Archives West Finding Aid

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was founded in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert. In April of that year the two men formed a provisional committee and started the newspaper The Carpenter to promote the idea of a national union of carpenters. The first convention of the Brotherhood was held in Chicago in August of 1881. Like many unions of the period the Brotherhood grew out of a tradition of social democracy and socialism. The early preamble reflected this in its call for a "Cooperative Commonwealth" with trade unions as its cornerstone. The union's immediate goals included wage and hour demands and death and sickness benefits. The union grew rapidly; its 1881 membership of 2000 expanded to 50,000 by 1890, and 100,000 by 1900. In May 1889 an organizational meeting was held in Anaconda, Montana, to form a local carpenters' union. The first formal meeting of the new Local #88, of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was held on June 6, 1889 by nine charter members. Anthony Blise was elected president and George Owen, recording secretary. The reform ideology of the national union was reflected in the local bylaws, the preamble to which stated that "We hold it as a sacred duty to posterity to use our utmost endeavor to replace the present wage system by cooperative industry and to claim our inalienable right to the means of living which are inherent in the soil." The Anaconda local bylaws fined members for patronizing Chinese businessmen. Both the preamble and the anti-Chinese clause were eliminated in later bylaws. The union's main concerns were promoting the eight hour day, protecting wages, providing sick and death insurance, enforcing union shop conditions, and protecting the jurisdiction of the union against other unions. In 1915 the carpenters formed a statewide organization, the Montana State Council of Carpenters, to coordinate the work of all the locals in Montana. The carpenters' union was also active in the Montana State Federation of Labor, the Montana State AFL-CIO, the Montana State Apprenticeship Council, and the Non-ferrous Metals Council. The latter was a joint negotiating team of unions in the regional copper industry.