Title: Wisconsin State Council of Carpenters Records
Inclusive Dates: 1905-1975

Creator:

• Wisconsin State Council of Carpenters

Call Number: Mss 286; PH Mss 286

Quantity: 10.8 c.f. (29 archives boxes), 2 photographs, and 1 poster

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of an organization formed in 1919 to aid district councils and local unions affiliated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America in organizing and other matters, and to provide carpenters with a united voice on matters of statewide concern. Included is correspondence, minutes, reports, and other files of the State Council, and agreements, minutes, and financial records of member district councils and local unions. Local unions most thoroughly documented are those in Algoma, Green Bay, Kewaunee, Marshfield, Menomonie, New London, and Prairie du Chien.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00286

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The Wisconsin State Council of Carpenters (WSCC) is a statewide organization composed of local unions and district councils affiliated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. The Wisconsin organization, which was founded at Madison in 1919, has four general officers: president, first and second vice presidents, and secretary-treasurer. These officers, together with one representative of each of the state's district councils compose the WSCC executive committee and preside over the organization between conventions. F.E. Gastrow of Madison was the WSCC's first president, and served until 1941. Since then the office has been filled by six other individuals: J.A. Hathaway, 1941-1946; Walter Jensen, 1946-1958; John V. Meyett, 1958; Robert H. Strenger, 1958-1963; Ronald Stadler, 1963-1975; and Floyd Johnson, 1975-. The number and location of district councils have varied. The collection contains records of eight councils, but at this writing only four (Central Wisconsin, Fox River Valley, Wisconsin River Valley, and Milwaukee) are active.

The objective of the WSCC is to provide a central organization for the state's local unions and district councils. In this capacity it assists in organizing new locals, advises and assists locals in negotiations and conflicts with employers, funnels information to locals and district councils from the Brotherhood's international office, and gives the carpenters a centralized voice on legislation and other political matters. In addition to its lobbying and organizing activities, the WSCC benefits its members in a number of other ways. Probably its most significant accomplishments have been the creation of Wisconsin State Carpenters Welfare and Pension Funds and the carpenter's apprenticeship program. Moreover, it has annually published the Carpenter and Builder and, since the late 1950s, has sponsored contests for scholarships to the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

The WSCC records cover the years 1905-1975, but concentrate on the period 1937-1973. The collection is divided into three major series: General Correspondence and Subject File; District Council File; and Local Union File.

Arrangement of the GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBJECT FILE is alphabetical. It contains the Council's correspondence with the Carpenters and Joiners international office, the state AFL-CIO, and individual employers throughout the state; reports of the council president and other officials; scholarship contest files; executive committee minutes; a few copies of WSCC constitutions and convention proceedings; photographs and a poster; and miscellaneous records. Perhaps most significant are the reports filed regularly by the presidents and other Council officials. These are filed under the heading “WSCC Monthly Reports” or the name of the individual. They generally concern organizing activities, enforcing contract provisions, and policing of job sites to insure the use of union labor. Also important is the correspondence with individual employers, which invariably concerns attempts to organize the particular firms, and documents both union tactics and the means adopted by employers to prevent unionization.

There are also photographs of organization officials and a poster from a collective bargaining election between the AFL and the CIO at the Vulcan Corporation.

The DISTRICT COUNCIL FILE is organized alphabetically by district council name and concerns the relations between the councils and the WSCC. For each council files are further subdivided into the following categories: agreements, correspondence, minutes, and, in one case, financial records. The districts most extensively covered are Fox River Valley, Chippewa and Red Cedar Valley, Milwaukee, and Wisconsin River Valley.

The LOCAL UNION FILE contains records of transactions between the State Council and the locals. Included also are original records of some defunct locals. Emphasized in this series are negotiations and conflicts between locals and employers. Files are arranged by local number and subdivided into agreements, correspondence, minutes, and financial records. Locals most thoroughly documented are 68, Menomonie; 394, Prairie du Chien; 1146, Green Bay; 1521, Algoma; 1733, Marshfield; 1900, Kewaunee; and 2890, New London.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Wisconsin State Council of Carpenters, May 1952, April 1963, December 1970, November 1973, and August 1977. Accession Number: M63-52, M70-364, M73-410, M77-293

Processing Information

Processed by P. Gulan and Harry Miller, August 1977.

