Archives West Finding Aid

Already source of labor unrest for several decades, the Pacific Northwest lumber and sawmill industry of the 1930s was in the midst of inter-union rivalry. The industry was dominated by single men working in remote and often inhospitable conditions. Support for communism was particularly strong in mill towns and logging camps populated with unskilled immigrant labor. Many of these Pacific Northwest woodworkers gathered in Portland in 1936 and formed the Federation of Woodworkers. Two years later, they opted to affiliate with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and became the International Woodworkers of America (IWA). Harold Pritchett was elected their first president. Pritchett had very strong ties to the Communist Party, although he consistently denied that he was a member. This affiliation, shared by many members of the IWA was a source of contention with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the US government. At first, this manifested as a struggle for IWA representation of woodworkers in the region. The AFL’s timber union, which eventually became the Lumber and Sawmill Workers (LSW), competed furiously for members. As a result IWA membership fell from about 40,000 at its first convention in 1937 to about 20,000 at its second in 1938. These early years were difficult for the IWA and marred by a disputes with the AFL timber union. Pritchett was directly affected when he was denied a permanent visa to the United States in 1940, which forced him to step down as leader of the union as he could not conduct business without access to both countries. However, he continued to work in Canada, quickly becoming president of District #1.

Turmoil persisted for much of the IWA's first two decades. Yet in spite of this the IWA grew rapidly. Wartime labor policies helped greatly. The Taft-Hartley Act (1948) caused the Canadian districts to attempt to disaffiliate, however this was defeated and they remained a part of the IWA until 1987. After the period of late 1940s anti-labor legislation, the IWA experienced great success. Several regionals convened for the first time in convention during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Union membership reached its peak in 1977 with 112,000. The 1980s were comparably difficult with industry-wide losses in union bargaining power. The IWA dissolved into two national unions in 1987.

A list of IWA Conventions with officers and nominations from 1936 to 1973 (with the exception of 1954, 1956, 1959-1962, 1964, 1970, 1972) can be found in folder 1/3.