"Expectations in life of least importance are those we hold alone.
Expectations of lasting importance are those held in common with our peers." -Neslin
Just as Philidelphia carpenter Peter J. McGuire is recognized as the founder of Labor Day, Tacoma carpenter and union activist George L. McMurphy is recognized as leading the drive to organize carpenters in the Tacoma area.
During 1886-1887 Tacoma nearly doubled its population to 17,000. Many of these newcomers were carpenters who "boomed" (traveled) from one area to another as warranted by the availability of work. From the ranks of resident and newly arrived carpenters, a handful of union activists molded the nucleus of these tradesmen into the group who petitioned the Brotherhood of Carpenters for a local charter.
On March 28th, 1888, a charter was granted, and Tacoma Carpenters' Union Local 197 became an entity in the Tacoma labor community. Organizers' goals were to replace the ten-hour day by nine hours for the same $3.00 a day average pay, and an employer-recognized closed shop. To this end, shortly after becoming organized, Local 197 called a strike to resolve these issues. The strike promptly failed. However, the union survived, and the Brotherhood of Carpenters extended the local's charter to cover all of Washington Territory.
Local 197 as a viable organization lasted barely six years. Employers bitterly opposed the local's continuing efforts to gain its original goal of $3.00 a day. Nor would they agree to $3.50 premium pay for contractor-approved "competent" workmen, overtime at time and one-half and weekly paydays. While the union was thus struggling for a measure of recognition, the carpenter arrived in Tacoma in 1889 who, more than any other single member, would influence the future course of carpenter and building trades unionism. Thirty-eight-year-old George L. McMurphy brought to Local 197 a firm commitment to unionism and undoubtedly the experience of previous membership in the Brotherhood. Time ran out for Local 197 in July of 1894 when the charter was surrendered to the Carpenters Brotherhood. Time rant out for Local 197 in July of 1894 when the charter was surrendered to the Carpenters Brotherhood. Several factors led to the demise of the local, but an extended economic depression in the 1890s contributed as much as any single factor. A transient work force willing to undercut union conditions and failure to achieve uniform work hours and wage scale also had a detrimental effect and hastened the eventual outcome.
Several years passed without formal carpenter representation in Tacoma. Feeling the continued injustice of a ten-hour work day, and discontented with a wage scale now dropped to $2.00 a day average, carpenters met in the fall of 1899 to discuss their plight. McMurphy led the way by chairing a committee whose purpose was to reestablish in Tacoma a carpenters union, either local in nature or nationally affiliated. Many of the potential carpenter members reasoned the "eastern" established internationals were not overly concerned or supportive of problems in the Northwest. Others reasoned there was strength and purpose in belonging to a national organization.
The issue of "local" versus "international" was intensely debated, but when it came to a vote an overwhelming majority was for international affiliation. Carpenters' Local Union 470 was then granted a charter on February 27th, 1900, by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Yes, George L. McMurphy, active member of both Carpenters' unions 197 and 470, and a leader in organizing the Tacoma Trades Council (now the Central Labor Council), was elected the first president of Carpenters' Local 470. He subsequently helped organize the Tacoma Building Trades Council and the Washington State Federation of Labor.
Remembering the disaster of the poorly organized strike of 1888, a negotiating committee was appointed and met quietly with area contractors while the carpenters were seeking a charter. These prior meetings with employers to discuss and debate the purpose of a new union, as well as to renew demands for a viable bargaining agreement on wages and hours of work, plus a recognized closed shop, proved wise and beneficial. Two days after the chartering ceremony, on March 1, 1900, a one-year agreement went into effect between the new carpenters local union and area contractors calling for an eight-hour, $2.50 day with closed shop provisions. This came about without a hitch or any cessation of work. The precedent of bargaining in good faith with employers before calling a strike showed wisdom and good judgment for the times. This practice in collective bargaining has been followed for the nearly 100 years of Local 470's existence.