Mss 286	Series: General Correspondence and Subject File
Box   1 Folder   1	Apprenticeship Committees, 1960-1961
Box   1 Folder   2	Apprenticeship Programs, 1947, 1966-1969
Box   1 Folder   3	Associated General Contractors, 1947-1951
Box   1 Folder   4-5	Business Representatives Meetings, 1939-1949, 1964-1973
Box   1 Folder   6	Chetek, 1956-1957
Box   1 Folder   7	Constitution, 1925, 1937
Box   1 Folder   8	Convention Proceedings, 1922, 1975
Box   1 Folder   9	Executive Committee Minutes, 1961-1966
Box   1 Folder   10	Forestry, 1938-1942
Box   1 Folder   11	F.E. Gastrow, 1934, 1944
Box   1 Folder   12	Archie Green - Reports to Council, 1947
Box   1 Folder   13	Jay A. Hathaway-Reports, 1947
Box   2 Folder   1	Hatley Veneer Company, 1959
Box   2 Folder   2	Hayward Wood Products, 1957
Box   2 Folder   3	Hutcheson Log and Lumber Company, 1959
	International Office
Box   2 Folder   4-8	1935-1949, 1950-1963
Box   3 Folder   1-2	1964-1965
Box   3 Folder   3	Jackson Box Company, 1943-1944
Box   3 Folder   4-5	Walter Jensen-Reports, 1942-1957
Box   3 Folder   6	Henry Knutson, 1940-1946
Box   3 Folder   7	Kieckhefer Box and Lumber Company, 1957-1959
Box   3 Folder   8	Legislation, 1947-1949
Box   3 Folder   9	Lustron Corporation, 1948
Box   3 Folder   10	Manitowoc Central Labor Council, 1964-1968
Box   3 Folder   11	Herbert May-Reports, 1947
Box   3 Folder   12	Meetings of Districts #3 and #5, 1963
Box   3 Folder   13	Membership, 1952-1955
Box   3 Folder   14	Meyers Fixture Company, 1948-1949
Box   3 Folder   15	Mill Local Unions, 1959
Box   3 Folder   16-17	Millmen's Meetings, 1939-1949, 1966-1968
Box   4 Folder   1	Old Timers' Banquet, 1965
Box   4 Folder   2	Out-of-State, 1947-1949
Box   4 Folder   3	Peterson Boat Company, 1956-1957
PH Mss 286	Photographs and Poster
Mss 286	Scholarship Material
Box   4 Folder   4-10	1959-1966
Box   5 Folder   1-5	1966-1970
	Schultz, Erven, Weekly Reports
Box   5 Folder   6	1947-1952
Box   6 Folder   1-4	1953-1960
Box   6 Folder   5	Sixth Regional Wage Stabilization Board, 1944-1946
Box   6 Folder   6	Special Committee and District Meetings, 1960-1962
Box   6 Folder   7	Standard Container Company, 1947
Box   6 Folder   8	Wage Rates, 1940-1945
Box   6 Folder   9	Wisconsin Employment Relations Board, 1940-1941
Box   6 Folder   10	Wisconsin Industrial Commission, 1943-1949
Box   7 Folder   1-5	Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, 1957-1969
Box   7 Folder   6	WSCC to locals and D.C.s (circular letters), 1958-1966
Box   8 Folder   1-10	WSCC Monthly Reports, 1934, 1940, 1945-1949, 1962-1964, 1966-1972
	Series: District Council File	⇧
	Central Wisconsin District Council
Box   9 Folder   1	Agreements, 1959-1964
Box   9 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1949
Box   9 Folder   3	Minutes, 1959-1968
	Chippewa and Red Cedar Valley District Council
Box   9 Folder   4-5	Agreements, 1946-1949, 1959-1962
Box   9 Folder   6-8	Correspondence, 1943-1964
	Minutes
Box   9 Folder   9	1947-1949
Box   10 Folder   1-3	1949-1962
Box   11 Folder   1-2	Financial Records, 1947-1961
	Fox River Valley District Council
Box   11 Folder   3-4	Legal records
Box   11 Folder   5-6	Agreements, 1940-1959
	Correspondence
Box   11 Folder   7	1940-1949
Box   12 Folder   1	1959-1967
Box   12 Folder   2-3	Minutes, 1940-1949, 1959-1967
	Lakeland District Council
Box   12 Folder   4	Agreements, 1950-1959
Box   12 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1959-1963
	Milwaukee District Council
	Agreements
Box   12 Folder   6-7	1937-1951, 1959-1964
Box   13 Folder   1	1966-1968
Box   13 Folder   2-3	Correspondence, 1942-1949, 1960-1968
Box   13 Folder   4	Minutes, 1946-1949
	Mississippi Valley and Coulee District Council
Box   13 Folder   5	Agreements, 1953-1965
