Guide to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 325, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records 1931-1997 AIS.1997.15

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 325, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records
Creator
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Local 325 (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Collection Number
AIS.1997.15
Extent
5 Linear Feet (6 boxes)
Date
1931-1997
Abstract
The United Foods and Commercial Workers International Union Local 325, formerly known as Canning and Pickle Workers Union Local 325, was founded in 1937 to represent employees of the H.J. Heinz Company, chiefly employed at the North Side plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The records include contract books from 1941-1994, union constitutions and by-laws, a job description book, union newsletters, photographs, and oral histories. Also included are various publications of the H.J. Heinz Company written for their employees.
Language
English .
Author
Zach Brodt.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

On May 17, 1937, the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America (AFL) issued a charter to Canning and Pickle Workers Union Local 325, where a union organizing committee had recently been formed. Also in May 1937, the Union was victorious in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, but the H.J. Heinz Company refused to sign a written contract, and from August 15, 1937 to January 6, 1941, employees of the company worked without one. Following a protracted long legal battle, the company was ordered by the United States Supreme Court to sign an agreement with the Union reached through collective bargaining. The Supreme Court ruling established a paramount precedence for all collective bargaining agreements in the United States. In an immediate upshot locally, Westinghouse Electric Corporation was similarly obligated to sign an agreement with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 601. A merger of unions in 1979 created the United Food and Commercial Workers and the name of the local was changed accordingly.

Scope and Content Notes

These papers include contract books, union constitutions and by-laws, a job description book and other documents relating to working conditions and union activities, and the newsletters of united Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Local 325. Also included are background material, photographs, and oral histories. Some materials are photocopies of material in possession of the union.

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged as follows:

  • Series I. Historical Material, 1930s-1940s
  • Series II. Contracts, Job Descriptions, and Employee Documents, 1941-1996
  • Series III. Oral Histories, 1997
  • Series IV. Oral History Transcripts
  • Series V. H.J. Heinz Company Publications, 1961-1996
  • Series VI. Union Newsletters, 1944-1996
  • Series VII. Oversize Materials

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Robert E. Timmons, Jr., President/Business Agent, UFCW 325 in 1997

Preferred Citation

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 325, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records, 1931-1997, AIS.1997.15, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Previous Citation

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 325, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records, 1931-1997, AIS.1997.15, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Records of United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Local 325 (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 1931-1997, ue199715, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Sarah Cranstoun in 1998. Revision and rearrangement was done by Alix Bentrud and Zachary L. Brodt in 2007.

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Existence and Location of Originals

The original documents of photocopied materials which do not have corresponding original documents within the collection are in the possession of UFCW Local 325 (Pittsburgh, Pa.).

Related Material

http://www.library.pitt.edu/labor_legacy

Separated Material

The nine cassettes containing oral history interviews from this collection can be found in cassette cabinet 3, drawer 4, at the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America
    • Canning and Pickle Workers Union. Local 325 (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • H.J. Heinz Company
    • United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Local 325 (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

    Personal Names

    • Cypher, Frances
    • Heidenreich, Charles
    • Koontz, John
    • Vinski, David
    • Ware, Elizabeth

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.)

    Genres

    • Newsletters
    • Constitutions
    • Collective labor agreements
    • Annual reports
    • Oral histories (Literary genre)
    • Bylaws (Administrative records)

    Other Subjects

    • Labor unions -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Food industry and trade -- Employees -- Labor unions -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Collective labor agreements -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Labor

Container List