Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners

The formation of the Society was spurred by the Stonemason's strike, 1859, which succeeded in winning a nine-hour day. In 1860, a number of small societies formed the Amalgamated.[http://www.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/ead/259CJ.htm Papers of The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners] Robert Applegarth was the general secretary from 1862 to 1871.May, Trevor An Economic and Social History of Great Britain 1760-1990 2nd edition, 1996

The union also established branches in the United States, Australia, and Canada.{{cite report |date=1912 |title=Annual Report on Labour Organizations |url=https://archive.org/details/reportoflabour191113cana |publisher=Department of Labour (Canada) |page=63 |accessdate=5 May 2016}} The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America took over its U.S. branches in 1913, and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners took over its Australian branches in 1917.[http://www.victoriacarpenters.com/new_history.htm Historical Highlights of the Carpenter Locals in Victoria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819023318/http://www.victoriacarpenters.com/new_history.htm |date=2012-08-19 }}, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Local 1598

By 1892, the union had 37,588 members, and by 1900 it had 65,000. It merged with or absorbed a number of smaller unions including the Carpenters of Dublin, the Carpenteres of Cork, the Mersey Ship Joiners and other small unions in Britain and Ireland in the 1890s. In 1911, it merged with the Associated Carpenters and Joiners of Scotland, while in 1918 the Amalgamated Union of Cabinetmakers joined the union, which renamed itself as the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters, Cabinetmakers and Joiners. In 1921, the union merged with the General Union of Carpenters and Joiners, forming the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers

The union established a branch in New York City in 1867.{{cite book |title=The Eighth Annual Report |date=1868 |publisher=Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners}} In 1870, a second branch was opened in New York, plus new branches in St Louis and Chicago, followed in 1871 by branches in Cleveland and Fall River, Massachusetts.{{cite book |title=The Eleventh Annual Report of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners |date=1871 |publisher=Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners}} It recruited principally from recent immigrants from the UK, although by the end of the century, most of its members had been born in the United States.{{cite book |title=Reports of the Industrial Commission on Labor Organizations, Labor Disputes, and Arbitration, and on Railway Labor |date=1901 |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington DC}}

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was founded in 1881, and initially, the two unions co-operated.{{cite journal |last1=Cummins |first1=E. E. |title=Jurisdictional Disputes of the Carpenters' Union |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics |date=May 1926 |volume=40 |issue=3}} In 1890, the ASC&J was admitted to the American Federation of Labor (AFL). However, the United Brotherhood grew as it involved itself in industrial disputes, while the ASC&J focused on providing welfare benefits to members. By 1900, the ASC&J in the United States had 3,011 members. The United Brotherhood argued that the local branches of the ASC&J should merge into the United Brotherhood. In 1903, a committee chaired by Adolph Strasser proposed the two unions merge on an equal basis; this was supported by the ASC&J, but rejected by the United Brotherhood.

In 1912, the AFL ordered that the ASC&J accept the United Brotherhood's term; when it would not, the federation suspended the British union. The following year, the ASC&J agreed that the United Brotherhood would have jurisdiction over its members in trade matters, while the ASC&J would retain its existence and provide welfare benefits to its members. This arrangement endured until 1923, when the United Brotherhood claimed that the ASC&J branches were seeking to regain their independence. The large majority of ASC&J members accepted offers to take up full membership of the United Brotherhood.

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in each Parliamentary election from 1906 onwards.

:1860: J. Lea

:1862: Robert Applegarth

:1871: John D. Prior

:1881: James S. Murchie

:1888: Francis Chandler

:1919: Alexander Gordon Cameron

:1915: Alexander Gordon Cameron

:1920: Frank Wolstencroft

{{Reflist}}

• 175 Years of Building Trade Unionism, UCATT, 2002
• Briggs, Asa. “Robert Applegarth and the Trade Unions”, in Asa Briggs, Victorian People (1955) pp. 168–196. [https://archive.org/details/victorianpeoplea000327mbp/page/n9/mode/2up online]

• [https://mrc.epexio.com/records/SCJ Catalogue of the ASCJ archives], held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick

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Category:1921 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

Category:Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom

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Category:Carpenters' trade unions

Category:Defunct trade unions of Australia

Category:British builders

Category:Trade unions established in 1860