Box   14 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1959-1965
	Southern Wisconsin District Council
Box   14 Folder   2	Agreements, 1950-1960
Box   14 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1946-1950, 1959-1962
Box   14 Folder   4	Minutes, 1946-1949
	Wisconsin River Valley District Council
Box   14 Folder   5-6	Agreements, 1938-1965
Box   14 Folder   7-8	Correspondence, 1934-1949, 1959-1968
Box   14 Folder   9-10	Minutes, 1945-1949, 1959-1968
	Series: Local Union File	⇧
	68, Menomonie
Box   15 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1911-1928
Box   15 Folder   2-8	Minutes, 1905-1907, 1916-1962
	91, Racine
Box   16 Folder   1	Agreements, 1964-1966
Box   16 Folder   2-3	Correspondence, 1930-1967
	161, Kenosha
Box   16 Folder   4	Agreements, 1942-1965
Box   16 Folder   5-6	Correspondence, 1945-1946, 1960-1967
	204, Merrill
Box   16 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1965
	252, Oshkosh
Box   16 Folder   8	Agreements, 1961-1965
Box   16 Folder   9-10	Correspondence, 1944-1949, 1959-1967
	262, Milwaukee
Box   16 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1960-1966
	290, Lake Geneva
Box   16 Folder   12	Agreements, 1939-1968
Box   16 Folder   13	Correspondence, 1954-1967
	314, Madison
Box   16 Folder   14	Correspondence, 1959-1967
	344, Waukesha
Box   17 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1959-1965
	394, Prairie du Chien
Box   17 Folder   2-3	Correspondence, 1946-1949, 1953-1959
Box   17 Folder   4	Minutes, July, 1953-Oct., 1970
Box   17 Folder   5-7	Financial Records, 1955-1970
	460, Wausau
Box   17 Folder   8	Agreements, 1946-1948
Box   17 Folder   9-10	Correspondence, 1946-1949, 1964-1966
	630, Neenah-Menasha
	Correspondence
Box   17 Folder   11	1939-1948
Box   18 Folder   1	1958-1965
	657, Sheboygan
Box   18 Folder   2	Agreements, 1951-1968
Box   18 Folder   3-4	Correspondence, 1939-1949, 1959-1968
	755, Superior
Box   18 Folder   5	Agreements, 1962-1963
Box   18 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1959-1966
	782, Fond du Lac
Box   18 Folder   7	Agreements, 1955-1968
Box   18 Folder   8	Correspondence, 1963-1966
	820, Wisconsin Rapids
Box   18 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1960-1964
	836, Janesville
Box   18 Folder   10	Agreements, 1962
Box   18 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1960-1966
	849, Manitowoc
Box   18 Folder   12	Agreements, 1947-1964
Box   18 Folder   13	Correspondence, 1959-1967
	852, Fontana
Box   18 Folder   14-15	Correspondence, 1946-1949, 1961-1963
	926, Beloit
Box   18 Folder   16	Correspondence, 1962
	955, Appleton
Box   18 Folder   17	Correspondence, 1959-1965
	1018, Shawano
Box   18 Folder   18	Correspondence, 1943-1944
	1025, Medford
Box   18 Folder   19-20	Correspondence, 1943-1946, 1959
	1041, Oconto
Box   18 Folder   21	Agreements, 1943-1944
	Correspondence
Box   18 Folder   22	1943-1944
Box   19 Folder   1	1945-1951
	1053, Milwaukee
Box   19 Folder   2-3	Correspondence, 1943-1950, 1960-1964
	1063, Coleman
Box   19 Folder   4	Agreements, 1956-1966
Box   19 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1961-1962
	1074, Eau Claire
Box   19 Folder   6-7	Agreements, 1942-1944, 1962-1965
Box   19 Folder   8	Correspondence, 1960-1967
Box   19 Folder   9	Minutes, July, 1945-Sept., 1949
	1114, South Milwaukee
Box   19 Folder   10	Correspondence, 1961-1967
	1123, Muscoda
Box   19 Folder   11	Agreements and Correspondence, 1951-1952
	1131, Port Washington
Box   19 Folder   12	Agreements and Correspondence, 1943-1953
	1143, La Crosse
Box   19 Folder   13	Agreements, 1939-1949
Box   19 Folder   14-15	Correspondence, 1945-1949, 1959-1967
	1146, Green Bay
Box   19 Folder   16-17	Agreements, 1937-1943, 1962-1965
	Correspondence
Box   19 Folder   18	1946-1949
Box   20 Folder   1	1959-1966
