National Building Trades Council

Last updated

The National Building Trades Council (NBTC) was an American federation of labor unions in the construction industry. It was active from 1897 to 1903.

Contents

The organization's primary goal was to provide a forum in which jurisdictional conflicts between trade unions could be adjudicated. But as a voluntary federation, the organization lacked the power to enforce its rulings. Many national and international construction industry unions refused to join the NBTC, further limiting its influence.

Although many of the NBTC's members belonged to the American Federation of Labor (AFL), the organization was not part of the AFL.

Precursor organizations

In the late 19th century, the construction industry in the United States was in transition, and this transition led to large and frequent jurisdictional conflicts between labor unions. Small buildings (usually no more than five stories high) were giving way to skyscrapers. Where as most buildings had been constructed primarily of wood, cut stone and plaster, now metal framing and trim, reinforced concrete, prefabricated materials, and man-made tiles were becoming the norm. Proliferation in new building techniques and materials led to an increase in specialized construction professions. This, in turn, led to the formation of unions for these specialty professions, and fights over which union's members would perform the work. [1]

The nature of the construction industry at the time also concentrated power in the hands of local rather than regional or national unions.

In an industry that was essentially local as far as actual building construction was concerned, local unions were the heart of the building trades movement. Primarily interested in controlling local work for local members, they lobbied politicians to enact building codes and licensing laws to protect work standards and union jobs. They hired full-time business agents ("walking delegates") to police their trade agreements and to ensure that contractors actually paid the men, and allied themselves with other local unions in building trades councils to support one another's strikes. [2]

Local construction unions made their own work-rules and played their own political games, and national and international union constitutions respected the autonomy of the local union by requiring the consent of local unions in the enactment of national union policies or by providing for optional participation in the programs of the national union. [1]

These jurisdictional disputes only became more frequent and intractable over time. Jurisdictional disputes occupied much of the time and attention of the American Federation of Labor. "So much time was consumed by the individual unions involved in these disputes that it often left little for anything else." [3] Nearly 95 percent of all strikes from 1897 to 1914 involved unions striking over which workers were to perform which jobs. [4] [5]

Increasingly, the debate involved a growing battle over craft versus industrial unionism. Certain unions—such as the Teamsters, the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, and the National Union of United Brewery Workmen—were already industrial unions in all but name, and vigorous battles were fought within the AFL to pare back the jurisdictions of these industrial unions. [6]

Formation of local building trades councils

Even as jurisdictional battles increased, local building trades councils had formed in most major cities by 1897. A "Board of Walking Delegates" was formed in New York City in 1884, and the Chicago Building Trades Council—the first true local building trades organization—formed in 1890. These local building trades councils not only enforced jurisdictional rules by calling sympathy strikes, but also built support for unions when they went on strike. [1]

But local building trades councils were often ineffective. When an employer gave work to one union, a rival union would strike to force the employer to give the work to its members. These jurisdictional strikes often led to the shut-down of entire construction sites, throwing all employees out of work. The winner of a jurisdictional strike more often than not was also the union which had more power—either more members, or members whose work was critical to construction work (such as "operating engineers")—rather than the union whose workers were best suited for the job. [1] [7]

National Building Trades Council

In 1897, a group of building trades unions from the Midwest met in St. Louis to form a national organization. The new group, the National Building Trades Council, would adjudicate jurisdictional battles through neutral arbitration and encourage the amalgamation of construction and building unions. [8] The NBTC also encouraged the formation of local and regional building trades councils, established a correspondence committee to keep unions informed of jurisdictional decisions and collective bargaining trends, worked to create a national work card system, lobbied for laws requiring an eight-hour day, and lobbied for laws creating mechanics liens. [1]

But the NBTC was often as ineffective as local councils. Many national and international unions refused to join. The NBTC's respect for local union autonomy often meant that local unions set jurisdictional policy for national unions, a situation national unions could not accept. Local autonomy also meant that jurisdictional decisions in one area held no weight in another, creating a patchwork of different jurisdictional rules nationwide. Membership on the local level was also spotty, hurting local council finances and undercutting the weight of local council decisions. Because the NBTC permitted not only unions belonging to the AFL but also independent union to join, the AFL formally accused the group of dual unionism in 1899 and proceeded to establish building trades councils of its own. [1] [4] [9]

The ineffectiveness of the National Building Trades Council and pressure on member unions from the AFL led Frank Duffy, president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, to form the Structural Building Trades Alliance (SBTA) in 1903. With most of its members participating in the SBTA, NBTC struggled to remain relevant. It became moribund in 1907, and disbanded in 1921. [4]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Palladino, Skilled Hands, Strong Spirits, 2005.
  2. ↑ Palladino, Strong Hands, Skilled Spirits, 2005, p. 4
  3. ↑ Foner, History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Vol. 3, 1964, p. 206.
  4. 1 2 3 Haber, Industrial Relations in the Building Industry, 1930.
  5. ↑ Whitney, Jurisdiction in American Building Trades Unions, 1914.
  6. ↑ Foner, History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Vol. 3, 1964.
  7. ↑ An operating engineer is a worker who operates heavy equipment such as bulldozers, graders, tractors, cranes, scrapers, excavators, trench-diggers and dredges. They may also act as mechanics on such equipment, and as surveyors.
  8. ↑ Amalgamation refers to the unification of various unions into one union. Each amalgamating union retains its autonomy, but agrees to submit to the national union in certain highly-specified, limited circumstances. Amalgamation was often seen as a half-way point between craft and industrial unionism.
  9. ↑ Bates, Bricklayers' Century of Craftsmanship, 1955; Christie, Empire in Wood, 1956.

