the authoritative figure of the union until his death in 1906, when membership reached nearly 200,000.

Despite the intensive efforts of open-shop employers, membership in the Carpenters union reached 200,000 by 1910.

In Canada, the Brotherhood continued to grow with other unions joining and 1913 the UBC was the exclusive union representing carpenters.

In 1915, William L. Hutcheson ascended to the office of the presidency.

On November 7, 1917, 1,300 building trades workers in Eastern Massachusetts participated in a general strike on all military work in the area to protest the use of open-shop builders.

Beginning in 1920 open shop associations began to form all around the country.

In January 1921 a national convention of employers adopted the name "American Plan" for anti-union offensive.

The general secretary of the UBCJ reported in January 1932, that over 80% of the Brotherhood members were out of work.

In 1938 Hutcheson defended the union against antitrust charges brought by Assistant Attorney General Thurman W. Arnold.

Roosevelt created the board in 1941 to regulate wages and "maintain industrial peace" during the war.A postwar boom in housing and highway construction also made cooperation with other skilled trades increasingly important.

In May 1942 the union joined a parade held in Cedar Rapids for the Iowa Volunteers.

The 1950's were also prosperous years for the UBCJ. Membership rose by 20%, the real hourly wage rates of union carpenters went up by 30%, and the number of apprentices increased.

The son of a migrant worker, Hutcheson held the executive office until 1952 when membership reached a historic high of 850,000.

The idea of health and welfare funds became so attractive that the union’s Health and Welfare Committee, appointed in 1954, urged all locals to set up programs.

Four-million new workers joined unions during the fifties, and 25.2% of the labor force belonged to unions in 1956.

Starting in the mid 1960's apprentices were "indentured" to the Joint Apprenticeship school and sent out to work for contractors until the jobs were done.By the end of the decade, however, the contractors and carpenters, were unable to agree on a new contract.

In the fall of 1968, 308 was directed to merge with the South East Iowa District Council.

The union bargained solid contracts for its members, and local 308's membership reached a high of 687 in 1969.

By 1970 the first signs appeared that the seventies would be years of high wages and plenty jobs for the carpenters of Cedar Rapids.

Even the wage controls the Nixon administration implemented in 1971 did not hamper the rising wages of Cedar Rapids carpenters.

In December 1973, the UBCJ executive board merged the SE Iowa District with the Eastern Iowa District to form the Five River District Council that included Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Ottawa and Davenport.

On September 16, 1974 this rank and file group made its mandate clear at a special meeting attended by hundreds of 308 carpenters and several general officers.

In 1980, the economy began to stagnate.

Local 308's first woman member became Financial Secretary in 1982.Soon after 308 recovered from the conflicts surrounding the District Council, an economic recession almost as severe as the Great Depression threatened the strength of Local 308.

The carpenters' wage increase slowed to .2% and in 1983 wages for carpenters in 308 actually declined by 17.5% from $16.39 per hour to $13.54.

At the UBC’s 1995 convention, delegates elected Douglas J. McCarron general president of the union.

In December 1996 the Northwest Illinois and Eastern Iowa District Council became the Heartland District Council and now includes Des Moines and Sioux City.

In 2000, an estimated 700,000 members belonged to the Brotherhood.

In 2001, the UBC opened its new Washington, D.C., headquarters at 101 Constitution Ave., just across from the United States Capitol.