	1246, Marinette
Box   20 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1959-1963
	1314, Oconomowoc
Box   20 Folder   3	Agreements, 1945
	1349, Two Rivers
Box   20 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1959-1961
	1363, Oshkosh
Box   20 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1937-1950
	1364, New London
Box   20 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1960-1964
	1403, Watertown
Box   20 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1963
	1482, Fond du Lac
Box   20 Folder   8	Correspondence, 1953-1954
	1488, Merrill
Box   20 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1945-1952
	1521, Algoma
Box   20 Folder   10-11	Agreements, 1939-1947, 1959-1967
Box   20 Folder   12-14	Correspondence, 1939-1940, 1948, 1959-1967
	1533, Two Rivers
Box   20 Folder   15	Agreements, 1951-1954
Box   20 Folder   16	Correspondence, 1959
	1573, West Allis
Box   20 Folder   17	Correspondence, 1961-1965
	1582, Milwaukee
Box   20 Folder   18	Correspondence, 1961-1966
	1594, Wausau
Box   20 Folder   19	Agreements, 1939-1949
Box   21 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1945-1948
	1651, Merrill
Box   21 Folder   2	Agreements, 1957
Box   21 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1959
	1709, Ashland
Box   21 Folder   4	Agreements, 1952-1967
Box   21 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1959-1967
	1733, Marshfield
Box   21 Folder   6-7	Agreements, 1937-1946, 1949-1961
Box   21 Folder   8-9	Correspondence, 1943-1949, 1959-1967
	1741, Milwaukee
Box   21 Folder   10	Correspondence, 1962-1965
	1747, Green Bay
Box   21 Folder   11	Correspondence and Agreements, 1947-1952
	1748, Appleton
Box   21 Folder   12	Agreements, 1960-1968
Box   21 Folder   13-14	Correspondence and Agreements, 1945-1949, 1956-1967
	1801, Hawkins
Box   21 Folder   15	Agreements, 1959
	1820, Brodhead
Box   21 Folder   16	Correspondence, 1943-1944
	1826, Wausau
Box   21 Folder   17	Correspondence and Agreements, 1959
	1841, Burlington
Box   21 Folder   18	Correspondence, 1960-1963
Box   22 Folder   1	Correspondence and Agreements, 1942-1949
	1900, Kewaunee
Box   22 Folder   2	Agreements, 1959-1961
Box   22 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1924-1939
Box   22 Folder   4	Correspondence and Agreements, 1961-1964
	Minutes
Box   22 Folder   5-11	1933-1958
Box   23 Folder   1	1971-1973
Box   23 Folder   2-3	Financial Records, 1933-1937
	1919, Stevens Point
Box   23 Folder   4-5	Correspondence and Agreements, 1946-1948, 1964-1965
	2001, La Crosse
Box   23 Folder   6-7	Agreements, 1937-1949, 1957-1960
Box   23 Folder   8	Correspondence, 1959-1961
	2005, Park Falls
Box   23 Folder   9	Agreements, 1938-1960
Box   23 Folder   10	Correspondence, 1960-1962
	2064, Beaver Dam
Box   23 Folder   11	Agreements, 1957-1961
Box   23 Folder   12-13	Correspondence, 1946-1949, 1959-1966
	2112, Antigo
	Correspondence
Box   23 Folder   14	1947-1949
Box   24 Folder   1	1959-1965
	2129, Marshfield
Box   24 Folder   2-3	Agreements, 1941-1949, 1961
Box   24 Folder   4-5	Correspondence, 1946-1949, 1961-1964
	2135, Chippewa Falls
Box   24 Folder   6-7	Minutes, 1947-1962
	2211, Fort Atkinson
Box   24 Folder   8	Agreements, 1947-1949
	2246, Fennimore
Box   24 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1946-1949
	2283, West Bend and Port Washington
Box   24 Folder   10	Correspondence, 1960
	2294, Peshtigo
Box   24 Folder   11	Agreements, 1957-1967
Box   24 Folder   12-13	Correspondence and Agreements, 1942-1949, 1959-1965
	2334, Baraboo
Box   24 Folder   14	Agreements, 1945-1948
Box   24 Folder   15	Correspondence, 1961
	2337, Milwaukee
Box   24 Folder   16	Correspondence, 1960-1965
	2344, Merrill
Box   24 Folder   17	Correspondence and Agreements, 1943
	2351, Rhinelander
