This collection documents the evolution and functions of local 815, the Milwaukee-based chapter of the International Longshoremen's Association. John Brzek served in a variety of union leadership roles (president, secretary-treasurer, and business agent) from 1942 through 1972, and the bulk of the collective bargaining files pertain to his work on behalf of the local, principally in regards to negotiating and enforcing labor contracts with waterfront employers. The collection also documents Brzek's growing professional relationship with the Port of Milwaukee's Harbor Commission, particularly with Port Director Harry Brockel, who worked alongside Brzek to improve the reputation of Milwaukee's waterfront facilities and labor services. Correspondence with the Great Lakes Harbor Association and records relating to Brzek's membership in the Legislative Committee Study of the Great Lakes Ports reveal his interest in and preparation for the 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Other administrative files document Brzek's leadership and participation at the union's district and international levels (1954-1959) and his involvement in negotiating the first district-wide collective bargaining agreement on the Great Lakes. This collection does not contain much information regarding ILA events of national significance, such as the succession of West Coast District locals under the leadership of Harry Bridges, the allegations of organized crime that prompted the expulsion of the ILA from the AFL (1953), or the subsequent infighting between the ILA and the AFL-created IBL. However, it does document the dissolution of the IBL and its re-affiliation with the ILA.
The collection is divided into two series: ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS and COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS series (1935 -1974) consists of minute books, financial records, and correspondence files. In addition to providing a record of the local's meetings, the Minute Books (1935-1947) contain early membership lists. After 1947, Brzek interfiled minutes with other material, typically within the collective bargaining records, as the contents of these local meetings usually correspond to ongoing employer negotiations. The financial books include eight volumes of ledgers (1935-1944, 1946-1958), which serve as a record of individual members in the local and their corresponding union-dues payments. After 1958, the composition of the membership can be gleaned from per-capita payments and membership lists sent to the international and district offices, and from employer-union correspondence and check-offs found within the COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. The Treasurer's Report Book and Cash Books, in addition to the Day Books (a misnomer), all feature similar financial information: the monthly record of receipts, expenditures, and cash-on-hand. Unfortunately, these volumes do not provide a complete overview of the local's finances, as a 6 year gap exists starting in 1944 and a standardized financial recordkeeping system ceases completely after 1960.
The Administrative Communications subseries is largely comprised of correspondence, hand-written notes, and meeting minutes, all of which illustrate the local's interactions with the union's international and district offices, other Great Lakes locals, and Milwaukee's Harbor Commission and Great Lakes Port Committee. Topics covered in union communications include the dissolution of the IBL and merger with the ILA (also detailed in the special convention proceedings, 1959), the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the commencement of Great Lakes district-wide collective bargaining. More specifically, the IBL International Communications files (1958) and IBL-GLD Communications files (1954-1959) evidence Brzek's leadership role at these higher levels of union administration, which involved organizing Great Lakes locals and assisting with jurisdictional and labor disputes. ILA-GLD Communications (1960-1968) address both the difficulties and successes in negotiating lakes-wide uniform wage rates and contract expiration dates, and Brzek's work on behalf of the GLD's Wage Policy Committee. Likely, the files containing Great Lakes locals' labor agreements pertain to this effort toward district-wide contract coordination and standardization. Documenting Brzek's efforts to organize ILA locals and settle jurisdictional disputes with other unions, the General Communications files (1960-1968) include significant overlap with the international and district communications described above; however, these files also relate to Brzek's involvement in labor solidarity advocacy and the development of a GLD branch of the Maritime Trades Division (MTD). Correspondence with the Milwaukee Harbor Commission documents the development of the local's relationship with the Port of Milwaukee and addresses issues such as post-WWII shipping and waterfront labor, preparations for the St. Lawrence Seaway, and continued maintenance of labor relations, business operations, and safety measures on the Port of Milwaukee. The Great Lakes Port Committee files feature records relating to Brzek's membership in the Legislative Committee Study of the Great Lakes Ports.
The COLLECTIVE BARGAINING series documents the processes undertaken to negotiate contracts with employers on behalf of union members. It offers insight into union politics regarding strike tactics, jurisdictional disputes, and employee grievances, and how these issues were handled by the local union, or, if necessary, by the district or international offices, the NLRB, Federated Trades Council, Wisconsin Employment, Relations Board, state court systems, or union arbitrators. The Instant Help Inc., Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company (MCMC), Milwaukee Warehousemen Association (MWA), West Michigan Dock & Market Corporation, and Wisconsin & Michigan Steamship Company subseries each represent a different employer bargaining unit with whom the local's business agent (most often Brzek) negotiated for labor contracts. Each subseries contains correspondence between the local and the employing company's representatives, in addition to labor contracts, meeting minutes, hand-written notes, litigation cases and decisions, and correspondence with outside labor arbitrators and with the local's legal representatives.
The General Communications subseries (1941-1949) contains the records included in this collection's first accession. As opposed to rearranging this subseries, it remains organized according to the original archival processing schema, which combined administrative materials with collective bargaining files.
The Instant Help Inc. subseries (1968-1972) documents a conflict that arose between Instant Help Inc., a unionized temporary help agency, and local 815 when the agency notified Brzek of its intent to repudiate their labor agreement. The records evidence the subsequent involvement of the NLRB and the processes undertaken in NLRB-sanctioned representational elections.
The Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company subseries includes correspondence detailing the local's jurisdictional dispute with the Cement Workers Union over representation of MCMC employees.
The Milwaukee Warehousemen Association subseries (1941-1953) contains correspondence between the local, the various waterfront warehouse companies that employed 815 members, and the MWA-an organization representing Milwaukee's warehouse employers. The records are not separated by warehouse employer, but rather proceed chronologically. This filing system, though confusing, clearly served a function: Although local 815 signed separate contracts with each individual company, it oftentimes dealt with them as a collective unit (for example: the MWA) when labor disputes arose.
The Wisconsin & Michigan Steamship Company subseries (1954-1973) illustrates the Brzek's process of collective bargaining with a closed-shop company and the manner in which he handled complaints about both workers and employers. Significantly, it also contains employer participation agreements regarding employee pension funds and health insurance payments.
In 1961, members of local 1608 -- employees of the West Michigan Dock and Market Corporation in Muskegon, Michigan -- merged with local 815. The records of West Michigan Dock and Market Corp. subseries (1961-1975) include standard administrative materials, such as correspondence with the division's leadership and members, meeting minutes and notes, and membership lists and applications. Additional materials document Brzek's negotiations with the Dock and Market Corp. on behalf of the 815-Michigan division. The materials are mostly filed chronologically, with the Muskegon administrative records interfiled with documents pertaining to collective bargaining. The files containing union dues and check-off receipts provide a comprehensive record of the Muskegon Division's membership.
The Contracts and Agreements subseries contains labor agreements reached between the local and various companies employing union members. The union filed these contracts separately; however, additional contracts are also found interfiled within their related subseries.
