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Finding Aid Compiled by
Geoffrey A. Huth
September 26, 1990
M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives
University Libraries / University at Albany / State University of New York
1400 Washington Avenue / Albany, New York 12222 / (518) 437-3935
VOLUME: 19.5 cubic feet
ACQUISITION: All items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters and its affiliated locals. The minutes of the District Council's meetings and some of the contracts were preservation photocopied as a part of the Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., Labor History Project, and these originals have been returned to the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters. The Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters donated the records of Locals 255, 301, 574, 729, 1662, and 2967, and the records of the district council itself. The records of Locals 251, 306, 1075, 1175, 1560, 2161, and 2328, and the records of the Kingston District Council of Carpenters were put on deposit at the University at Albany by Carpenters Local 265. The records of Locals 245, 258, and 310 were loaned to the University by Carpenters Local 258, preservation photocopied, and the originals were returned to the local.
ACCESS: Access to this record group is unrestricted.
COPYRIGHT: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Box and folder list:
On November 14, 1946, the Carpenters' District Council of Ulster County and Vicinity, the direct predecessor of the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters, was chartered. It began with only a few locals in Kingston and Ellenville, N.Y., but new locals were often being chartered or voting to affiliate with the district council. The district council, on May 4, 1949, was rechartered as the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters, the change of name more closely describing its jurisdiction. New locals and independent locals continued to affiliate with the district council, and by the early 1950's the district council represented carpenters in Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. [1]
The Susquehanna Valley District Council of Carpenters surrendered its charter to the Hudson Valley District Council on May 1, 1955. Susquehanna represented carpenters in Chenango, Columbia, Delaware, and Otsego counties, and its merger with Hudson Valley helped to alleviate those jurisdictional disputes between the two district councils. Two years later, on April 1, 1957, the Lower Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters also surrendered its charter and merged into the Hudson Valley District Council. Three locals in Orange County (including Local 301, organized in 1887) had been affiliated with the Lower Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters. This merger extended the jurisdiction of the Hudson Valley District Council south, leaving it with jurisdiction over virtually the entire Hudson Valley. [2]
After these three district councils merged into one, the number of small locals continued to increase. Because of the difficulty and extra expense of running many small locals, the district council in 1974 consolidated its fourteen locals into three: Local 255 of Bloomingburg, Local 258 of Oneonta, and Local 265 of Saugerties. [3] A new local for residential work, Local 245 of Oneonta, was chartered on June 13, 1983. [4]
1955-65: George E. Yerry, Jr.
1965-75: Hyman Zamansky
1975- : Carlton Atkinson
Charles H. Vealey
| Present Local Union Number | Old Local Union Number |
| Residential Local Union 245, Oneonta (chartered June 13, 1983) | No predecessor locals. |
| Local Union 255, Bloomingburg (chartered 1974) | Local 301, Newburgh (organized July 1, 1887, chartered November 25,
1888)
Local 574, Middletown (organized May 3, 1900, chartered 1900) Local 729, Liberty (chartered April 12, 1949) Local 1038, Ellenville Local 2373, Monticello Local 2967, Port Jervis (merged into Local 574) |
| Local Union 258, Oneonta (chartered 1974) | Local 310, Norwich
Local 1600, Cannonsville Local 1656, Oneonta Local 2448, Fleishmans |
| Local Union 265, Saugerties (chartered 1974) | Local 251, Kingston (organized before 1897)
Local 1075, Hudson Local 1175, Kingston (organized 1942) Local 2161, Catskill Local 2328, Saugerties (chartered May 12, 1955) Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters |
| Predecessor District Councils | Affiliated Locals |
| Kingston District Council of Carpenters (formed 1908 with only two affiliated locals dissolved in 1909 after the merger of its locals) | Local 251, Kingston (chartered before 1897)
Local 1560, Kingston (organized in 1903, first meeting April 14, 1903, merged into Local 251 on December 19, 1909) |
| Carpenters' District Council of Ulster County and Vicinity (formed November 14, 1946, changed name to Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters on May 4, 1949) | Local 251, Kingston (an original affiliate of the district council
