The Pittsburgh Central Labor Union (PCLU) was established in a meeting on October 20, 1901. Its first officers were C.A. Winslow of the Carpenters District Council, president; James Keeler of the Coopers, vice-president; Charles Q. Lafferty of the Printers, secretary; James B. McLaughlin of the Stogie Makers, financial secretary; and Joseph M. Fink of the Boilermakers, treasurer. Like other "central labor bodies" across the state and nation, the Pittsburgh Central Labor Union represented an effort, within the recently created structure of the American Federation of Labor (founded in Pittsburgh in 1881), to coordinate the activities of the member unions with regard to matters such as political endorsements, promotion of the union label, and organization of Labor Day parades and demonstrations. It was hoped that this organization would enable the union community to speak with greater unanimity and authority. In 1937, when the CIO split off from the AFL, the Pittsburgh Central Union also witnessed the departure of some of its industrial union affiliates. These formed themselves into a CIO central labor body known as the Steel City Industrial Union Council (SCIUC). The breach between the PCLU and the Steel City Industrial Union Council was finally healed in 1961. In 1955, the AFL and CIO had merged on a national level to form the AFL-CIO; in 1960, the Pennsylvania State AFL and CIO also merged. This set the stage for a local merger. The PCLU, the SCIUC, the McKeesport Central Trade Union (AFL) and the Tarentum District Industrial Union Council (CIO) joined forces to create a unified, countywide labor federation, the Allegheny County Labor Council.
From the description of Pittsburgh Central Labor Union records [microform], 1929-1959. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 712604925
