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Finding Aid to the Clyde Johnson Collection
larc.ms.0135
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Title: Clyde L. Johnson collection
Date (inclusive): 1954-1983
Creator:
Johnson, Clyde
Physical Description:
2.5 Cubic Feet
(2 cartons)
Collection number: larc.ms.0135
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Abstract: Materials related to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA) at the national, California and local
levels, including convention proceedings, bylaws, agreements, and pamphlets, collected in the course of Johnson's work as
business agent for UBCJA's Local 550 Chapter in Oakland, California. While the majority of the collection reflects official
documentation from UBCJA and California State Council of Carpenters, also present are publications from workers and players
within the Millmen and Carpenter industry. Some materials reflect Johnson's long standing conflict with the National UBCJA
organization.
Physical Location: Available onsite.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English.
Collection is open for research. A few documents have been restricted to protect personal identifiable information. Access
restrictions are noted at the file level. Please contact the Director of the Labor Archives and Research Center for more information.
[Identification of item], Clyde L. Johnson Collection, larc.ms.0135, Labor Archives & Research Center, San Francisco State
University.
The Millmen Local 550 (Oakland, Calif.) Records, Labor Archives and Research Center.
Transcript of David Oberweiser's interview with Clyde Johnson, Labor Archives and Research Center.
The Clyde Johnson Papers, 1930s-1990, University of North Carolina. https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/04642/#d1e282
The Clyde Johnson Papers, 1941-1944, University of Texas, Arlington. https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utarl/02297/arl-02297.html
The following books were retained by LARC and were relocated to the Book Collection:
Bertram, Gordon W.
Consolidated Bargaining in California Construction: An Appraisal of Twenty-Years' Experience. Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California, Los Angeles, 1966.
Christie, Robert A.
Empire in Wood: A History of the Carpenters' Union. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1956.
Daly, Donald F.
Know Your Union: A Guide to Jobs in the Building Trades. Dorrance & Company, Philadelphia, 1964.
Galenson, Walter.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters: The First Hundred Years. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1983.
Mills, Daniel Quinn.
The Industrial Relations and Manpower in Construction. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972.
Schorr, Alvin L.
Slums and Social Insecurity: An appraisal of the effectiveness of housing policies in helping to eliminate poverty in the
United States.
U.S. Department of Health, #Education and Welfare. Social Security Administration, 1966.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employment and Earnings: States and Areas 1939-70. Bulletin 1370-8, 1971.
Selected pamphlets and other print material on subjects other than the building trades was relocated to the Ephemera Files.
It can be identified with the accession number 2002/048.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Clyde L. Johnson Collection was donated by Ted Rosengarten, accession number 2002/049.[ask Catherine for donor information]
Processed by Labor Archives staff; finding aid written by Leah Humphreys, 2020.
Arranged as received.
Clyde Johnson (1908-1994) was a lifelong labor organizer who worked within many different industries during his lifetime.
Throughout his long career as an organizer, Johnson worked with students, iron and foundry workers, coal workers, sharecroppers,
electrical workers, agricultural workers, and carpenters.
In 1955 Johnson moved from Washington, D.C. to Oakland, California where he joined Local 550 of the United Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA). He served as the business agent for UBCJA from 1960-1966 before joining the Institute
of Industrial Relations at University of California, Berkeley in 1967. In his later years, Johnson devoted himself to telling
the story of working class resistance and organizing struggles, including
Millmen 550: A History of the Militant Years (1961-1966) of Local 550 United Brotherhood of Carpenters, which details his role as the union's business agent during the time period.
Johnson's book
Organize or Die: Smash Boss Unionism--Build Union Power, Organize Two Million Carpenters and Woodworkers critized the national UBCJA body and President William Hutcheson, a conservative craft-unionist who was often at odds with
local chapters, revoking the charters of those that he believe held Communist sympathies. As a Communist, Johnson fought for
worker controlled unions and militant organizing strategies, such as strikes and lockouts. Due in part to his efforts, Local
550 became known for its focus on civil rights and trade union democracy. Clyde Johnson died on October 5, 1994.
Materials related to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA) at the national, California and local
levels, including convention proceedings, bylaws, agreements, and pamphlets, collected in the course of Johnson's work as
business agent for UBCJA's Local 550 Chapter in Oakland, California. While the majority of the collection reflects official
documentation from UBCJA and California State Council of Carpenters, also present are publications from workers and players
within the Millmen and Carpenter industry. Some materials reflect Johnson's long standing conflict with the National UBCJA
organization.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Carpenters -- Labor unions -- California.
Collective labor agreements.
Bylaws (administrative records).
Apprenticeship programs -- United States.
Labor unions -- Organizing -- California -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Labor unions -- Organizing.
Building trades -- Employees -- Labor unions -- California.
Strikes and lockouts.
Labor -- California -- History -- 20th century.
Communists -- United States.
Johnson, Clyde
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Local 550 (Oakland, Calif.)
California State Council of Carpenters