previously affiliated with the short-lived Kingston District Council
of Carpenters)
Local 729, Liberty (This local with jurisdiction over building and construction work in northern part of Sullivan County was chartered April 12, 1949.) Local 1038, Ellenville (an original affiliate of the district council) Local 1175, Kingston (an original affiliate of the district council organized in 1942) Local 1545, Kingston (This local of furniture workers was chartered April 8, 1947.) Local 2448, Fleishmanns (This local with jurisdiction over building and construction work in Ulster County, Greene County, and half of Delaware County was chartered March 12, 1949.) |
| Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters (chartered May 4, 1949. The direct successor to Ulster County District Council, its jurisdiction also included all previous locals administered by that district council.) | Local 1075, Hudson (affiliated with the district council on April 1,
1951)
Local 1150, Kingston (This local of lumber yard employees was chartered March 19, 1951.) Local 1561, McDonough (This local with jurisdiction in the pre-fabricated building industry affiliated with the district council on July 1, 1956.) Local 1866, Poughkeepsie (This millworkers local joined the district council a year after being chartered.) Local 2161, Catskill (An established local which voted to affiliate with the District Council.) Local 2328, Saugerties (chartered May 12, 1955) Local 2372, Monticello (chartered October 24, 1950) Local 2514, Kingston (chartered June 1, 1959) Local 3062, Monticello (This local of lumber yard employees was chartered on September 23, 1954, after the rapid growth of Local 1150, but merged into Local 2372 in 1960) |
| Susquehanna Valley District Council of Carpenters (surrendered charter to Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters on May 1, 1955) | Local 3081, Chatham Millworkers Local (chartered October 4, 1954)
Local 310, Norwich (affiliated with Hudson Valley District Council on May 1, 1955) Local 1026, Cooperstown (affiliated with Hudson Valley District Council on May 1, 1955, and merged into Local 1656 in 1960) Local 1600, Cannonsville (affiliated with Hudson Valley District Council on May 1, 1955) Local 1656, Oneonta (affiliated with Hudson Valley District Council on May 1, 1955) |
| Lower Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters (surrendered charter April 1, 1957) | Local 301, Newburgh (chartered Nov. 5, 1888, affiliated with Hudson
Valley District Council on April 1, 1957)
Local 574, Middletown (chartered 1900, affiliated with Hudson Valley District Council on April 1, 1957 Local 2967, Port Jervis (affiliated with Hudson Valley District Council on April 1, 1957) |
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Notes
1. Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters. Directory,
1960, p. 13.
2. Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters. Directory,
1960, p. 13.
3. Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters. Minutes,
October 10, 1974, and November 14, 1974.
4. "Brief History of Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters."
undated
The records of the Hudson Valley District Council of Capenters contain minutes, contracts, dues ledgers, and other records that document the activity of union carpenters in the lower Hudson Valley of New York State from 1887 until 1989. The documentation is especially extensive for Carpenters' Local 301 of Newburgh and Local 574 of Middletown. Most of the records preserved here are records held by the old Lower Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters and its affiliated locals.
Minutes of meetings preserved in these records are quite extensive. The minutes for both Locals 301 and 574 begin with their first meetings (in 1887 and 1900 respectively) and continue through until they merged with Local 729 in 1974 to form Local 255. Unfortunately, most of the minutes from the 1930's until the 1950's are no longer extant. After 1974, the minutes for Local 255 continue through 1979. Unfortunately, minutes for the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters are not as extensive. No minutes exist from its beginnings in 1955 until the 1965, then the minutes continue (with a gap of a few years) until 1981.
Membership ledgers form the most extensive series of the records. Almost complete series of membership ledgers exist from the beginning of Local 301 in 1887 until 1983. A few locals (numbers 729, 1662, and 2967) have only these ledgers left to document their history. These ledgers make possible a close examination of membership in carpenters' locals in the area during over a century of activity.
Reproductions of items from this collection are available in the exhibit Documenting Labor Inside and Out: Labor History in New York State's Capital District.
