Finding Aid to the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local Lodge 6 (San Francisco, Calif.) Records
larc.ms.0110
Finding aid prepared by Labor Archives and Research Center staff.
Labor Archives and Research Center
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA, 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
© 1998, revised 2013
Title: International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local Lodge 6 (San Francisco, Calif.) records
Creator:
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers. Local lodge 6 (San Francisco,
Calif.).
Date (bulk): 1938-1950
Date (inclusive): 1919-1985
Collection number: larc.ms.0110
Accession number: 1990/080
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
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English.
Extent:
4.0 cubic ft.
(8 boxes)
Location: Collection is available onsite.
Abstract: The records of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local lodge 6 include minutes, administrative records, membership
records, contracts and documentation of relations with government agencies, along with materials from conventions and the
negotiations for the master shipbuilding contract of the Pacific Coast Metal Trades Council.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives & Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the
Labor Archives & Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of
the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local Lodge 6 Records, larc.ms.0110, Labor Archives and
Research Center, San Francisco State University.
Separated Materials
Badges and buttons were transferred to LARC's button collection. One poster was transferred to LARC's poster collection. It
was printed by the War Production Board and depicts a welder as part of the WWII mobilization.
Related Archival Materials
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local Lodge 6 (San Francisco, Calif.) Records, Additions, larc.ms.0173, includes
the office files of Ed Rainbow, and minutes of the San Francisco Building Trades Council (1949-1970), the Santa Clara Building
Trades Council (1957-1970), the Monterey Building Trades (1945-1969), the Fresno Building Trades (1956-1970) and the Metal
Trades Department (1937-1969).
Acquisition
This collection was donated to the Labor Archives and Research Center following a visit to the Boilermakers' Union Local 6
by Susan Goldstein while she was conducting the Bay Area Labor History Survey, a project which examined the records of 100
local unions in five San Francisco Bay Area counties. Guy Brooks, Secretary-Treasurer and Business Manager of Local 6, offered
these records which they had removed from their files. Accession number 1990/080.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Carol Cuenod, assistant archivist. This collection of non-current records was slated for
disposal by Lodge 6; due to Lodge 6's original intent, there had been no effort to maintain the existing order. Although some
of the records were in manila folders, much of the material consisted of loose documents.
History
The boilermakers in San Francisco have a long history of organization. By 1867, a group identified as the Journeymen Boilermakers'
Protective Union became a part of the San Francisco Trades' Union. They were among the founding unions of the Federated Iron
Trade Council of San Francisco in 1885. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers was
organized in 1893, and the San Francisco lodge received its charter in 1900.
The work of boilermakers is heavy-gauge metal fabrication and includes welders, burners, drillers, and rollers. Among the
many industries employing boilermakers are manufacturing, railroad, dams, and shipbuilding. Lodge 6's records include the
World War II period when tremendous growth and changes occurred in these industries. There was a boom in shipbuilding on the
Pacific Coast and the boilermakers were among the trades negotiating master contracts for shipbuilding and manufacturing as
members of the Pacific Coast Metal Trades Council and the Bay Area Metal Trades Council. The years of World Was II also saw
African-Americans and women struggling to becoming members of Lodge 6 for the first time.
This collection documents the unique career of a labor leader named Edgar Rainbow, a Native American (Cherokee). Mr. Rainbow
was first elected business manager of Lodge 6 in 1936 and continuously held that position for 36 years until 1972. He also
served concurrently as president of the Lodge from time to time and was a prominent figure in the Bay Area Metal Trades Council.
Ira B. Cross,
A History of the Labor Movement in California (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1935), pp. 32-36.
Arrangement
The material covers a wide scope of activity and has been divided into ten series: Series 1: Minutes; Series 2: Constitutions
and By-laws; Series 3: Administration; Series 4: Conventions and Conferences; Series 5: Jurisdiction; Series 6: Membership
Records; Series 7: Maritime Federation of the Pacific; Series 8: Contract Administration; Series 9: Government Agencies; and
Series 10: Non-Textual Materials.
Correspondence is arranged with other materials by subject. Minutes of committees or affiliated organizations are also kept
by subject. With the exception of the Minute Books, researchers should assume that this collection is made up of fragmented
series.
