United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1214 records

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1214 records, 1905-1968

Overview of the Collection

Creator: United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Local 1214 (Walla Walla, Wash.)
Title: United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1214 records
Dates: 1905-1968 (inclusive)
19051968
Quantity: 11.7 linear feet, (23 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number: WCMss.024
Summary: Membership records, financial records, meeting minutes, and correspondence created by the Walla Walla local of the national carpenters' union.
Repository: Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Carpenters and Joiners Union of Walla Walla, Washington was established on August 12, 1881 as an independent union. Although the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was also established in 1881, this Walla Walla labor organization remained independent for nearly twenty years. On January 31, 1900, the Walla Walla union allied with the national union, and Local 1214 of the Union Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was chartered.

Local 1214 offered membership to qualified carpenters and joiners in southeastern Washington and served as a protector of laborers' wages and rights. Membership ranged from under 100 to over 300 members. Union members elected officers, including a President, Vice President, Financial Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer, to direct the organization, communicate with local, regional, and national union representatives, and manage the finances of the union. The union held meetings weekly, biweekly, or monthly at the Labor Temple at 343 S. 3rd St. in Walla Walla. Topics discussed at the meetings included membership issues (new members, members violating union laws, illness and distress among members), political lobbying, information about jobs underway or completed, employers' violation of workers' rights or fair wages, and the union's finances. In addition to monitoring the dues and employment activities of its members, Local 1214 also collected and maintained information about employers that hired union members.

In the late 1960s, Local 1214 merged into Pasco's Local 1849 due to declining membership.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The majority of the collection provides information about members of and membership in Local 1214. Information about Local 1214's political and social activities, finances, and relationships with local employers, other unions, and its parent organization may be gleaned from the Minutes, Financial Records, Correspondence, and Miscellaneous Series. Limited information about local employers and their use of union carpenters' labor resides in the Employers' Audit Reports Series.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives prior to August 2004. The accession number is retro-0018.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

1: Membership, 1914-1965Return to Top

7.5 linear feet, (12 boxes)

Includes membership records kept by members and by the union. Members appear to have kept due books throughout their careers. Therefore, the books frequently document previous membership in other locals of the same union. Membership ledgers were maintained by Local 1214 and provide a record of the names, addresses, dates of initiation, and due payments of union members. Membership status reports cover a brief period and seem to have constituted a parallel and, ultimately, a replacement system for tracking membership dues.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box
1		Member Due Books, A-B	Circa 1930-1960
2		Member Due Books, B-D	Circa 1930-1960
3		Member Due Books, E-H	Circa 1930-1960
4		Member Due Books, H-M	Circa 1930-1960
5		Member Due Books, M-S	Circa 1930-1960
6		Member Due Books, S-Z	Circa 1930-1960
7		Membership Ledger	1914-1922
	Folder
8	1-8	Membership Ledger, A-G	1942-1963
9	1-9	Membership Ledger, H-O	1942-1963
10	1-12	Membership Ledger, P-Z	1942-1963
11	1-5	Membership Status Reports	1960-1964
23	1-6	Membership Account Sheets	1950-1965

2: Correspondence, 1938-1949Return to Top

0.4 linear feet, (approximately 1 box)

Primarily incoming correspondence from United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America to Local 1214 regarding changes to local laws (includes copies of union by-laws), wages, and relationships among union and non-union workers); from politicians regarding issues affecting organized labor; reports from the Walla Walla Trades and Labor Council ; from the Washington State Federation of Labor and other labor organizations calling attention to political issues affecting unions; also includes reports from Washington State Council of Carpenters.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
11	6-7	Correspondence	1938-1948
12	1-6	Correspondence	1948-1949; 1966-1967

3: Employers' Audit Reports, 1962-1968Return to Top

1.2 linear feet, (3 boxes)

Monthly summaries of hours worked by union members for regional employers. Series restricted until 2030.

Series restricted until 2030.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
13	1-5	Employers' Audit Reports	1962-1964
14	1-5	Employers' Audit Reports	1964-1966
15	1-4	Employers' Audit Reports	1966-1968

4: Minutes, 1905-1951Return to Top

0.8 linear feet, (2 boxes)

Recount events at weekly / biweekly / monthly meetings, including an overview of bills paid, revisions to membership (new members, deaths, resignations, expulsion of members), political resolutions, information about jobs performed, and relations to other local labor organizations. A continuous series except for a two year gap from mid 1938-mid 1940.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
16	1-4	Minutes	1905-1926
17	1-6	Minutes	1927-1951

5: Financial Records, 1902-1965Return to Top

2 linear feet, (4 boxes)

Consist primarily of day books, which contain a daily account of deposits and disbursements; receipt books were retained for periods not covered by day books and contain a record of monies received from members; the monthly report of the financial secretary provides information about the number of paying members of the union and monies owed to the United Brotherhood.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
18	1	Check Register and Deposit Book	1929-1942
18	2-6	Day Books	1902-1914; 1936-1947
19	1-5	Day Books	1949-1965
20		Receipt Books	1919; 1947-1948; 1965
	Folder
21	1-16	Monthly Reports of the Financial Secretary	1913; 1936-1953; 1958
21	17	Trustees' Audit	1960-1961
23	7	Ledger Book	1940-1942

6: Miscellaneous, circa 1938-1968Return to Top

0.4 linear feet, (1 box)

Includes records relating to apprenticeships, unemployment compensation, and federal taxation of employers and the local itself. Unemployment and some tax records restricted until 2035.

Unemployment and some tax records restricted until 2035.

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
15	5-9	Unemployment and tax records	1942-1945; 1967-1968
22	1-2	Tax records	1946-1956
22	3-7	Apprenticeship records	Circa 1938-1966
22	8-9	Annual Conventions	1962-1966
22	10	Washington State Carpenters Yearbooks	1960-1961
Folder
MC.1.2.4		Roll of Honor Poster	1941

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