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Finding Aid to the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local Lodge 6 (San Francisco, Calif.) Records
larc.ms.0110
larc.ms.0110
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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)
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.
Collection is open for research.
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.
[Identification of item], International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Local Lodge 6 Records, larc.ms.0110, Labor Archives and
Research Center, San Francisco State University.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.