Scope and Contents
The records of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local lodge 6 include minutes, administrative records, membership
records, contracts and documentation of relations with government agencies, along with materials from conventions and the
negotiations for the master shipbuilding contract of the Pacific Coast Metal Trades Council. Also included are materials from
the Shipbuilding Division of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation which documents the role of the Boilermakers during World War
II and the initial entry of women into the union, and correspondence correspondence with Marinship in Sausalito, 1943, and
Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., 1941-1943 which documents the growth of the West Coast shipbuilding industry. The earliest material
is minutes of regular meetings beginning in 1929; the bulk of the records cover the period 1938 to 1950.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Boiler-makers--Labor unions--California--San Francisco--Archives.
Shipbuilding industry--California.
Shipbuilding industry--Employees--Labor unions--California.
Series I:
Minutes,
1929-1953
Extent:
7 volumes
Scope and Contents
Two notebooks (1929-1932) and four bound minute books (1933-1953) include minutes of Lodge 6 regular meetings, special meetings
and the executive board meetings. Most of the regular and special meeting minutes are handwritten; most of the executive board
minutes are typed. Also included in these books are lists of elected officers, and in some cases, lists of committee members
(1935-1938). A seventh book contains minutes of the welders regular meetings from 1936 to 1939. Minutes of some affiliated
organizations (district councils, etc.) are with other documents generated by these groups.
Box 2, Volume 2
Welders' Meetings
1936-1939
Series 2:
Constitutions and By-laws,
1923-1987
Extent:
2 folders
Scope and Contents
Most of the constitutions are printed booklets. The Lodge 6 folder also includes documents which revised the constitutions.
This series also includes the constitutions of affiliated groups including District 51, the Metal Trades Councils, California
Labor Federation, AFL-CIO and the Int'l. Bros. of Boilermakers.
Box 2, Folder 3
Constitutions and By-Laws, Lodge 6 (booklets)
1923-1987
Box 2, Folder 4
Constitution and By-Laws, Affiliated Groups
1939-1956
Series 3:
Administration,
1934-1956
Extent:
9 folders
Scope and Contents
Incoming and outgoing correspondence is limited to administrative activities of Lodge 6. This series records the participation
of Lodge 6 in District 44 and District 51. Included are the Districts' constitutions and minutes. There is also material on
Lodge 6 elections of officers, and some financial reports. A record book contains telephone messages from 1938 to 1941.
Box 3, Folder 2
District 44 Constitution and By-Laws
1939-1956
Box 3, Folder 3
District 44 Correspondence and Minutes
1945-1951
Box 3, Folder 4
District 51 Constitution and By-Laws
1938-1939
Box 3, Folder 5
District 51 Correspondence and Finances
1935-1938
Box 3, Folder 6
District 51 Minutes
1934-1939
Box 3, Folder 9
Financial Reports
1940-1941, 1946, 1948
Box 3, Volume 10
Ledger of Telephone Messages
1938-1947
Series 4:
Conventions and Conferences,
1944-1949
Extent:
2 folders
Scope and Contents
These are the Boilermakers Consolidated Conventions. There are a few documents from the 17th Convention (1944). Material from
the 18th Convention (1949) is more comprehensive.
Box 4, Folder 1
17th Consolidated Convention
1944
Box 4, Folder 2
18th Consolidated Convention
1949
Series 5:
Jurisdiction,
1920-1964
Extent:
5 folders
Scope and Contents
This series defines jurisdiction between lodges and districts within the Boilermakers Union as well as records of jurisdictional
disputes. The original order of material on jurisdiction disputes between Boilermakers' Lodges 6 and 9 has been maintained
and fills three folders. There is one folder with material on jurisdictional disputes between the Boilermakers and the Machinists.
For additional correspondence on jurisdictional disputes between Lodges 6 and 9, see Box 8, Folder 3--Contract Administration
-MarinShip.
