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| International Brotherhood of Paper Makers | |
|---|---|
| Name | International Brotherhood of Paper Makers |
| Founded | 1893 |
| Dissolved | 1972 |
| Merged into | United Papermakers and Paperworkers |
| Headquarters | Holyoke, Massachusetts |
| Key people | George Greene (trade unionist), William J. Murray (union leader), Alexander M. Zeller |
International Brotherhood of Paper Makers The International Brotherhood of Paper Makers was a North American labor union representing workers in the papermaking industry, active from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century. It engaged with other craft unions, industrial federations, and regional labor movements while negotiating contracts with large corporations, shaping workplace standards in cities like Holyoke, Massachusetts, Appleton, Wisconsin, and Portland, Oregon. The union interacted with national figures and institutions involved in industrial relations such as Samuel Gompers, AFL, and National Labor Relations Board.
Founded amid organizational drives influenced by the aftermath of the Haymarket affair and the era of craft unionism associated with Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of Labor, the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers organized mill hands, machine operators, and finishers across industrial centers like Watertown, New York, Berlin, New Hampshire, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. During the Progressive Era the union confronted corporate consolidation exemplified by companies headquartered in Rochester, New York and bargaining units challenged by trusts similar in scale to enterprises in Akron, Ohio and Binghamton, New York. In the 1910s and 1920s it navigated national crises such as World War I labor mobilization and the Red Scare of 1919–20, engaging with governmental agencies like the United States Department of Labor and responding to legislation linked to the Clayton Antitrust Act era. The Great Depression and the rise of industrial unionism associated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations precipitated jurisdictional disputes and realignments; later the union participated in broader postwar negotiations during the Taft–Hartley Act period. In 1957 and 1972 structural shifts in American labor culminated in mergers aligning the union with broader papermaking organizations headquartered in regions including Montreal, Toronto, and Chicago.
The union adopted a lodge-and-convention model influenced by contemporaneous bodies like the International Association of Machinists, United Mine Workers of America, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, maintaining constitutionally defined locals in mill towns such as Appleton, Wisconsin, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Governance included elected presidents, secretaries, and executive boards who convened at triennial conventions resembling meetings of the National Civic Federation. Its internal departments paralleled those of unions such as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and were staffed by organizers who coordinated with entities like the National Labor Union legacy networks and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America on jurisdictional matters. Financial administration drew on practices found in the International Typographical Union and pension arrangements later comparable to those negotiated by the United Steelworkers.
Membership comprised machine tenders, beater operators, paper coaters, and pulp mill workers from industrial centers including Lewiston, Maine, Skowhegan, Maine, Janesville, Wisconsin, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Demographic shifts mirrored migration patterns seen in cities like Milwaukee, Buffalo, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio with influxes of workers from communities associated with Italian diaspora, Irish Americans, and Polish Americans. Women workers in finishing departments reflected trends observed in organizations such as the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, while African American papermakers in urban districts engaged in struggle similar to members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People advocating labor rights. Language and ethnic halls paralleled those of the Finnish Socialist Federation and the Jewish Labor Committee in multiethnic mill towns.
The union led and participated in strikes comparable in scale and character to actions by the Coal Strike of 1902 and regional stoppages like the Paterson silk strike and the Ludlow Massacre aftermath labor unrest. Notable local strikes occurred in mill centers in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Appleton, Wisconsin, Portland, Oregon, and Milwaukee and involved tactics coordinated with federations such as the AFL and sympathetic organizations like the Amalgamated Textile Workers. Disputes often centered on wage schedules negotiated under templates similar to agreements secured by the United Textile Workers of America and working conditions contested through arbitration mechanisms paralleling proceedings before the National War Labor Board. These labor actions intersected with legal challenges arising under statutes influenced by the Sherman Antitrust Act and the National Labor Relations Act.
The International Brotherhood of Paper Makers maintained complex relations with craft unions including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Paperworkers' International Union predecessors, and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, negotiating jurisdiction with industrial federations such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations and later affiliating with bodies comparable to the AFL–CIO merger. It engaged in interunion accords akin to those brokered by the National Recovery Administration era labor panels and collaborated on joint committees with organizations like the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen to defend member craft jurisdictions. Conflicts over representation echoed disputes experienced by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and were mediated through forums similar to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Leadership included prominent figures who paralleled the influence of labor leaders such as Samuel Gompers and John L. Lewis in their eras: early presidents and organizers worked alongside regional labor influencers from Massachusetts and Wisconsin and engaged with political actors in capitols like Boston and Madison, Wisconsin. Key individuals participated in broader labor councils comparable to the New England Council of Labor and served on panels with officials from the United States Congress and the National Labor Relations Board. Their biographies intersect with institutions like the Industrial Workers of the World and the Socialist Party of America in debates over craft versus industrial organization.
The union influenced standards that shaped wages, safety, and apprenticeship systems in papermaking centers across North America, similar to reforms associated with the Progressive Era and postwar collective bargaining achievements like those negotiated by the United Auto Workers. Its legacy persists in merged entities that trace lineage to organizations headquartered in Pittsburgh and Chicago, and its archives intersect with collections held by institutions such as the Library of Congress and regional historical societies in Massachusetts and Wisconsin. The union's impact is visible in modern occupational standards administered by agencies akin to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and in pension frameworks that informed successor unions like the United Steelworkers and the Paperworkers' International Union.