Related Research Articles

Industrial unionism Labor union organizing model in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union

Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations.

American Federation of Labor Labor organization

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States founded in Columbus, Ohio, in December 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor union. Samuel Gompers was elected the full-time president at its founding convention and reelected every year, except one, until his death in 1924. He became the major spokesperson for the union movement.

One Big Union (concept) Merger of all labor unions

The One Big Union was an idea in the late 19th and early 20th centuries amongst trade unionists to unite the interests of workers and offer solutions to all labour problems.

Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of differences in skill.

Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions

The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada (FOTLU) was a federation of labor unions created on November 15, 1881, at Turner Hall in Pittsburgh. It changed its name to the American Federation of Labor (AFL) on December 8, 1886.

Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations. It merged with the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA) in 1976 to form the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU), which merged with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union in 1995 to create the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). UNITE merged in 2004 with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) in 2004 to create a new union known as UNITE HERE. After a bitter internal dispute in 2009, the majority of the UNITE side of the union, along with some of the disgruntled HERE locals left UNITE HERE, and formed a new union named Workers United, led by former UNITE president Bruce Raynor.

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Labor union in North America

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America often simply, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) was formed in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert. It has become one of the largest trade unions in the United States, and through chapters, and locals, there is international cooperation that poises the brotherhood for a global role. For example, the North American Chapter has over 520,000 members throughout the continent. 

Trade Union Educational League

The Trade Union Educational League (TUEL) was established by William Z. Foster in 1920 as a means of uniting radicals within various trade unions for a common plan of action. The group was subsidized by the Communist International via the Workers (Communist) Party of America from 1922. The organization did not collect membership dues but instead ostensibly sought to both fund itself and to spread its ideas through the sale of pamphlets and circulation of a monthly magazine.

A Directly Affiliated Local Union (DALU) or federal labor union is a U.S. labor union that belongs to the AFL-CIO but is not a national union and is not entitled to the same rights and privileges within the Federation as national affiliates.


The Amalgamated Meat Cutters (AMC), officially the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, 1897-1979, was a labor union that represented retail butchers and packinghouse workers. In 1979, the AMCBW merged with the Retail Clerks International Union to form the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)

Dual unionism is the development of a union or political organization parallel to and within an existing labor union. In some cases, the term may refer to the situation where two unions claim the right to organize the same workers.

The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was one of two precursor labor organizations to the United Steelworkers. It was formed by the CIO on June 7, 1936. It disbanded in 1942 to become the United Steel Workers of America. The Steel Labor was the official paper of SWOC.

The Sheet Metal Workers' International Association was a trade union of skilled metal workers who perform architectural sheet metal work, fabricate and install heating and air conditioning work, shipbuilding, appliance construction, heater and boiler construction, precision and specialty parts manufacture, and a variety of other jobs involving sheet metal. On August 11, 2014, it merged with the United Transportation Union (UTU) to form the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, known by the acronym, SMART.

The Trade Union Unity League (TUUL) was an industrial union umbrella organization under the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) between 1929 and 1935. The group was an American affiliate of the Red International of Labor Unions. The formation of the TUUL was the result of the Communist International's Third Period policy, which ordered affiliated Communist Parties to pursue a strategy of dual unionism and thus abandon attempts at "bore from within" existing trade unions. TUUL unions aimed to organize semi-skilled and unskilled workers, many whom had been expelled from the American Federation of Labor (AFL). According to the TUUL, the AFL was "an instrument of the capitalists for the exploitation of the workers." Thus, the TUUL was formed as an organization in opposition to the AFL."

The Structural Building Trades Alliance (SBTA) was an American federation of labor unions in the construction industry. It was founded in 1903 and existed until 1908, when it affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and became the Building Trades Department.

Labor federation competition in the United States is a history of the labor movement, considering U.S. labor organizations and federations that have been regional, national, or international in scope, and that have united organizations of disparate groups of workers. Union philosophy and ideology changed from one period to another, conflicting at times. Government actions have controlled, or legislated against particular industrial actions or labor entities, resulting in the diminishing of one labor federation entity or the advance of another.

The Scranton Declaration, sometimes called the Autonomy Declaration, was passed in 1901 by the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and made craft autonomy, or craft unionism, the cornerstone of the organization. Craft unionism meant that unions were formed on the basis of the trade practiced by a group of skilled workers, in contrast to industrial unionism.

James Duncan (union leader)

James Duncan was a Scottish American union leader, and president of the Granite Cutters' International Association from 1885 until his death in 1928. He was an influential member of the American labor movement, helping to co-found the American Federation of Labor.

William D. Mahon

William Daniel Mahon (1861–1949) was a former coal miner and streetcar driver who became president of the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, now the Amalgamated Transit Union.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.