Box 4, Folder 4
Boilermakers Lodge 6 - General
1938-1966
Box 4, Folder 5
Boilermakers District 44 and District 51
1920-1939
Box 4, Folder 6
Boilermakers Lodge 6 and Lodge 9 (Folder 1)
1916-1959
Box 4, Folder 7
Boilermakers Lodge 6 and Lodge 9 (Folder 2)
1938-1964
Box 4, Folder 8
Boilermakers Lodge 6 and Lodge 9 (Folder 3) (For Boilermakers Lodge 6 and Lodge 9, see: CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION - MarinShip)
1938-1947
Box 4, Folder 9
Boilermakers Lodge 6 and Machinists Lodge 68
1942-1945
Series 6:
Membership Records,
1938-1978
Extent:
6 folders, 2 volumes
Scope and Contents
This series holds records of job assignments, membership clearances, apprenticeships and examinations for skilled categories,
organizing materials, and death benefits.
Box 5, Folder 1
Apprenticeship and Skills Examinations
1947-1963
Box 5, Folder 2
Membership Referral Procedures
1938-1966
Box 5, Folder 3
Coast Guard Port Security Clearance
1965-1970
Box 5, Folder 4
Death Benefits
1939, 1954
Box 5, Folder 5
Organizing Materials
1956-1958
Box 5, Folder 6
Safety and Occupational Hazards
1940-1958
Box 5, Volume 7
Ledger Listing Unemployed Members
1938-1946
Box 5, Volume 8
Ledger Listing Job Requests and Assignments
1969-1978
Series 7:
Maritime Federation of the Pacific,
1939-1941
Extent:
1 folder
Scope and Contents
The Boilermakers Union was an affiliate of this Federation. (The records of the Maritime Federation of the Pacific are deposited
at the Labor Archive and Research Center.)
Box 5, Folder 9
Maritime Federation of the Pacific
1939-1941
Series 8:
Contract Administration,
1919-1985
Extent:
23 folders
Scope and Contents
This series contains agreements for major bargaining groups in which Boilermakers' Lodge 6 participated, along with contract
conventions and negotiating documents. Correspondence with companies under contract is included as well.
Master Shipbuilding Contract
Box 6, Folder 1
Agreements (booklets)
1919-1985
Box 6, Folder 2
Memorandum of Agreements
1937-1947
Box 6, Folder 3
Interpretative Committee
1947-1948
Box 7, Folder 1
Manufacturing and Construction Contracts - Agreements (booklets)
1950-1963
Box 7, Folder 2
Manufacturing and Construction Contracts - Negotiations
1946-1963
Box 7, Folder 3
Negotiating Information from Research Dept.
1957-1958
Box 7, Folder 4
Bethlehem Steel Co. - Agreements
1951-1962
Box 7, Folders 5-8
Bethlehem Steel Co. - Correspondence
1936-1964
Box 8, Folder 1
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. - Correspondence
1941-45
Box 8, Folder 2
General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. - Correspondence
1943, 1947
Box 8, Folder 3
MarinShip Corporation - Correspondence
1943
Box 8, Folder 4
Pacific Ship Repair, Inc. - Correspondence
1947-1971
Box 8, Folder 5
United Engineering Co. - Correspondence
1944-1945
Box 8, Folder 6
Western Pipe and Steel Co. - Correspondence
1938-1940
Series 9:
Government Agencies,
1943-1964
Extent:
8 folders
Scope and Contents
This series includes joint projects by the Department of Labor and unions, wage chronologies, cases before the National Labor
Relations Board, and a Presidential executive order.
Box 8, Folder 7
Shipbuilding Stabilization Committee
1946
Box 8, Folder 8
Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Zone Conference
1946
Box 8, Folder 9
Publications - Wage Chronologies
1941-1964, 1957
National Labor Relations Board
Box 8, Folder 10
Dulansky Case Legal Documents
1949-1950
Box 8, Folder 11
Dulansky Case Correspondence
1949-1950
Box 8, Folder 13
Pacific Coast Shipbuilders & Ship Repairs - Craft Jurisdiction
1951
Box 8, Folder 14
Presidential Executive Order 9651
1945
Series 10:
Non-Textual Materials,
undated
Extent:
1 folder
Scope and Contents
Unidentified photographs remain with the collection. Badges and Buttons were transferred to the LARC button collection. One
poster of a welder during WWII was transferred to the LARC poster collection.
Box 8, Folder 15
Photographs (unidentified)
undated
