Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
- Overview of the Collection
-
Historical Note
- Content Description
- Use of the Collection
- Administrative Information
-
Detailed Description of the Collection
- Administrative Records
- International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25, Ladies' Auxiliary
- International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25, Workmen's Safety Committee of the Tacoma Smelter
- Workmen's Hospital and Benefit Committee of the Tacoma Smelter
- International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers
- Names and Subjects
International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25 records, 1933-1971
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers. Local 25 (Tacoma, Wash.)
- Title
- International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25 records
- Dates
- 1933-1971 (inclusive)19331971
- Quantity
- 3.61 cubic feet (4 boxes and one oversize vertical folder)
- Collection Number
- 1608 (Accession No. 1608-001)
- Summary
- Records of a Tacoma, Washington union of Mine, Mill and Smelter workers relating to grievances and negotiations, arbitration of several grievances, agreements
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Access restricted: For terms of access, contact repository.
Records are stored off site; advance notice required for use.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (formerly the Western Federation of Miners) was formed in 1916, and weathered repeated accusations of Communism against its leadership during the 1940s and 1950s; in 1967 it merged with the United Steelworkers of America. Local 25 of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers was organized in 1933 by workers at the Tacoma Smelter of the American Smelting and Refining Company. It continued as Local 25 of the United Steelworkers of America when the International merged with the United Steelworkers. The Tacoma Smelter, located on Commencement Bay in the company town of Ruston, Washington, had been in existence since1889. It was founded by William R. Rust as the Tacoma Smelting and Refining Company, and began operating in 1890. In 1905 the smelter was purchased by the American Smelting and Refining Company. The facility was originally used to smelt and refine lead, but in 1912 it was converted to a copper smelter and refinery.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The papers consist primarily of Local 25's administrative records, including materials relating to grievances and negotiations, arbitration of several grievances, agreements with the Tacoma Smelter, and Local 25's newsletter The Straight of It. There is minimal documentation of a strike in 1946 and a lockout in 1950, and a more significant amount of material relating to a lockout and extended work stoppage in 1959. Most material dates from before the merger of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers with the United Steelworkers of America, but some ephemera from after the merger are present in Administrative Records.
The Ladies' Auxiliary material consists primarily of minutes and a ritual book. The Workmen's Safety Committee material includes minutes, correspondence, accident reports and newsletters. The Hospital and Benefit Committee material includes correspondence, minutes and summaries of health and welfare plans. The material from the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers consists primarily of board meeting minutes, reports, fact sheets, newsletters and bulletins, and subject files concerning bargaining with the American Smelting and Refining Company, and a union representation campaign in Idaho.
Major correspondents include John Caughlan, Local 25's attorney and several executive officers of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25, 19 early 1960's: William E. Lee, Business Agent/Financial Secretary; Elmer Olson, Secretary/Secretary-Treasurer/Financial Secretary; Irving Dichter, Secretary-Treasurer; Arthur W. Stuart, Research Director; John Clarke, President; and Al Skinner, President.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
The papers are also available on microfilm.
Restrictions on Use
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Preferred Citation
International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25 Records, Special Collections Division, University of Washington Libraries.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The materials are arranged in five subgroups:
- Administrative Records of Local 25, 1933-1971
- International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25, Ladies' Auxiliary, 1949-1952, undated
- International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25, Workmen's Safety Committee of the Tacoma Smelter, 1944-1968
- Workmen's Hospital and Benefit Committee of the Tacoma Smelter
- International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, 1948-1965
Preservation Note
Records are stored off site; advance notice required for use.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the United Steelworkers Union, Local 25, via Rodger Vandegrift in 1971.
Separated Materials
Eight state and federal government publications were offered to the Government Publications Collection in the Libraries.
