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Biography/History
In addition to the trades mentioned in its name, the Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers International Union of America (BMPIUA) represents tile layers, terrazzo workers, pointers, caulkers, cement block layers, and stone setters. The union dates its founding from an 1865 convention in Philadelphia which established the Bricklayers International Union. Traditionally it has been a conservative and highly craft-oriented organization. It was slow to admit workers in the stone masonry, cement, and plastering trades. As a result, a number of organizations claiming jurisdiction over these related trades were formed, and the BMPIUA has had a long history of jurisdictional disputes with them. Foremost among these competitors is the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Union, with whom the Bricklayers have generally split jurisdiction on a geographical basis.
The union itself is quite centralized in its structure. Its principal officers are a president, secretary, treasurer, and first vice president. Together, these four form the executive board which exercises full control over the organization when the convention is not in session. Additional vice presidents (nine during the period covered by the Original Collection), special deputies, and special organizers make up the balance of the international union officers and staff. The special deputies and organizers are appointed by the president and generally are assigned to give assistance to locals in the areas of organizing, jurisdictional disputes, and other problems. Below the national level, there is a state conference of bricklayers in each state, and a provincial conference for each Canadian province. These conferences set the boundaries of subordinate unions within their borders, administer the distribution of death benefit payments, and render decisions on jurisdictional problems between locals under their control. During the period covered by the Original Collection the four major union offices were filled by the following individuals:
President
- Harry C. Bates, 1935 - May 1960
- John J. Murphy, May 1960 - September 1966
- Thomas F. Murphy, September 1966 -
- John J. Murphy, 1948 - May 1960
- Thomas F. Murphy, May 1960 - September 1966
- William R. Connors, September 1966 - October 1971
- Thomas F. Murphy, 1948 - May 1960
- George W. King, May 1960 - September 1966
- John T. Joyce, September 1966 - October 1971
- A. J. Cleland, 1940 - April 1955
- William R. Connors, May 1955 - September 1966
- George W. King, September 1966 - April 1972
The 1950s and 1960s were decades of stability for the BMPIUA. The 1954 membership was 142,000, up from a low of 35,000 during the Depression. In 1958 there were 151,500 dues-paying bricklayers, and in 1967 there were 151,000 members in 962 local unions. Major concerns of the union included the seasonal nature of the trade (in 1967 the average work-year was 181 days), bringing unorganized bricklayers into the union, building an effective apprenticeship program, and improving the general health of the construction industry.
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