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)
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.

Request at UW

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)