Includes minutes of meetings of the district council (1966-69, 1974-81); contracts (1958-87); and bylaws, 1978. This series is subject file for the district council and also includes printed matter and material related to jurisdictional disputes with other carpenters' district councils. Minutes, a few contracts, and some other material in this series have been photocopied, and the originals have been returned to the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters.
Kingston District Council of Carpenters, Minutes, 1908-09. 0.1 cubic feet. Arranged chronologically.
The Kingston District Council, made up of only two locals, lasted for little more than a year. The district council folded when its two locals merged. These minutes cover every meeting held by the council.
Local 251, Records, 1897-1938, 1945-74
Includes correspondence from the international, employers, other UBC locals, and individual members of Local 251. Also includes some circulars and other material from the international, financial reports, and copies of reports by the business agent. The correspondence helps to document negotiations between Local 251 and employers as well as jurisdictional disputes with other carpenters' unions (most notably Poughkeepsie Local 203).
Local 255, Records, 1975-86, 1989
The minutes of Local 255 have been photocopied by Special Collections and Archives, and the original minute books have been returned to the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters. Minutes after 1980 are still in the possession of Local 255.
The annual dinner journals have scant information about the local, but these do reprint a brief history of Local 255 and provide lists of union locals and others who have supported the local and its activities.
The membership ledgers provide the records of dues payments by members of Local 255, so the ledgers include the names of all members as well as information such as address, age, and date of initiation. Together with the earlier membership ledgers for Locals 301, 574, 1662, and 2967, these ledgers make possible a close quantitative analysis of membership in this carpenters' local. Although this local was chartered in 1974, membership records until 1976 were kept in the ledgers for Locals 301, 574, and 729.
Local 301, Records, 1887-1926, 1929-34, 1937-38, 1941-49, 1952-57, 1959-61, 1965-74
The minutes begin with the Local 301's first meeting in 1889 and are complete through 1924. However, large sections from the 1930's until the 1950's are missing. The final volume does contain the last meetings of the local, which include discussions of the merger that formed Local 255.
Unfortunately, there are small gaps interspersed within this series of dues records. However, it is likely that all people who were ever members of Local 301 are included in these ledgers, along with their addresses, age, and date of initiation into the union. After the merger that formed Local 255, members can be traced through that local's membership ledgers.
Only three volumes of this series are still extant. The day books registered all incoming dues receipts on a daily basis, and these could be used (in the case of the 1959-61 volumes) to verify the membership ledgers. However, much of the daybook for 1904-09 contains information that is not duplicated by existing membership ledgers and can be used to fill in the gap in that series.
Contains contracts (1954-55), photographs (1948, 1952-53), and other records of Carpenters' Local 301.
This dues ledger is the only surviving record of Associated Shipyard Workers Unions, Carpenters Local 306, of Kingston, N.Y. Local 306 might have been affiliated with the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters, but whether or not this is true is unknown. All members in this ledger are listed as being initiated in the period 1940-42, so this was likely a young local at the time.
Local 574, Records, 1900-52, 1956-74
These minutes provide a record of the activities and decisions of Local 574 from its organization in 1900 until its dissolution in 1974. However, 28 years of minutes in the middle of this series are missing.
This series is a complete records of dues receipts for Local 574 from charter in 1900 until 1971. Dues records for Local 574 after 1971 can be found in the membership ledgers for Local 301.
This series consists of the daily registers of dues receipts. The information in these books duplicates the information in the membership ledgers, but these might be used to check the care with which information was transferred from the daybooks to the ledgers.
Only the final minute book of Local 729 remains. Any record of minutes from its charter in 1949 until 1967 is missing. The membership ledgers are also incomplete. Ledgers for the beginning of the local (1949-54) exist but only for members whose names begin with a letter from P through Z. Ledgers for the final years of the local also exist, but nothing is available for almost a decade in the middle of Local 729's history.
These two volumes of minutes provide a record of the activities of Local 1075 from 1932 until 1941. This local did not affiliate with the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters until 1951, so these records represent the local's activities as an "independent" union.
This volume provides a record of dues receipts to Local 1075 until just before its affiliation with the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters.
These minutes are complete from the organization of the local in 1942 until it merged with other locals to form Local 265 in 1974, and these are a record of the activities and concerns of this union over its whole history.
