United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America

Founded in 1881, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) represents and offers training to carpenters, cabinetmakers, millwrights, piledrivers, lathers, framers, floor layers, roofers, drywallers, and workers in forest-products and related industries.

From the guide to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Records Unprocessed mss. 2011-116., 1953-2002, (Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library)

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA), often known as the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, was founded in April 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert in Chicago as the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Local unions of carpenters had existed since the 1700s and continued to flourish into the early nineteenth century, such as the Journeyman House Carpenters' Association of Philadelphia, but the UBCJA was the first national American movement to consolidate the power of the carpenters' locals. The UBCJA's first convention, held in August 1881, was attended by thirty-six delegates. The union gained its current name in 1888 after affiliating with the United Order of American Carpenters and Joiners. Members of the UBCJA helped found the Federation of Organized Trades in 1881, which eventually became known as the American Federation of Labor. The UBCJA is one of the United States' most important labor unions and was involved in many of organized labors' activities in the late nineteenth century and the twentieth century. Peter J. McGuire published the first edition of The Carpenter newspaper in St. Louis in 1881 before the founding of the UBCJA. The first issues were only four pages long, with a circulation of one thousand. About half of each issue was written in German, because of the existence of many German-American trade unionists during this time period. A portion of The Carpenter was published in German until World War I. The Carpenter became the official publication of the union, keeping its members updated on relevant legislation and the activities of local unions. For over a hundred years, from its beginning up until 1990, The Carpenter was a monthly publication. From 1990 until the present day, production has gradually decreased from seven issues a year to one annual issue. The Brotherhood fought for the adoption of the 8-hour workday starting in 1890 and has campaigned against anti-union legislation throughout its existence. The union was a strong opponent of communism. In the late 1920s, the UBCJA expelled suspected communists from its ranks and at the 1936 Convention altered the member initiation procedures to include the caveat that any member who joined the Communist Party must relinquish their affiliation with the UBCJA. The UBCJA was dedicated to the war efforts during World War I and World War II, while still protecting its earlier gains, including the right to bargain collectively and the 8-hour workday. The president of the UBCJA, William Hutcheson, was a member of the National War Labor Board during WWI. The UBCJA had many jurisdictional disputes with other woodworking and building trades unions, including the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, the Teamsters, and the Knights of Labor. The UBCJA disaffiliated itself from the AFL in 1953 in protest over other AFL unions raiding the UBCJA's jurisdiction. After the AFL created a committee to resolve jurisdictional disputes, the UBCJA rejoined. Throughout most of its early existence, the UBCJA refrained from official involvement in national politics. However, as labor's power decreased in the second half of the twentieth century, the union became more politically active. The UBCJA first endorsed a presidential candidate when it publically supported Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The Carpenters' Legislative Improvement Committee (CLIC) was formed in 1966 to focus the union's political agendas. The headquarters of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners moved from Philadelphia to Indianapolis in 1909, in order to be more centrally located. In 1960 the headquarters moved again, to Washington, D.C., reflecting the growing importance of the union's influence in national politics. In the 1980s the UBCJA began consolidating local unions into district and regional councils to adapt to the expanding area in which contractors worked. In 2001 the Carpenters disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO and joined with several other unions to form the group Change to Win, of which the UBCJA was a member until 2009. The UBCJA now comprises not only house carpenters, but also shipwrights, lumber and sawmill workers, piledrivers, cabinetmakers, and millwrights. In recent decades the UBCJA has focused heavily on apprenticeship training and keeping its members' skills current. For that purpose, in 2000 the UBCJA opened the International Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Center contains 300 dorm rooms, classrooms and training facilities. The UBCJA trains its members through over 200 training centers in the United States and Canada.

From the guide to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners America (UBC) archives, 1840-2000, 1910-1980 (University of Maryland Libraries)