Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The records of the Northwestern Ohio Building Trades Council consist of 3 linear ft. of minutes, ledgers, correspondence, and printed material dating from 1916 through 1980.

The collection was donated by the Council with the cooperation of James E. Salisbury, August 3, 1988. No restrictions apply with regard to the use of the materials. This register was prepared by Lisa Priolisi, May 1991, and revised by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts, February 1992.

Agency History

The Northwestern Ohio Building Trades Council evolved from the building trades group within the Toledo Central Labor Union (CLU), which was formed primarily of craft unions. Originally known as the Toledo Building Trades Council, the group enlarged its jurisdiction in 1958 to include several other nearby counties, changing its name to the Northwestern Ohio Building Trades Council. In 1959 the group had around 10,000 workers representing 19 crafts, including Carpenters, Iron Workers, Lathers, Painters, Plasterers, Plumbers, Bricklayers, and others. The other central labor organization in Toledo at the the time, the Toledo Industrial Union Council (TIUC), represented the interests of the industrial unions, which had a higher membership.

The Council concerned itself with providing and supervising union construction projects as well as protecting union interests in Northwest Ohio. During the period of merger talks between the AFL and CIO, the building trades generally were unsuccessful in their opposition, concerned about the loss of influence and dominance that would result. The building trades, made up of highly paid, skilled workers, had enjoyed disproportionate power within the CLU, which would be lost if merged with the industrial unions.

The Northwestern Ohio Building Trades Council is still an active force in the local labor movement. The newspapers "Northwestern Ohio Labor Union Newspaper" and later, the "Voice of the Building Trades" were published by the Council on a weekly, then semimonthly basis.

Presently (1997), Mr. Allen Segur serves as Executive Secretary, with offices at 909 Front Street, Toledo, Ohio 43605-2120.

Scope and Content

The Northwestern Ohio Building Trades Council records consist primarily of the various committee meeting minutes from 1954-1980. The minutes contain information about daily council activities, union strikes and activities, jurisdictional disputes, wage negotiations, and the monitoring of construction projects in progress. The minutes from the early period also concern themselves with the merger talks between the AFL and CIO, which the building trades generally opposed.

The ledgers and daybooks date from 1946 to 1971, and provide documentation about material expenditures, wages, operating expenses, lists of unions, and financial worksheets. There are also compiled financial reports in scattered holdings for the years 1956 through 1966.

Correspondence forms a minor component of the collection, with scattered items from 1955 through 1979. The printed material, primarily certificates, proclamations, and resolutions, are also of little interest.

The newspapers published by the Council, "Northwestern Ohio Labor Union Newspaper" and "Voice of the Building Trades" are available in the general Center for Archival Collections holdings from 1972 to the present. A separate manuscript collection of the Toledo Central Labor Union (MS-28) is also available, as are records of many of the individual trade unions.

Series Description

PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES
1954-1979
Arranged by committee and chronologically within each committee. Records of the Executive Board, Business Representatives, Business Agents, Trade Council, and Trade Delegates meetings.

MEMBERSHIP RECORDS
1956-1960
Arranged chronologically
Members' last names in alphabetical order and attendance documentation.

CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE
1955-1979
Arranged chronologically
Incoming and outgoing correspondence, Union information, resignations, and contracts.

REPORTS

FINANCIAL REPORTS
1956-1966 (Scattered)
Arranged chronologically
General compiled statistical financial reports of the Treasurer, summarizing receipts, expenses, assets, and liabilities.

FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

LEDGERS
1947-1949, 1956-1963
Arranged chronologically
General documentation for operating costs and expenditures, donations, wages, and taxes; Mutual Assistance Committee ledger is wrapped separately.

DAYBOOK
1946-1950
Daily record of operating costs and expenditures, donations, wages, and taxes.

YEAR BOOK FUND ACCOUNT BOOK
1963-1971
Receipts, deposits, and expenses for annual year book.

PRINTED MATERIAL

CERTIFICATES
1916-1980
Arranged chronologically
Union membership certificates, proclamations, charters, and resolutions. Located with oversize material.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

POSITIVE PRINTS
n.d.
Unidentified Union march. Located with oversize material.

Inventory

Box 1

Folders

1. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 5-Dec 28, 1954
2. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 4-Dec 27, 1955
3. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 3-Dec 18, 1956
4. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 8-Dec 31, 1957
5. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 7-Dec 30, 1958
6. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 6-Dec 29, 1959
7. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 5-Dec 27, 1960
8. Business Managers Meeting minutes, Jan 3-Dec 26, 1961

Box 2

Folders

1. Business Managers Meeting minutes (incomplete), Jan 8, 1963-June 24, 1964
2. Executive Board Meeting minutes, Jan 29, 1958-Dec 27, 1968
3. Executive Board Meeting minutes, Jan 7, 1969-Dec 27, 1974
4. Executive Board Meeting minutes, Jan 10, 1975-Dec 28, 1979
5. Business Agents minutes, Apr 25, 1958-Mar 1, 1979

Box 3

Folders

1. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1952
2. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1953-54
3. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1955
4. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1956
5. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1957
6. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1958
7. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1959
8. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1960
9. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1961-62

Box 4

Folders

1. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1961-1965
2. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1966-1970
3. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1971-1976
4. Trades Council Meeting minutes, 1977-1978

Box 5

Folders

1. Business Representatives minutes, 1963-1965
2. Business Representatives minutes, 1966
3. Business Representatives minutes, 1967-1969

Box 6

Folders

1. Business Representatives minutes, 1970-1973
2. Business Representatives minutes, 1974-1976

Box 7

Folders

1. Business Representatives minutes, 1977-1979
2. Trades Delegates minutes, 1968, 1973
3. Clarence Squairs Memorial Fund minutes, 1969
4. Health and Welfare Meeting minutes, 1976-1977
5. Jurisdiction of Sandusky & Seneca Counties minutes, 1977
6. Finance Committee Meeting minutes, 1977-1978
7. Roll call sheets, 1956-60
8. Correspondence, 1955-1979
9. Rules on Expenditures, n.d.
10. Financial reports (scattered), 1956-1966

Box 8

Folders

1. Ledger, 1947
2. Ledger, 1948
3. Ledger, 1949
4. Daybook, 1946-1950
5. Year Book Fund account book, 1963-1971

Wrapped and Oversize Flats

1. Mutual Assistance Committee ledger (wrapped), 1956-1963
2. Certificates (9) (oversize flat drawer), 1916-1980
3. Photographs (2) (oversize flat drawer), n.d.

Manuscripts by Subject | Labor Collections