This membership ledger is a register of dues receipts for the early years of Local 1175's existence.
Local 1560, Minutes, 1903-09. 0.25 cubic feet. Arranged chronologically.
This volume provides a record of the complete history of Local 1560
from its first meeting on April 14, 1903, until its last in 1909.
When Local 1560 was organized there was already one other carpenters' local
(number 251) in Kingston, N.Y. In 1908, these two locals formed the
Kingston District Council of Carpenters, but bother this council and Local
1560 dissolved in 1909 upon the merger of Local 1560 into Local 251.
A single ledger book of dues records remains to document the history
of Local 1662. Although the local is located in Goshen, which is
near all the other unions that eventually merged into Local 255, Local
1662 is not listed in any of the tables as being a part of the
predecessors. The local might have been independent, but it is
likely that it was affiliated with some predecessor to the current district
council.
Local 2161, Minutes, 1965-74. 0.25 cubic feet. Arranged chronologically.
A record of meetings of Local 2161 from 1965 until it merged with four
other carpenters' local in 1974 to form Local 265.
Local 2328, Minutes, 1955-74. 0.25 cubic feet. Arranged chronologically.
These minutes provide a record of Local 2328 from its organization in
1955 until 1974 when it merged with four other locals to form Local 265.
Local 2967 apparently merged with Local 574 before the formation of Local 255, but it retained separate membership ledgers until 1973. These dues records are all that is left to document this local.
Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters, Records, 1948-55, 1957-81
By-Laws, 1978
Agreements:
Between Carpenters Local 1150 and Miron Truss & Components Corp., 1974
Associated General Contractors of America, NYS Chapter, 1965-73
Associated General Contractors of America, NYS Chapter--Heavy and Highway Agreemeets,1970-87
Catskill Mountain Contractors Association--Heavy and Highway Agreements, 1961-64, 1967-71
Construction Employers of the Hudson Valley, 1973-74, 1977-81, 1984-90
Hudson Valley Construction Employers Association and Tri-CountyConstruction Associates, 1970
Employers Engaged in Construction of the West Delaware Water Supply Project of the Board of Water Supply of New York City,1960-65
Various Employers Associations, 1958-68
Directory, 1960
Jurisdictional Discussions Between District Councils, 1948-55, 1960
Minutes of the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters
1966-68
1968-69
1974-81
Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field--Correspondence and Contracts, 1949-53, 1957-58
Trade Autonomy, circa 1965
Kingston District Council of Carpenters, Records, 1908-09
Minutes, 1908-09
Local 251, Records, 1897-41, 1945-74
Series 1: Local 251 Minutes, 1897-37, 1945-74
Minutes, 1897-1903
Minutes, 1902-05
Minutes, 1905-10
Minutes, 1910-14
Minutes, 1914-19
Minutes, 1919-23
Minutes, 1923-27
Minutes, 1928-30
Minutes, 1930-33
Minutes, 1933-37
Minutes, 1945-53
Minutes, 1953-62
Minutes, 1962-66
Minutes, 1966-74
Series 2: Local 251 Membership Ledgers, 1909-11, 1914-15, 1918-19, 1921, 1924-25, 1927-41, 1945
Box 1
Ledger, 1909-10
Ledger, 1911
Ledger, 1914-15
Ledger, 1918
Ledger, 1919
Ledger, 1921
Ledger, 1924
