Western Pennsylvania Regional District Council of Carpenters.

The Carpenters' District Council of Western Pennsylvania was first formed on July 12, 1887. Seven locals (Locals 142, 164, 165, 177, 180, 211 and 230) were represented. J.D. Hughes was chosen as the first President of the Council, and it was decided that additional locals (Local 185, Sharpsburg; Local 246, Beaver Falls; and 288 Homestead) would be invited to attend future meetings. William J. Kelly, a leader as business agent in the District Council during the 1910's, was an important figure on the Pittsburgh labor scene for many decades. He was chosen President of the Iron City Central Trades Council in 1909-1912. William A. Crissman was President of the District Council in 1922-23, 1925-26 and then for twenty-one years uninterruptedly from July 1927 through June 1948. While the President and other District Council officers were elected by the delegates of the various locals, the business agents, who dealt with day to day problems and were responsible for building up the organization, were elected by the membership. The District Council met on the first and third Tuesday of each month. In the period covered by these records, the boundaries of the District Council were greatly enlarged. In 1960, fifty-four locals in twenty-nine counties in western and central Pennsylvania belonged to the District Council.