United Association
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| Native name | United Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 11, 1889 |
| Members | 329,954 (2014) |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO, CLC |
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Website | ua |
The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA or United Association) is a labor union which represents workers in the plumbing and pipefitting industries in the United States and Canada.
Journeymen in the pipe trades in the 1880s worked in three basic crafts: plumbers, steamfitters and gasfitters.
The first truly successful national body, the United Association of Journeymen Plumbers, Gas Fitters, Steam Fitters, and Steam Fitters' Helpers of the United States and Canada, was officially founded on October 11, 1889.
Gradually, former members of rival Unions joined the United Association. The depression of 1893-1897 slowed the development of a stronger organization. Membership in the United Association grew to 6,700 in 1893, but fell to 4,400 by 1897. Yet, by that year 151 local Unions were listed on its rolls.
Starting in 1898, the construction industry entered a period of expansion and prosperity that lasted until 1914. From 1898 to 1906 the United Association quadrupled its membership.
During its first years, the United Association was essentially a federation of local Unions, rather than a truly national Union of the pipe trades. The major breakthrough toward a unified national organization came at the 1902 national convention in Omaha, when delegates approved a Nationalization Committee proposal establishing a comprehensive system of sick, death and strike benefits.
As such reforms to strengthen the national organization were being made in the early part of the century, however, some locals broke ranks to form a rival Union. In August 1906, members of the secessionist Union realized the futility of further rivalry and agreed to affiliate with the United Association.
From 1898 to 1914, the United Association went through several phases of a struggle with the International Association of Steam and Hot Water Fitters and Helpers, a prolonged and sometimes bitter dispute both over jurisdiction over a craft (steamfitting) and work assignments (plumbers vs. steamfitters). The conflict affected other building trades when walkouts by the rival steamfitting organizations, as a result of their jurisdictional dispute, led to work stoppages by other crafts.
The strength of the United Association, and favorable rulings by the American Federation of Labor, including the revocation of the International Association's charter in 1912, ended this jurisdictional battle, but other jurisdictional issues would continue to challenge the Union.
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