Morrison-Knudsen Company Labor Relations Records, 1944-1963

Overview of the Collection

Title
Morrison-Knudsen Company Labor Relations Records
Dates
1944-1963 (inclusive)
Quantity
4.25 linear feet, (4 boxes and 8 microfilm reels)
Collection Number
MSS 022
Summary
Chiefly labor agreements and contracts for construction projects built by the firm in Idaho and other western states; together with associated correspondence, memoranda, and wage schedules.
Repository
Boise State University Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
1910 University Drive
Boise ID
83725
Telephone: 2084263990
archives@boisestate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is available for research.

Languages
English

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Chiefly labor agreements and contracts for construction projects built by the firm in Idaho and other western states; together with associated correspondence, memoranda, and wage schedules.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Morrison-Knudsen (also known as M-K) was an engineering and construction firm founded in Boise in 1912. Created by Morris Hans Knudsen and Harry Winford Morrison, they completed heavy construction projects across the United States as well as 71 foreign countries. M-K is mostly known for their participation in the construction of the Hoover Dam, San Francisco Bay Bridge, Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center and 153 miles of the Trans-Alaskan pipeline.

In South America, they are known for partnerships in the Cerrejón Coal Mine in Colombia, the Itaipu hydro electric dam on the Paraguay-Brazil border, and contracts for segments of the Trans-Andean highway. In South-East Asia, M-K was a major partner in RMK-BRJ, a private company joint venture to build infrastructure for the United States military during the Vietnam War. In Central Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East, M-K built irrigation systems, airports, and military infrastructure to aid the U.S. in Cold War diplomacy from the late 1940s through the 1970s.

When energy shortages and Cold War détente lowed demand for international construction, M-K shifted to domestic and foreign diversification including: mass transit, resource extraction, residential property development and locomotive manufacturing. By the late 1980s and into the 1990s, M-K experienced a decline in revenue and in 1996 the company was sold to Dennis Washington, owner of a smaller but similar firm. After a few years of recovery and stabilization. Morrison-Knudsen Corp. was renamed Washington Group International. In 2007 that company was sold to United Research Services (URS).

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[item description], Morrison-Knudsen Company Labor Relations Records, Box [number] Folder [number], Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Morrison-Knudsen, 1977 and 1988.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Agreements, Negotiations, and Contracts with Labor UnionsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1-3
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
1956-1958
1 4-6
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
1945-1956
1 7-9
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters
1947-1957
1 10-11
International Union of Operating Engineers
1948, 1951
1 12-13
National Industrial Maintenance Corporation, Idaho Falls
1952-1953
1 14-15
National Industrial Products Corporation, Boise
1954-1958
1 16
Alabama AGC
1959-1960
1 17-25
Alaska AGC
1949-1960
1 26
Arizona AGC
1955-1959
1 27-31
Northern and Central California, AGC
1951-1958
2 1-9
Northern and Central California, AGC
1956-1958
2 10-16
Southern California AGC
1951-1958
2 17
Colorado AGC
1955
2 18-24
Southern Idaho AGC
1944-1958
2 25
Southwest Idaho
1950
2 26
Southwest Idaho Contractors Association
1952
2 27-29
Montana AGC
1956-1957
2 30
Nevada
1955-1957
3 1-5
Portland, OR and Southwest Washington, AGC
1955-1958
3 6-10
Utah AGC
1951-1959
3 11-13
Eastern Washington-Northern Idaho
1956-1958
3 14-19
Mountain Pacific and Tacoma AGC
1949-1958
3 20-23
Wyoming State
1954-1958
3 24-25
Associated General Contractors
1958-1959

ProjectsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 26-28
Alcan Project, British Columbia
1952-1955
4 1-2
Arco, Idaho
1953-1954
4 3
Atlanta, Idaho
1955
4 4
Boston Water Tunnel
1954-1955
4 5
Caliente, Nevada
1954
4 6-9
Columbia Basin
1948-1953
4 10
Jackson Lake Lodge Developments
1949-1955
4 11
Los Angeles South Gate Shop
1953
4 12
Mountain Home Air Force Base
1953-1955
4 13
Nellis Air Force Base
1953
4 14
Pendleton, Oregon, Pipeline
1955
4 15
Pittsburgh Steel Plant
1950
4 16
Rosebury, Oregon, No Umpqua Power Plant
1952-1953
4 17
Sacramento Valley
1956-1958
4 18
Salt Lake Fill, Lucin Cut-off
1956-1958
4 19
Spokane Shop
1952-1957
4 20
The Dalles, Oregon
1955
4 21
Twentynine Palms, California
1953
4 22
West Glacier, Montana, Highway Surfacing
1952
4 23
White Alice, Alaska
1956
4 24
Railroad Division, Wyoming
1952
4 26-27
Bull Shoals, Cotter, Arkansas
1948-1953
4 28
Davis Dam, California
1947
4 29
Detroit Dam, Oregon
1949
4 30
Diablo Dam, Washington
1950
4 31
Garrison Dam, North Dakota
1948-1951
4 32
C.J. Strike Dam, Idaho
1950-1951
4 33
Hungry Horse Dam, Montana
1948-1952
4 34
Jamex Dam Outlet Works, New Mexico
1949-1950
4 35
Kortes Dam and Power Plant, Wyoming
1946
4 36
Littleton Dam, New Hampshire
1954
4 37
Lucky Peak Dam, Idaho
1952
4 38
McNary Dam, Oregon
1950-1952
4 39
Palisades Dam, Idaho
1952
4 40
Timothy Meadows Dam, Oregon
1952
4 41
Tri-Dam Project, California; Yale Dam, Washington
1955
4 42
Yale Dam
1951-1952
4 43
Durkee, Oregon
1953
4 44
Fairchild Airforce Base Contract
1955
4 45
Black Canyon Project, Emmett, Idaho
1952
4 46
Granite Canyon, Wyoming
1953
4 47-48
Hanford Engineering Works
1947-1955
4 49
Hinkle, Oregon
1950

MicrofilmReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
oversize_drawers drawer
9035 2
Mt. Pacific and Tacoma AGC 1952 thru MINUTES OF MEETINGS COLUMBIA BASIN CONTRS. (77-52)
1944-1960
9035 2
COLUMBIA BASIN 1952 thru MT. PACIFIC AND TACOMA AGC 1949-1950 (77-51)
1950-1960
9035 2
AGREEMENTS AND CORRES., CAL. OLD AGREEMENTS 1956 thru MONTANA AGC 1961-1962 (#1)
1956-1963
9035 2
AGREEMENTS AND CORRES., MONTANA AGC 1961-1962 thru UTAH SAND AND GRAVEL 1969 (#2)
1956-1963
9035 2
WYOMING AGC thru DETROIT DAM LABOR AGRMT. (77-50)
1950-1960
9035 2
MISC. AGRMTS. thru GRANITE CANYON, WYOMING (77-54)
1950-1960
9035 2
WASHINGTON D.C. AGC 1959 thru KINGS RIVER CONSTR. - WAGE RATES (77-53)
1950-1960
9035 2
EMMETT, IDAHO AGREEMENT thru GRIEVANCE REPORTS - KING RIVER (77-55)
1950-1960

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Collective labor agreements--Construction industry
  • Construction industry
  • Industrial relations
  • Labor unions