Related Materials
The records of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers Union are presently in the Archives, University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Administrative Records, 1933-1971, undatedReturn to Top
Some documentation from the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers is also present.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Organizational Features |
1941, undated |
| 1/2-5 | General Correspondence |
1941-1969, undated |
| 1/6-17 | Interorganizational Correspondence
Correspondence between Local 25 and the International Union,
including its American Smelting and Refining Company Council
|
1954-1967 |
| 1/18 | Minutes
Primarily contains minutes of shop stewards' meetings but also
union committee meetings, a meeting of the Seattle-Tacoma "LE Committee"
(apparently concerned with environmental and safety issues, but the actual name
is unknown), publicity committee meetings and some which are completely
unidentified.
|
1951, undated |
| 1/19-24 | Agreements
Folder 1/24 contains an undated summary of agreements from
1937-1954
|
1945-1968 |
| 1/25 | Agreements - Other Unions and Locals |
1948, 1950, 1953, 1955 |
| 1/26 | Wage Scales |
1941, 1954, undated |
| 1/27 | Manual of Smelter Workers' Duties
Manual includes wage scales; folder also contains one page of
operating instructions for selenium scrubbing equipment.
|
undated |
| 1/28-33 | Grievances and Negotiations |
1948-1963, undated |
| 1/34-38 | Arbitration |
1943-1944, 1948, 1958, 1960 |
| 1/39 | Hearings; Hearings on Unemployment Compensation
1959 |
1959 |
| 1/40 | Appeals; Appeals - Washington State Department of
Employment Security |
1960 |
Subject Files |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/1 | 1946 Strike |
1946, undated |
| 2/2 | 1950 Lockout |
1950, undated |
| 2/3 | 1959 Health and Welfare Contracts |
1959, 1960 |
| 2/4-7 | 1959 Lockout
Includes correspondence, negotiations, clippings and other
related materials.
|
1955, 1959, undated |
| 2/8 | 1959 Negotiations |
|
| 2/9 | Building and Playground |
1950-1955 |
| 2/10 | Coeur d'Alene Strike |
1960 |
| 2/11 | Japanese Competition for Copper Smelting
Includes one letter from Representative Thor Tollefson to
William Lee, then Local 25's business agent.
|
1961, 1962 |
| 2/12 | Lead Quotas |
1963, undated |
| 2/13 | Pension Plan |
1941, 1956-1968 |
| 2/14 | Slavonian Hall Building |
1958 |
| 2/15-21 | United Steelworkers of America
Includes two letters from members withdrawing from the union,
and flyers regarding union issues, both local and national. Also present are
materials produced by the United Steelworkers of America, including copies of
its constitution, adopted resolutions, reports and ephemera.
|
1968, undated |
| 2/22 | William Lee Executive Board Campaign |
|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2/23-3/2 | Membership Records
Includes yearly member lists, meeting attendance records,
withdrawals claimed, reclassification requests and other materials.
|
1931-1970 |
| 3/3-7 | Election Materials
Includes ballots, tallies, resolution drafts, campaign ephemera
and other materials.
|
1941-1959, undated |
| 3/8-14 | Financial Records
Includes monthly and quarterly reports to the international
union.
|
1955-1967, undated |
| 3/15-17 | Newsletter;
The Straight Of It
|
1945-1964, 1971, undated |
| 3/18 | Newsletters; Other Organizations |
1964 |
| 3/19 | Press Releases |
1963 |
| 3/20 | Lists; Tacoma Smelter Staff |
undated |
| 3/21-23 | Ephemera of Local 25 and others |
1947, 1961, undated |
| 3/24 | Legislation |
1962, 1965, 1969 |
| 3/25-26 | Clippings
One folder contains the contents of an envelope labeled "News
Clippings News Tribune (Copper Situation) 1961"
|
1961, 1965, 1969, undated |
International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25, Ladies' Auxiliary, 1949-1952, undatedReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/27 | Ritual Book |
undated |
| 3/28-29 | Minutes |
1949-1952, undated |
International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 25, Workmen's Safety Committee of the Tacoma Smelter, 1944-1968, undatedReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/30 | General Correspondence |
