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Guide to the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America Local 61 Records, 1943-1990 AIS.1989.05

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America Local 61 Records
Creator
Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America. Local 61 (Neville Island, Pa.)
Collection Number
AIS.1989.05
Extent
102.5 Linear Feet (80 boxes and 17 oversize items)
Date
1943-1990
Abstract
Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Local 61 was charted in 1943 and represented shipbuilders of the Dravo Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During the 1980s, Local 61 found itself in opposition to the activities of the national union's leadership, leading the national union to attempt to revoke the local's charter and its president, Darrell Becker's, membership. This collection includes the records of IUMSWA Local 61, particularly those of president Becker, as well as research files for the Allegheny Conference on Human Development.
Language
English .
Author
Zachary 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

Access Restrictions

The membership cards in Boxes 22-24 are closed for 75 years from date of creation. Until this restriction is lifted, access to the cards can be gained by signing a confidentiality agreement. Please contact the Archives Service Center for more information.

Separated Material

Several posters and other oversize items are located in cabinet 3-12.

Related Material

Denominational Ministry Strategy Collection, 1973-1995, AIS.1989.07, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh

D.A. Booth Collection On Dravo Corporation, AIS.1972.09, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh

Scope and Content Notes

This collection includes correspondence, subject files, agreements, grievances, meeting minutes, and flyers concerning IUMSWA Local 61. Also present are the papers of local president Darrell Becker, which include newspaper clippings, flyers, and legal papers documenting Becker's role in the Denominational Ministry Strategy and Network to Save the Mon/Ohio Valley, as well as his campaign for the presidency of the national union in 1985 and conflicts between the local and the IUMSWA from approximately 1983 to 1988. Research of the Allegheny Conference on Human Development is also present.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Darrell Becker, president of Local 61, in 1989 and 1990.

Arrangement

Series I. Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Local 61

Series II. Allegheny Conference on Human Development

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

History

The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America (IUMSWA) was founded in 1934 under the idea of unionizing workers by their industry rather than by their individual trades. In 1935, the IUMSWA affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Membership grew during the mobilization of the armed forces during World War II, but the end of the war brought a decline in union membership. Local 61 was charted in 1943 and represented shipbuilders of the Dravo Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

During the deindustrialization of the 1980s, Darrell Becker, president of Local 61 and member of the Network to Save the Mon/Ohio Valley, claimed that the IUMSWA leadership was cooperating with companies during plant shutdowns. In response, the international union tried to remove Becker from office. When they were unsuccessful, they attempted to revoke the local's charter. In response, Becker ran for president of the national union in 1986. Later, Local 61 and three other locals opposed the national union's plan to merge with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and encouraged other locals to distance themselves from the national union's leadership in order to make their own independent decision regarding the fate of their locals' affiliation. In 1988, Local 61 left the IUMSWA to become Independent Shipbuilders Union of America Local 61. The IUMSWA merged with the IAM in 1988, but its battle with Becker and Local 61 extended into 1990.

In 1986, Darrell Becker and local activist David Rosenberg of the Neville's Ark food bank created the Allegheny Conference on Human Development (ACHD). This organization was created in response to the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and provided working class people and communities with information on how to defend their jobs and living standards through research and educational programs.

Processing Information

An inventory to this collection was created by Kamilu Sani Fage and Sharon Maclean in 1990; the collection was processed by Zachary Brodt in June 2010.

Previous Citation

Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Local 61 Records, 1943-1990, AIS.1989.05, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Local 61 Records, 1943-1990, AIS.1989.05, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Network to Save the Mon/Ohio Valley
    • Independent Shipbuilders Union of America. Local 61 (Neville Island, Pa.)
    • Allegheny Conference on Human Development (Pa.)
    • Denominational Ministry Strategy (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America. Local 61 (Neville Island, Pa.)

    Personal Names

    • Becker, Darrell

    Geographic Names

    • Neville Island (Pa.)

    Genres

    • Advertising
    • Photographs
    • Correspondence
    • Minutes (Administrative records)
    • Clippings (Information artifacts)
    • Legal documents

    Other Subjects

    • Labor disputes -- Pennsylvania -- Neville Island
    • Labor unions -- Jurisdictional disputes -- United States
    • Shipbuilding industry -- Employees -- Labor unions -- Pennsylvania -- Neville Island
    • Shipbuilding industry -- Pennsylvania -- Neville Island
    • Labor

Container List