Utica Trades Assembly records, 1882-1927.

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Utica Trades Assembly records, 1882-1927.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64755386

The minutes (1886-1911 (4 vol.)) reflect the Assembly's activities in both its routine administration and on public issues. These minutes document, for example, the UTA's activities on behalf of a shorter working day (1883-1884, 1906-1907, 1911), its support of state ownership of the railroads and a New York mills strike (1894), and its work on a committee with both the Socialist Labor Party and the Utica Common Council to investigate the possibility of municipal ownership of the city's electric lighting (1895-1896), among other issues. The records include Utica Trades Assembly minutes and other administrative records, financial records and correspondence. The minutes volumes also include the minutes (1892-1895) of the UTA's Label Committee which record its concern over the issue of how to deal with local merchants selling "scab"-produced goods. UTA correspondence (1882-1927) indicates extensive involvement of that organization in local, state and national labor activities. Most numerous are form letters from labor organizations urging national boycotts in support of striking or locked-out workers, usually those involved in disputes over non-recognition of a union. Of interest is an undate) appeal from the International Association of Machinists that labor denounce Thomas A. Edison for having fired all union workers at an Edison plant. UTA response to these national boycotts is indicated by correspondence from businesses in Pennsylvania, Cincinnati and San Francisco involved in the LOS ANGELES TIMES boycott of 1903. The letters are in reply to UTA requests that the companies cancel advertising in the TIMES. Notable direct correspondence with other labor organizations includes letters from A.F. of L. President Samuel Gompers and Secretary Frank Morrison, ordering the UTA to recognize the local Musicians' Union (July and August, 1902), with the UTA maintaining an independent stance, defending its refusal in a lengthy reply. The UTA was independent-minded in its dealings with local businesses as well. In 1892, a report from a special UTA committee, appointed to investigate charges against a hardware merchant, found that merchant fair to labor. At the same time, the UTA cooperated with local and regional labor groups by participating in organizing efforts and special events as well as boycotts. The most significant local boycott call came from the Bakery and Confectionery Workers Utica local, which, in a series of letters from ca.1895 to 1903, described working conditions of non-union bakers, reported on a survey of union-made baked goods in local stores, and asked for a boycott of several large non-union bakeries which were trying to drive out competitors. In addition to minutes and correspondence, the UTA papers contain the Assembly's financial records for the period 1882-1902 which include bills, financial statements, and dues payment records. Of particular interest are the records of defunct locals which belonged to the UTA. These include minutes books (2 vol.) (1898-1902), cash books (2 vol.) (1913-1932), and a membership book (1924-1928) of the Journeymen Barbers' International Union, Local 103; minutes books (2 vol.) (1903-1920) of the International Union of United Brewery Workers, Utica local; a minutes book (1914-1918) of the Utica Building Trades Council; minutes books of the Executive Board (4 vol.) (1885-1891), and a minutes book of the Label Committee (1897-1900) of the Cigar Makers' International Union, No. 7. Other items of interest include a minutes book (1890-1897) of the International Molders and Allied Workers' Union, Local No. 112; minutes books (4 vols.) (1887-1920) of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers, Local 69; and a minutes book (1920-1925) of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local No. 23. Among the events documented in these volumes is a daily record of the month-long strike of Utica painters in 1911.

6 linear ft.

Cornell University Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 7918969

Cornell University Library

Related Entities

There are 18 Entities related to this resource.

Morrison, Frank, 1859-1949

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tj9dks (person)

Gompers, Samuel, 1850-1924

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66b7twc (person)

Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) was President of the American Federation of Labor and a member of the President's First Industrial Conference in 1919. He was a member of the President's Unemployment Conference in 1921. ...

New York State Federation of Labor

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69k853x (corporateBody)

Sheet Metal Workers' International Association. Local 23 (Utica, N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6452tgr (corporateBody)

Utica Trades Assembly.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mh4w70 (corporateBody)

The Utica Trades Assembly, also known as the Trades and Labor Assembly of Utica and Vicinity, was a city central of the American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) Its activities were directed toward strengthening the Utica locals through mutual support and securing New York State legislation favorable to labor. From the guide to the Utica Trades Assembly records, 1882-1927., (Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library) ...

Socialist Labor Party.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b611kd (corporateBody)

Founded in 1877, the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) developed into the foremost socialist organization in the United States at the turn of the century and was the first American Marxist party to maintain its existence over a long span of years. From the guide to the Socialist Labor Party records, 1877-1907., (Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library) The Socialist Labor Party (SLP), founded in 1877, was the first significant Ameri...

Bates, E. A.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zd5snk (person)

Edison, Thomas Alva, 1847-1931

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66z0150 (person)

Thomas Alva Edison (born February 11, 1847, Milan, Ohio – died October 18, 1931, West Orange, New Jersey), American inventor and businessman who has been described as America's greatest inventor. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrial...

Horton, E. (British painter, active 19th century)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60p8pfv (person)

Rosenthal, Alex.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tf7nf3 (person)

Los Angeles Times (Firm)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tx85fh (corporateBody)

Biography The Times building at First and Broadway, Los Angeles, was dynamited by union terrorists on Oct. 1, 1910; 20 employees were killed, many injured, and the building destroyed; James B. McNamara and John J. McNamara signed a confession admitting their guilt for the bombing, Dec. 2, 1911. From the guide to the Collection of photographs related to the Los Angeles Times bombing, ca. 1912, (University of California, Los Angeles...

Bakery and Confectionery Workers' International Union of America.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h748g0 (corporateBody)

International Molders and Allied Workers' Union. Local 112 (Utica, N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z96kcv (corporateBody)

Journeymen Barbers' International Union of America. Local 103 (Utica, N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r56xtk (corporateBody)

Cigar Makers' International Union of America. Local 7 (Utica, N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62z8ck9 (corporateBody)

Utica Building Trades Council.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6q59www (corporateBody)