Utica Trades Assembly Records

Collection Number: 5278

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Utica Trades Assembly Records, 1880-1932
Collection Number:
5278
Creator:
Utica Trades Assembly
Quantity:
7 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Minutes, reports, pamphlets, correspondence, constitutions.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
The records include Utica Trades Assembly minutes and other administrative records, financial records and correspondence.
Language:
Collection material in English


ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

The Utica Trades Assembly, also known as the Trades and Labor Assembly of Utica and Vicinity, was a city central of the American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) Its activities were directed toward strengthening the Utica locals through mutual support and securing New York State legislation favorable to labor.

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The minutes (1886-1911 (4 vol.)) reflect the Assembly's activities in both its routine administration and on public issues. These minutes document, for example, the UTA's activities on behalf of a shorter working day (1883-1884, 1906-1907, 1911), its support of state ownership of the railroads and a New York mills strike (1894), and its work on a committee with both the Socialist Labor Party and the Utica Common Council to investigate the possibility of municipal ownership of the city's electric lighting (1895-1896), among other issues.
The minutes volumes also include the minutes (1892-1895) of the UTA's Label Committee which record its concern over the issue of how to deal with local merchants selling "scab"-produced goods.
UTA correspondence (1882-1927) indicates extensive involvement of that organization in local, state and national labor activities. Most numerous are form letters from labor organizations urging national boycotts in support of striking or locked-out workers, usually those involved in disputes over non-recognition of a union. Of interest is an undated appeal from the International Association of Machinists that labor denounce Thomas A. Edison for having fired all union workers at an Edison plant.
UTA response to these national boycotts is indicated by correspondence from businesses in Pennsylvania, Cincinnati and San Francisco involved in the LOS ANGELES TIMES boycott of 1903. The letters are in reply to UTA requests that the companies cancel advertising in the TIMES.
Notable direct correspondence with other labor organizations includes letters from A.F. of L. President Samuel Gompers and Secretary Frank Morrison, ordering the UTA to recognize the local Musicians' Union (July and August, 1902), with the UTA maintaining an independent stance, defending its refusal in a lengthy reply.
The UTA was independent-minded in its dealings with local businesses as well. In 1892, a report from a special UTA committee, appointed to investigate charges against a hardware merchant, found that merchant fair to labor. At the same time, the UTA cooperated with local and regional labor groups by participating in organizing efforts and special events as well as boycotts.
The most significant local boycott call came from the Bakery and Confectionery Workers Utica local, which, in a series of letters from ca.1895 to 1903, described working conditions of non-union bakers, reported on a survey of union-made baked goods in local stores, and asked for a boycott of several large non-union bakeries which were trying to drive out competitors.
In addition to minutes and correspondence, the UTA papers contain the Assembly's financial records for the period 1882-1902 which include bills, financial statements, and dues payment records.
Of particular interest are the records of defunct locals which belonged to the UTA. These include minutes books (2 vol.) (1898-1902), cash books (2 vol.) (1913-1932), and a membership book (1924-1928) of the Journeymen Barbers' International Union, Local 103; minutes books (2 vol.) (1903-1920) of the International Union of United Brewery Workers, Utica local; a minutes book (1914-1918) of the Utica Building Trades Council; minutes books of the Executive Board (4 vol.) (1885-1891), and a minutes book of the Label Committee (1897- 1900) of the Cigar Makers' International Union, No. 7.
Other items of interest include a minutes book (1890-1897) of the International Molders and Allied Workers' Union, Local No. 112; minutes books (4 vols.) (1887-1920) of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers, Local 69; and a minutes book (1920- 1925) of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local No. 23. Among the events documented in these volumes is a daily record of the month-long strike of Utica painters in 1911.
SUBJECTS

Names:
Bakery and Confectionery Workers' International Union of America
Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America. Local 69 (Utica, N.Y.)
Cigar Makers' International Union of America. Local 7 (Utica, N.Y.)
International Molders and Allied Workers' Union
International Molders and Allied Workers' Union. Local 112 (Utica, N.Y.)
International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, Soft Drink, and Distillery Workers of America. Utica Local.
Journeymen Barbers' International union of America
Journeymen Barbers' International Union of America. Local 103 (Utica, N.Y.)
Los Angeles Times
New York State Federation of Labor
New York State Trades Assembly
Sheet Metal Workers' International Association
Sheet Metal Workers' International Association. Local 23 (Utica, N.Y.)
Socialist Labor Party
Utica Building Trades Council
Utica Trades Assembly
Workingmen's Federation of the State of New York
Bates, E. A.
Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
Gompers, Samuel, 1850-1924
Horton, E. B.
Morrison, Frank, 1859-1949
Rosenthal, Alex

Subjects:
Boycott--Bakers and bakeries--New York (State)--Utica.
Painters' Strike, Utica, N.Y., 1911.
Public utilities--New York (State)--Utica.
Trade-unions--New York (State)--Utica--Political activity.
Trade-union label--United States.
Bakery employees.
Cigar makers.
Lobbyists.
Los Angeles Boycott, 1903.
Trade-union label. United States.
Trade-unions. Bakery employees. New York (State). Utica.
Trade-unions. New York (State). Congresses.
Trade-unions. New York (State). Local unions.
Trade-unions. New York (State). Utica. Organizing.
Trade-unions. Painters, Industrial. New York (State). Utica.
Trade-unions. Tobacco workers. New York (State). Utica.

Form and Genre Terms:
Minutes.
Photographic prints.