Ledger, 1925
Ledger, 1927
Ledgers, 1928
Ledgers, 1929
Ledgers, 1930
Ledgers, 1931
Ledgers, 1932
Ledgers, 1933
Box 2
Ledgers, 1934
Ledgers, 1935
Ledgers, 1936
Ledgers, 1937
Ledgers, 1938
Ledgers, 1939
Ledgers, 1940-41
Ledgers, 1945
Series 3: Daybooks, 1904-09, 1922-26, 1929-30, 1936-38, 1938-40, 1945-46
Daybook, 1904-09
Daybook, 1922-24
Daybook, 1924-26
Daybook, 1929-30
Daybook, 1936-38
Daybook, 1938-40
Daybook, 1939
Daybook, 1945-46
Series 4: Correspondence, 1908-19, 1933, 1937-38
Correspondence, 1908-15
Correspondence, 1916-19
Correspondence, 1933, 1937-38
Series 1: Local 255 Minutes, 1975-79
Minutes, 1975-79
Series 2: Local 255 Dinner Journals, 1984-86, 1989
Dinner Journals, 1984-86, 1989
Series 3: Local 255 Membership Ledgers, 1976-83
Membership Ledgers, 1976-79 (6 folders)
Membership Ledgers, 1980-83 (6 folders)
Series 1: Minutes, 1889-1924, 1956-57, 1965-74
Minutes
1889-1892
1891-1896
1896-1900
1906-10
1910-13
1913-16
1916-19
1919-24
1956-57
1965-72
1972-74
Box 1
Membership Ledgers
1887-88
1896-98
1898-1901
1907-08
1909-10
1915-16
1919-20
1921-22
Box 2
Membership Ledgers
1923-24
1925-26
1929-30
1931-32
1933-34
1937-38
1939-40
1941-42
1942-43 (Ledger # 1)
Box 3
Membership Ledgers
1942-43 (Ledger # 2)
1944-45 (2 Ledgers)
1947-49 (2 Ledgers)
Box 4
Membership Ledgers
1949-50 (4 folders)
1951-52 (4 folders)
1953-54 (4 folders)
1955-58 (4 folders)
1959-62 (4 folders)
Box 5
Membership Ledgers
1963-66 (4 folders)
1967-70 (3 folders)
1971-74 (4 folders)
1972-76 (7 folders)
Series 3: Local 301 Day Books, 1904-09, 1959-61
Day Book, 1904-09
Day Book, 1959-60
Day Book, 1960-61
Series 4: Local 301 Subject Files, 1919, 1924, 1946, 1948, 1952-55
Agreement With General Contractors and Builders Association of Newburgh, NY, 1954-55
Arbitration, 1924
"In Defense of the Carpenter" (Letter by Carpenters' Local 301 in Newburgh News), August 30, 1946
Photographs, 1948, 1952-53
Report of General Secretary of United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners, 1919
Local 306, Records, 1942
Membership Ledger, 1942
Local 574, Records, 1900-52, 1956-74
Series 1: Local 574 Minutes, 1900-30, 1958-74
Box 1
Minutes
1900-03
1903-08
1908-15
1915-26
1926-30
1958-72
1972-74
Series 2: Local 574 Membership Ledgers, 1900-48
Box 1
Membership Ledgers
1900-01
1902-04
1905-06
1907-08
1909-10
1910-11
1912-13
1914-15
1916
1917-18
1919-20
1921-22
1923-24
Box 2
Membership Ledgers
1925-27
1927-28
1929-30
1931-32
1933-34
1935-36
1937-38
1939-40
1941-42
1943-44
Box 3
Membership Ledgers
1945-46
1946-47
1947-48
Box 4
Membership Ledgers
1948-49 (3 folders)
1950-52 (5 folders)
1956-63 (6 folders)
1964-71 (3 folders)
1968-71 (3 folders)
Series 3: Day Books, 1900-07, 1913-34
Box 1
Day Books
1900-07
1913-18
1919-21
1922-25
1925-29
1929-34
Box 1
Minutes, 1970-74
Membership Ledgers
1949-54 (P-Z)
1967-74 (2 folders)
Series 1: Local 1075 Minutes, 1932-41
Minutes
1932-37
1937-41
Series 2: Local 1075 Membership Ledger, 1938-50
Local 1175, Records, 1942-74
Series 1: Minutes, 1942-74
Minutes
1942-45
1945-55
1955-62
1962-66
1966-72
1972-74
Local 1560, Records, 1903-09
Minutes, 1903-09
Box 1
Membership Ledger, 1928-49
Local 2161, Records, 1965-74
Minutes, 1965-74
Local 2328, Records, 1955-74
Minutes
1955-58
1958-74
Local 2967, Records, 1957-73
Box 1
Membership Ledgers, 1957-73
1957-71
1970-73