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Washington State Association of the U.A. Plumbers and Pipefitters records, 1941-2006

Overview of the Collection

Creator
United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry. Washington State Association
Title
Washington State Association of the U.A. Plumbers and Pipefitters records
Dates
1941-2006 (inclusive)
1955-1980 (bulk)
Quantity
6.06 cubic feet (6 boxes)
1 oversize folder
Collection Number
5800 (Accession No. 5800-001)
Summary
Records of the Washington State Association of the U.A. Plumbers and Pipefitters
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

Open to all users

Records are stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides
Languages
English
Sponsor
Processing funded by the Washington State Association of U.A. Plumbers & Pipefitters and the Labor Archives Fund, Labor Archives of Washington
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Historical Note

Washington State Association of U.A Plumbers and Pipefitters (WSA) was founded in 1921 to promote cooperation of all plumber and pipefitters local unions in the State of Washington so they may protect each local union member from "unjust and injurious competition."

In 1995, the WSA established an organizing department funded by all working members of the WSA to address lost market share and union density, and is one of the earliest statewide organizing systems in the United States. The WSA coordinates and funds organizing activities in area U.A. Plumbers & Pipefitters locals and works to prevent the open shop. The WSA has signed nearly 200 contractors since it started and has organized over 1,000 new members. The WSA is active legislatively and politically, coordinating political action of local unions and their members at both the local and national level.

As of 2013, the WSA had 7,324 members belonging to six local unions, all of which are United Association affiliates. The association's affilates are: UA Local 26- Western Washington Plumbers and Steamfitters; UA Local 32- Seattle Plumbers and Steamfitters; UA Local 44- Spokane Plumbers and Steamfitters; UA Local 598- Pasco Plumbers and Steamfitters; UA Local 669- Road Sprinklerfitters; UA Local 699- Seattle Sprinklerfitters

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Content Description

This collection documents the numerous activities of the Washington State Association of U.A. Plumbers and Pipefitters (WSA) and the interactions with its various locals throughout the state of Washington: Local 32 (Seattle), Local 40 (Bellingham), Local 44 (Spokane), Local 82 (Tacoma), Local 175 (Mount Vernon), Local 358 (Aberdeen), Local 549 (Yakima), Local 598 (Kennewick/Pasco), Local 631 (Bremerton) and Local 695 (Longview). The collection spans from 1945-2006. The bulk of the documents from this collection originated from the internal departments of the WSA; some materials were collected from various offshoots of the WSA. The largest series in the collection is WSA Conventions and Resolutions (Series XII), which details the substantial planning and execution of forty-two separate annual conventions from 1946-1992, including the 50th “Golden Anniversary” Convention held in Yakima in 1971. Also of note are the numerous legal cases found in Legal Files (Series IX). There are particularly extensive materials on two National Labor Relations Board Cases: the Harless Case (Local 598 [Pasco] and Harless, et. al. and Washington State Board of Negotiators) and the MacDonald and Scott Associates Case (Plumbers and Steamfitters Locals 598 (Kennewick) and 44 (Spokane) and McDonald-Scott & Associates. Projects and disputes pertaining specifically to union authority can be found in Jurisdictional Documents (Series X). The materials located in Executive Board (Series I) and Washington State Board of Negotiators (Series II) highlight the issues most pertinent to the WSA, as well as the ways in which the issues were resolved. Mergers (Series VII) shows the ways in which the locals were consolidated or absorbed into larger locals throughout the years. Although Board of Trustees (Series III), Business Managers (Series IV), Pension Committee (Series V) and Residential Housing (Series VI) are all smaller series, they offer insight into the disparate subjects that various groups within the WSA have dealt with in the past. The day-to-day workings of the WSA can be evaluated from the Financial Documents (Series VIII) and Office Files (Series XI). WSA Locals (Series XIII) gives a glimpse into the issues most relevent to individual locals of the WSA.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from this collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The accession is arranged into 13 series.

Series I: Executive Board, 1950-1993

Series II: Washington State Board of Negotiators, 1958-1981

Series III: Board of Trustees, 1956, 1971

Series IV: Business Managers, 1973

Series V: Pension Committee, 1961-1962

Series VI: Residential Housing, 1971-1981; 2006

Series VII: Mergers, 1972-1988

Series VIII: Financial Documents, 1962-2000

Series IX: Legal Files, 1954-1975

Series X: Jurisdictional Documents, 1945-1983; 1996-1997

Series XI: Office Files, 1951-1992

Series XII: WSA Conventions and Resolutions, 1941-1992

Series XIII: WSA Locals, 1955-1972

Each series is arranged by material format. Within these sub-series, individual files are arranged in either chronological or reverse chronological order, depending on the original order in which the items were found.

Preservation Note

Records are stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Acquisition Information

Donor: Randy Scott, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, 2013.

Processing Note

Processed by Erin Berg.

Eighteen photographs received with this collection have been relocated to Visual Materials, VM 1216.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)

Corporate Names

  • United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry. Washington State Association--Archives

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Labor Archives of Washington (University of Washington) (creator)


2013 (Last modified: 3/12/2018)

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