1956-1968 |
| 3/31-39 | Minutes |
1957-1968 |
| 3/40 | Minutes; Washington State Metal Workers' Safety
Committee |
1961, 1966-1967, 1970 |
| 3/41 | Subject File; Safety Tours |
1956 |
| 3/42-43 | Accident Reports |
1952, 1956-1968 |
| 3/44 | Accident Reports; Other American Smelting and Refining
Company Plants |
1962, 1964 |
| 3/45 | Newsletters |
1957 |
| 3/46 | Newsletters; Other Organizations |
1959-1960 |
| 3/47-48 | Reports; Other Organizations |
1960, 1962 |
| 3/49-50 | Safety and Health Standards |
1956, 1958, 1960, 1970, undated |
Safety Rules and Regulations; American Smelting and
Refining Company |
1944, 1949-1950, 1959 | |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/51 | Conference and Convention Files; Governor's Eleventh
Annual Industrial Safety Committee |
1960 |
| 3/52 | Ephemera |
1961, undated |
| 3/53 | Press Releases |
1959, 1962 |
Workmen's Hospital and Benefit Committee of the Tacoma Smelter, 1941-1967, undatedReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/1 | Organizational Features |
undated |
| 4/2 | General Correspondence |
1957-1967 |
| 4/3 | Minutes |
1955, 1958-1959 |
| 4/4 | Agreements |
1952, 1956, 1962, undated |
| 4/5 | Resolutions |
1952 |
| 4/6 | Appeals |
1962 |
| 4/7 | Health and Welfare Plan Summaries |
1941-1964, undated |
| 4/8 | Ephemera |
1953, undated |
| 4/9 | Clippings |
undated |
International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, 1948-1965, undatedReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/10 | Minutes
Minutes of the Executive Board and Canvassing Committee.
|
1961-1963 |
| 4/11 | Statements |
1961, 1963 |
| 4/12 | Arbitration |
1961 |
| 4/13 | Fact Sheets
Includes material from the Education and Research
Departments.
|
1950, 1961-1963, undated |
| 4/14 | Reports of the Canvassing Committee and Research
Department |
1963, undated |
| 4/15 | Newsletter;
Mine-Mill Legislative Letter
|
1948-1965 |
Bulletins |
||
Mine Mill Research Department |
1950 | |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/16 | Mine Mill Strike Bulletin |
1959 |
| 4/16 | Mine-Mill's Bargaining Bulletin |
1964 |
| 4/17 | Officers & Stewards Bulletin |
1964 |
| 4/17 | Mine Mill Staff Bulletin |
1965 |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/18-19 | Conference and Convention Files
Includes material from annual national conventions.
|
1959, 1962-1965 |
Subject Files |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/20 | 1959 Demands |
1959 |
| 4/21-22 | 1964 Bargaining |
1964, undated |
| 4/23 | Bunker Hill Mine Union Representation Vote
Ephemera produced by the International Union of Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers as well as the United Steelworkers of America and Northwest
Metal Workers, who were competing to represent workers at Idaho's Bunker Hill
mine.
|
1964, undated |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/24 | Press Releases |
1960-1965 |
| 4/25 | Health and Welfare Manual |
undated |
| 4/26 | Ephemera |
1964, undated |
| box-folder:oversize | ||
| Oversize V.F. 84 | Ephemera |
1964, undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Collective bargaining--Metal-workers--Washington (State)--Tacoma
- Labor movement--Washington (State)--Tacoma
- Metal-workers--Employees--Labor unions--Washington (State)--Tacoma
- Metal-workers--Labor unions--Washington (State)--Tacoma--Archives
- Mineral industries--Employees--Labor unions--Washington (State)--Tacoma
- Strikes and lockouts--Washington (State)--Tacoma
Personal Names
- Caughlan, John, 1909-1999
- Clark, John
- Dichter, Irving
- Lee, William E
- Olsen, Elmer W
- Skinner, A. C., (Al C.)
Corporate Names
- International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers. Local 25 (Tacoma, Wash.)--Archives
- United Steelworkers of America. Local 25 (Tacoma, Wash.)
Geographical Names
- Tacoma (Wash.)--Economic conditions
Form or Genre Terms
- Administrative records
- Agreements
- Newsletters
Other Creators
-
Corporate Names
- Labor Archives of Washington (University of Washington) (creator)
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
