These records, 1921-1940, represent a period of rapid growth within the union movement, adverse economic conditions, and the threat of competing unions together caused much hardship and conflict. The collection, which includes constitutions and bylaws; correspondence, 1928 to 1940; membership applications; minutes and records of dues, 1921 to 1930, and 1938 to 1939; and travelling cards, has been arranged in one alphabetical file by type of document.
The Constitutions and Bylaws are those of the international union for the years 1923, 1929, and 1938. Copies of these and of earlier revisions are in the State Historical Society Library.
The correspondence file, 1928-1940, has been divided into three segments dictated by subject of the letter. The general correspondence, January 1928 to June 1940, consists of letters and circulars from the international to the local, as well as some copies of letters originating in the local. Topics discussed include conferences, contracts, membership, wages, strikes, depression, Wisconsin Federation of Labor, inter-union conflicts over jurisdiction, working conditions, and minutes of the executive board. A special guide to the letters dealing with the conflict between the bricklayers and the stonecutters over jurisdiction has been inserted into the file following a letter from William Krinkey to W. Mitchell, January 5, 1938. The second segment contains correspondence dealing with financial matters from 1928 to 1939. Included are references to annual statements, expenditures, dues, and audits. The third group of letters, covering the period April 5, 1939 to June 28, 1939, concerns the 1939 election of the executive board of the Journeymen Stonecutters Association. Included are lists of candidates and a sample ballot.
A folder of membership applications for the 1920s provides an example of the initiation fees, age of members, etc.
The two volumes of minutes and record of dues, 1921 to 1939, provide an account of the general business affairs of the local.
Also included is a folder of Travelling Cards distributed over the period 1909 to 1939. These were a record of paid dues carried by the laborer to other locations as proof of his standing in the union. They supplement the record of dues.