Unlike its predecessor, Local 197, Local 470 started with support of 150 charter members, most employers, and opportunity to organize with a closed-shop provision in effect. By 1902 membership had more than doubled, and in October 1903 the union withstood a six weeks' lockout when the Contractors' Association broke up the Building Trades Council. Local 470 survived another attack in 1907-1908, spearheaded by the open-shop Citizens' Alliance. Taking advantage of a dispute in the Building Trades, the employers sponsored and recognized independent associations, including a group of 200 carpenters. The unions resolved their differences and gradually absorbed the association members.
Average daily wages for carpenters increased from $3.60 in 1904 to $4.00 by 1910. Membership in that year was 468, with 55 percent of the trade organized locally. The union paid a sick benefit of $3.50 a week, a funeral benefit of $200.00, and a strike benefit of one-third of a member's wages. Apprentices received two-fifths of the scale the first year, three-fifths the second, and four-fifths the third year. They were limited to not more than one in six men on a job.
World War I brought increased work for carpenters in wartime construction and shipbuilding. Union membership rose to 1,500 in 1919, and wages were increased to $6.88 a day to compensate for the rapidly rising cost of living. Membership shrank as the war industries closed down, stabilizing at 700 by 1923.
Several significant events occurred during the growth of the initial ten years and into the early 1920s. First and foremost was the establishment of the eight-hour day with a gradual wage increase to $8.00 a day by 1920. All gains were accomplished without any period of reduction of wages or strike action. A growing number of shipwrights were organized into the local, and plant and maintenance work contracts were signed with individual employers. Carpenter millwrights were actively setting precision machines and conveyors in sawmills, paper plants, and power plants on dam construction sites.
During this slow but steady expansion period the union outgrew rented accomodations and set out to purchase or erect a building. There was a two-year planning period while a hunt for suitable property was undertaken, and on May 1, 1923, Local 470 moved into its newly remodeled building at 1010-1012 Tacoma Avenue. For the next thirty years this address was to be the local's headquarters. Shortly thereafter, the Building Trades Council also moved to this new location. The significance and prudence of this purchase was that, for the first time in Tacoma labor's history, several building trades unions were occupying quarters owned and managed by organized labor. No longer were they subject to the whims of landlords who might be antagonistic toward the purposes and principles of unionism.
By the beginning of 1931 Local 470 had grown to be one of the largest unions in Tacoma-Pierce County. However, along with the nation, it was devastated by the growing momentum of what was to be called "the Great Depression of the 1930s." Membership rolls sank, and one setback followed another. The lack of work generated discussions for shortening the workday and workweek. Local 470 members agreed to assess working members 10 cents an hour to assist unemployed members from the local's special contingency fund. In 1932 the Carpenters dropped membership in the Central Labor Council due to financial difficulties; a 10 percent cut in wages was agreed to; and the union endorsed the five-day week. The Carpenters and other building trades unions charged that employers were using convicts, relief bureau workers and army personnel on construction jobs at reduced rates. Dwindling local finances and membership caused several members to band together and mortgage their homes, thereby saving the local from possible insolvency.
From 1933 until the end of 1935 there were periods of sparse or no employment, with government-generated work at Fort Lewis the main source of carpenter employment in 1935. Despite the impoverished plight of many of its members, the local managed prudently and stayed together. A bright note was the restoration of the dollar-an-hour wage scale before the year was out. The beginning of 1936 saw a light at the end of the tunnel with periodic government and private work, and by 1940 the local was again on a more steady if not completely firm basis.
As in World War I, membership during World War II expanded greatly due to extensive shipbuilding and tremendous growth in military facilities. Also as in World War I and other conflicts, many Local 470 members served with honor in the armed forces while their brother and sister members worked under wartime regulations at home. It is significant to point out that in July of 1945 Local 470 became the fifth largest local in the Carpenters Brotherhood. However, the carpenter trade became fragmented, and helper rather than apprentice classifications were necessary, as there was little time to train properly through a traditional four-year apprenticeship program. From the end of 1945 and on into the early 1950s membership rolls declined from a wartime 5,000 plus to a fluctuating 2,500. Renewed postwar housing and commercial building provided work for all members through the Korean conflict, with a few periods of unemployment.