INFORMATION FOR USERS

Access Restrictions:
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Restrictions on Use:
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.
Cite As:
Utica Trades Assembly Records #5278. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

RELATED MATERIALS

Related Collections:
5288: International Brotherhood Pulp, Sulphite, Paper Mill Workers, Local 670 (Utica, NY) Minute Book
5811: International Typographical Union Local 62 (Utica, NY) Minute Book
6046: Archives Union File (AUF)

CONTAINER LIST

Container
Description
Date
Box 1
Box 1 Folder 1 1886-1890
Bound volume (Bd. v.)
Box 1 Folder 2 1883-1898
Box 1 Folder 3 1891-1898
Bound volume
Box 2
Box 2 Folder 1 1898-1904
Bound volume
Box 2 Folder 2 1902
Box 2 Folder 3 1903
Box 2 Folder 4 1904-1906
Box 2 Folder 5 1905-1911
Bound volume
Box 3
Box 3 Folder 1
Box 3 Folder 2
Box 3 Folder 3
Box 3 Folder 4
Box 3 Folder 5
Box 3 Folder 6
Box 3 Folder 7
Box 3 Folder 8
Box 3 Folder 9
Box 3 Folder 10
Box 3 Folder 11
Box 3 Folder 12
Box 3 Folder 13
Box 3 Folder 14
Box 3 Folder 15
Box 3 Folder 16
Box 3 Folder 17
Box 3 Folder 18
Box 3 Folder 19
Box 3 Folder 20
Box 3 Folder 21
Box 3 Folder 22
Box 3 Folder 23
Box 4
Box 4 Folder 1 1882-1902
Box 4 Folder 2 1882-1902
Box 4 Folder 3 1882-1902
Box 4 Folder 4 1882-1902
Box 4 Folder 5 1882-1902
Box 4 Folder 6
Box 4 Folder 7
Box 4 Folder 8
Box 4 Folder 9
Box 4 Folder 10
Box 4 Folder 11
Box 4 Folder 12
Box 4 Folder 13
Box 4 Folder 14
Box 4 Folder 15
Box 4 Folder 16
Box 4 Folder 17
Box 4 Folder 18
Box 4 Folder 19
Box 4 Folder 20
Box 4 Folder 21
Box 4 Folder 22
Box 4 Folder 23
Box 4 Folder 24
Box 4 Folder 25
Box 4 Folder 26
Box 4 Folder 27
Box 4 Folder 28
Box 5
Box 5 Folder 1
Box 5 Folder 2
Box 5 Folder 3
Box 5 Folder 4
Box 5 Folder 5
Box 5 Folder 6
Box 5 Folder 7
Box 5 Folder 8
Box 5 Folder 9
Box 5 Folder 10
Box 5 Folder 11
Box 5 Folder 12
Box 5 Folder 13
Box 5 Folder 14
Box 5 Folder 15
Box 5 Folder 16
Box 5 Folder 17
Box 5 Folder 18
Box 5 Folder 19
Box 5 Folder 20
Box 5 Folder 21
Box 5 Folder 22
Box 5 Folder 23
Box 5 Folder 24
Box 5 Folder 25
Box 5 Folder 26
Box 5 Folder 27
Box 5 Folder 28
Box 5 Folder 29
Box 5 Folder 30
Box 5 Folder 31
Box 5 Folder 32
Box 5 Folder 33
Box 5 Folder 34
Box 5 Folder 35
Box 5 Folder 36
Box 5 Folder 37
Box 5 Folder 38
Box 5 Folder 39
Box 5 Folder 40
Box 5 Folder 41
Box 5 Folder 42
Box 5 Folder 43
Box 5 Folder 44
Box 5 Folder 45
Box 5 Folder 46
Box 5 Folder 47
Box 5 Folder 48
Box 5 Folder 49
Box 5 Folder 50
Box 5 Folder 51
51a: Steel Cabinet Workers Union, Number 7294
Box 5 Folder 52
Box 5 Folder 53
Box 5 Folder 54
Box 5 Folder 55
Box 5 Folder 56
Box 5 Folder 57
Box 5 Folder 58
Box 5 Folder 59
Box 5 Folder 60
Box 5 Folder 61
Box 5 Folder 62
Box 5 Folder 63
Box 5 Folder 64
Box 5 Folder 65
Box 5 Folder 66
Box 5 Folder 67
Box 5 Folder 68
Box 5 Folder 69
Box 5 Folder 70
Box 5 Folder 71
Box 5 Folder 72
Box 5 Folder 73
Box 5 Folder 74
Box 5 Folder 75
Box 5 Folder 76
Box 5 Folder 77
Box 5 Folder 78
Box 5 Folder 79
Box 6
Box 6 Folder 1 1898-1902
Box 6 Folder 2 1915-1928
Box 6 Folder 3 1913-1917
Box 6 Folder 4 1928-1932
Box 6 Folder 5 1924-1928
Box 7
Box 7 Folder 1 1903-1914
Box 7 Folder 2 1914-1920
Box 7 Folder 3 1914-1918
Box 8
Box 8 Folder 1 1880-1888
Box 8 Folder 2 1891-1895
Box 9
Box 9 Folder 1 1895-1906
Box 9 Folder 2 1907-1910
Box 10
Box 10 Folder 1 1885-1887
Box 10 Folder 2 1887-1889
Box 10 Folder 3 1889-1890
Box 10 Folder 4 1890-1891
Box 10 Folder 5 1897-1900
Box 10 Folder 6 1890-1897
Box 11
Box 11 Folder 1 1887-1894
Box 11 Folder 2 1899-1903
Box 11 Folder 3 1904-1912
Box 11 Folder 4 1913-1920
Box 12
Box 12 Folder 1 1920-1925
Box 12 Folder 2
Box 12 Folder 3
Box 13 Folder 1