UAW Local 276, Grand Prairie, Texas.

The Arlington assembly plant for Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac had its beginnings with a groundbreaking ceremony on May 27, 1952. The first group of employees at the Arlington B-O-P assembly plant started working in November 1953 and one month later saw representatives of the International UAW at the gates handing out leaflets. The election for a union was made possible in February 1954, when the required number of union organization cards had been met. March 3 was the date of the election with a result of 804 in favor and only 21 against. A charter for Local 276 was granted on March 11, 1954. Four days later, workers at the Arlington GM plant came under the protection of the UAW-GM National Agreement.

The first election for executive officers was held on March 30, 1954, with a swearing in ceremony on April 6. A short time later, a slate of seven committeemen was elected and sworn in. The first president of Local 276 was Garland Ham, who is still known as the youngest person ever elected to that office in Local 276. During the same month of April, negotiations began for a local contract. This would be the first of many such negotiations, both local and international. A new national agreement was finalized in 1958, and 1963 saw the biggest package settlement yet.

The first union hall was located at 3034 E. Abram, but growing pains led to a much larger facility in 1964 with a new building on 7.4 acres of land at 2505 Sherman St. in Grand Prairie, two miles east of the plant. This meeting hall was named Woodcock Hall in honor of Leonard Woodcock, then vice-president of the International UAW and director of the union's GM Department.

Many changes took place during the decade of 1968-1978. The first was in 1968 when the UAW parted company with the AFL-CIO over a dispute involving programs and structure, the UAW becoming an autonomous organization. September of 1970 saw a strike called by now President Woodcock of the International Union. After 68 days, the strike was over, and a new agreement was reached, which greatly improved the 1967 contract. 1972 was marked by a personal visit by President Woodcock to formally dedicate the hall named in his honor. 1973 was the year of the next national contract, and 1977 heralded the 25th Constitutional Convention of the UAW. The two main speakers of the convention were U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Senator Edward Kennedy.

The last two decades have seen additional changes in contracts and structure with new constitutions in 1983 and 1989. A revision of Local 276 by-laws was completed in 1990. A more detailed history is provided in Box 1, Folder 3, of the collection.

From the guide to the UAW Local 276, Grand Prairie, Texas, Records AR372., 1954-1990, (Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library)