Once again, as in the 1920s, the union was looking for a new home to meet its expanded needs. Unlike the remodeling project in 1923, a new building was constructed at the present location of 1322 South Fawcett, and the members occupied their new home in early 1955. During the early 1950s the membership also purchased and developed recreational property on sixteen acres with 1,000 feet of lakefront at Long Lake, a thirty-minute drive from Tacoma. Local 470 is the only known Carpenters' Union that appoints a park commissioner. Members enjoy picnics, water sports, camping, and fishing in Local 470 Carpenters' Park.
The 1960s and early 1970s were a time of up and down employment, with slow but steady movement of membership in and out of the local, due to the relative ease of mobility. Alaska became a temporary haven for many 470 members seeking seasonal work before and during the pipeline project. Also, many 470 millwrights were hired temporarily for their skills on specialized and sensitive missile work in Alaska and other northwest locations. This trend continues, with 470 members "booming" for short to relatively long periods of time. However, a stable core of approximately 2,000 members works in the Tacoma area under a variety of 470 contracts with employers.
Lack of growth in the 1970s and 1980s was, and is, significantly due to the loss of shipwright members. The change from wooden vessels to steel and the shutdown of several pleasure-boat yards cut the number of shipwrights by 80 percent. The 1970s will no doubt be remembered by Local 470 and the Tacoma community as the the period when the traditional and steady employment of shipwrights was all but phased out. The skills, productivity, and quality work of these members are evident throughout the fishing fleets of the world. The heyday of the magnificent wooden boats for pleasure, fishing, and defense has given place to steel and fiberglass.
The strength and endurance of Local 470 has been attributed to the quality of members' skills, concern for the welfare of its members, and participation in the affairs of the community. The April 1915 cover of The Carpenter national magazine stated, "The attainment of complete social justice is the goal of the Labor Movement." On the local level this belief has been attested to and put into action by members past and present of Local 470. A special contingency fund provided for in the bylaws of 470 to assist its members in time of need was established as the forerunner of negotiated health and welfare programs.
For over sixty-five years the local has owned its headquarters, which has been used extensively for local union and community functions. The thousand-seat auditorium with its great acoustic quality has been the scene of conventions, political rallies, community debates, and forums. The union has sponsored a variety of youth activities and a college and vocational scholarship program. Throughout its' history members of Local 470 have served their community as elected officials and vocational instructors and coordinators. They have participated in committees for better schools and Boy Scout activities. An active Ladies Auxiliary promotes good will throughout the Northwest. The union was a sponsoring member of the Tacoma-Pierce County Blood Bank and active in fund-raising and volunteer construction of all area Boys' Clubs. Union members contribute to established food banks, as well as maintaining their own informal food bank for unemployed members when work is slack. From the union's inception, the minutes of Local 470 meetings contain literally hundreds of motions granting philanthropic requests.
On the Brotherhood of Carpenters Journeyman Certificate is a picture of an older carpenter assisting and passing on his trade to a younger member or apprentice. With its volunteer Joint Apprenticeship Committee, and in cooperation with employers, Local 470 has consistently sponsored a strong and active apprenticeship and training program. It is recognized and honored nationally for a testing and evaluation process which turns out the quality and variety of skills required by future members to perpetuate the highest standards of the trade.
If the creed of the Carpenters Local 470 is social justice for its members and the community, its expectations are no more than asking and being rewarded for the skills of its members by receiving decent wages and conditions of employment.
If George L. McMurphy were with us today he would be proud that his union had survived so much turmoil in eighty-nine years. However, he would most likely point out that many of the conditions causing concern in 1900 are still with us today: restrictive labor laws, loss of work and members due to nonunion infringements, apathy among some members and the public toward union goals, and lack of respect for those most basic union fundamentals - the betterment of wages, hours, and working conditions.
The monuments to Local 470 and its members past and present stand among us in the buildings in which we live, work, learn, worship, play, and generally spend our lives. Everyone is the carpenter's client. In harmony with fair employers, these monuments are a tribute to collective bargaining, dedication to quality, purposeful training, decent wages, and above all, dedicated service in the application of skills by our membership.
(Reprinted from "To Live In Dignity: Pierce County Labor, 1883-1989", published by Pierce County Labor Centennial Committee 1989) 