Box   24 Folder   18	Correspondence, 1946-1950
	2365, Wonewoc
Box   25 Folder   1	Agreements, 1943-1947
	2378, Rice Lake
Box   25 Folder   2	Minutes, 1958-1962
	2432, Park Falls
Box   25 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1959-1965
	2476, Cornell
Box   25 Folder   4	Agreements, 1963
Box   25 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1959-1964
	2495, Ashland
Box   25 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1949-1957
	2504, Watertown
Box   25 Folder   7	Agreements, 1960-1967
Box   25 Folder   8-9	Correspondence and Agreements, 1944-1949, 1959-1965
	2544, Shawano
Box   25 Folder   10	Agreements, 1966-1968
Box   25 Folder   11-12	Correspondence, 1959, 1962-1966
	2609, Chetek
Box   26 Folder   1	Agreements, 1964
	2622, Wausaukee
Box   26 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1958-1960
	2686, Stevens Point
Box   26 Folder   3	Agreements, 1958-1968
Box   26 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1963-1966
	2711, Birchwood
Box   26 Folder   5	Agreements, 1962
Box   26 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1963-1966
	2745, Superior
Box   26 Folder   7	Correspondence and Agreements, 1947-1952
	2776, Racine
Box   26 Folder   8	Correspondence and Agreements, 1948-1955
	2794, Mattoon
Box   26 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1960-1962
	2806, Tigerton
Box   26 Folder   10	Agreements, 1937-1943
Box   26 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1947-1959
	2832, Neenah
Box   27 Folder   1	Agreements, 1955-1963
Box   27 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1959-1965
	2840, Ashland
Box   27 Folder   3	Agreements, 1957-1959
	2890, New London
Box   27 Folder   4	Agreements, 1953-1955
Box   27 Folder   5	Correspondence and Agreements, 1944-1949
Box   27 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1955-1968
Box   27 Folder   7-9	Minutes, 1938-1939, 1942-1957
	2898, Glidden
Box   27 Folder   10	Agreements, 1958
Box   27 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1959-1966
	2948, Port Washington
Box   28 Folder   1	Agreements, 1955-1962
Box   28 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1961-1963
	2951, Oshkosh
Box   28 Folder   3	Agreements, 1956-1968
Box   28 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1959
	2958, Marshfield
Box   28 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1965-1968
	2979, Merrill
Box   28 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1959-1962
	2981, Park Falls
Box   28 Folder   7	Agreements, 1953-1958
Box   28 Folder   8-9	Correspondence, 1947-1949, 1957-1960
	2994, Marinette and Menomonie
Box   28 Folder   10	Correspondence, 1959-1960
	3017, Oconto
Box   28 Folder   11	Agreements, 1957-1961
Box   28 Folder   12	Correspondence, 1957-1965
	3043, Antigo
Box   28 Folder   13	Correspondence, 1942-1959
	3051, Shell Lake
Box   28 Folder   14	Agreements, 1948-1959
Box   28 Folder   15	Correspondence, 1959-1961
	3120, Milwaukee
Box   28 Folder   16	Correspondence, 1961
	3134, Oshkosh
Box   28 Folder   17	Correspondence, 1934-1952
	3156, Marinette
Box   28 Folder   18	Correspondence, 1946-1951
	3157, Wausau
Box   28 Folder   19	Correspondence, 1941-1952
Box   28 Folder   20	Correspondence and Agreements, 1958-1968
	3164, Black River Falls
Box   28 Folder   21	Agreements, 1943-1947
	3168, Escanaba, Michigan
Box   28 Folder   22	Correspondence, 1959
	3187, Watertown
Box   29 Folder   1	Agreements, 1937-1965
Box   29 Folder   2	Correspondence and Agreements, 1955-1965
	3203, Shawano
Box   29 Folder   3	Agreements, 1960-1964
Box   29 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1959-1965
	3224, Monroe
Box   29 Folder   5	Correspondence, 1956-1959
	3252, Whitewater
Box   29 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1960-1963