United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. Local 610 (Wilmerding, Pa.)

In 1881, George Westinghouse established the Union Switch and Signal plant in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, and in 1889 he moved his airbrake manufacturing facility to nearby Wilmerding, Pennsylvania. In both facilities, Westinghouse instituted company welfare programs advocated by other industrialists of the day. The Depression of the 1930s forced the company to abandon its high wage and benefits program, thus encouraging labor organization. The affiliation of the Westinghouse Electric workers in East Pittsburgh with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) as UE Local 601 encouraged the Wilmerding workers to organize with UE, and in May 1937, the UE chartered the Wilmerding union as Local 610. In November of the same year, a National Labor Relations Board election was held and the union was approved. In theory, UE Local 610 thereby became the exclusive bargaining agent for production and maintenance workers at the Wilmerding plant. However, it took three years and a favorable Supreme Court ruling in a related case before the company conceded a written contract to the union. Also in 1941, the Local won bargaining rights at the Switch and Signal Division in Swissvale, bringing the Local's numbers to approximately 6,500 workers. Although major strikes occurred throughout Westinghouse Electric plants in 1946, Local 610 successfully negotiated wage increases without striking. Through the use of the court system, the Local avoided strikes and ensured returning World War II veterans paid vacations the year they resumed work. The Local also secured a favorable ruling from the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Bureau in 1950 which granted retiring workers compensation they had previously been denied. An anniversary article in the UE News in 1957 reprised such UE Local 610 negotiating successes as its elimination of gender-based wage differentials and its guarantees of transfers based on seniority. The Local also adopted annual secret ballot elections for officers and stewards. In the early 1960s, the Local engaged in arbitration with the company to protect women from compulsory retirement. Similarly, the Local sought to obtain cost of living adjustments, equal employment opportunities, and improved levels of occupational safety for its workers. In 1950 and again in 1953, a rival union, the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (IUE), unsuccessfully challenged the bargaining rights of UE Local 610. During this time Local 610 president Harold Briney and at least one other Local member faced accusations of Communist activity; however, attempts by rival unions, including the International Association of Machinists, United Steelworkers of America, United Auto Workers, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, to raid the Local's members in the 1950s also failed. In 1968 American Standard purchased both the Swissvale and Wilmerding facilities, and the Local's first strike occurred in 1969 to induce contract negotiations. Another strike occurred in 1978 after the expiration of the contract. The Local's longest strike began November 1, 1981 when approximately 3,700 workers walked off the job after the expiration of their three-year contract. The strike, which focused on productivity and salary issues, continued for two hundred and five days during which the legality of mass picketing and non-union workers performing assembly line work were contested. In May 1982, the membership rejected a tentative agreement that did not include the reinstatement of twenty-two workers accused of strike-related violence and vandalism. However, the contract was settled by the end of the month. On August 20, 1982 the company served notice of the transfer of approximately one hundred and fifty jobs from the wiring department of the Swissvale plant to Macon, Georgia. In addition, the company began to transfer several other jobs to areas of the Southern United States such as Batesburg, South Carolina. In response, the "Save Our Switch Coalition" produced petitions, wrote to politicians, and publicized the plight of the workers. In 1986, Local 610 faced an even more serious threat of job losses when the company announced its intent to remove work to other areas and close the Wilmerding and Swissvale plants. These actions spurred the Local to establish a nonprofit organization entitled "Coalition to Save the Brake and Switch." The Coalition engaged in a card campaign to the company president, leafleted the surrounding neighborhood, and lobbied local politicians, government and economic organizations to stop the removal of work. Despite these efforts, the Swissvale plant closed and the Wilmerding workforce was greatly diminished. In an attempt to alleviate the financial burdens of its membership, the Local shifted its priorities to utilizing the 1974 Trade Adjustment Act (TRA/TAA) to acquire job training and severance pay for its terminated workers.

From the description of Records of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 610 (Wilmerding, Pa.), 1937-1990. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 31381521