United Steelworkers of America, Local Union 1617 records, 1945-1977

Finding Aid

Prepared by Richard D. Chicko April 7, 1981; Prepared for the Web by Justin B. Keiser July 21, 2000; Revised by Joy Winstead, May 7, 2003
1 document case, .33 cubic foot, 11th floor
Old archives number: B. 16. 6. 2.

Through the efforts of Roger Meade, the Ohio Labor History project, and Patrick Prologo, President, Local 1617, these records arrived on October 19, 1979, at the Special Collections and Archives, Kent State University. Agreements for the years 1946 and 1956 arrived subsequently from the Ohio Historical Society and were added to the collection.

The United Steelworkers of America is an industrial union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Local 1617 has operated under collective bargaining agreements with the General Fireproofing Company, Youngstown, Ohio, from 1947 through 1980.

The materials in this collection consist of correspondence, publications, photographs, and other items relating to Local 1617. The primary focus of the collection concerns the role of Local 1617 in collective bargaining agreements. A significant part of it also contains grievance reports and actions taken by the company in response. Other areas covered in this collection include general organizational and instructional guidelines, and labor grade efficiency tables.

This collection will prove useful to researchers interested in the role of a local union in the collective bargaining process. The agreements, and their supplemental memorandum and extensions, the grade efficiency tables, job descriptions, grievance reports and related correspondence provide a view of the interactions between local union and company. If used in conjunction with the records of the Greater Youngstown (AFL-CIO); the records of United Steelworkers of America, Local 2243 and other pertinent collections available in Special Collections and Archives, those interested in the industrial history of the Mahoning Valley should also find this collection of value.

Local 1617 has donated literary and property rights to Special Collections and Archives.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Bylaws, United Steelworkers of America, Local 1617: 1955, 1961, 1973
2. Correspondence: September, 1946-November, 1951
3. Minutes of the Third Step Grievance Committee: September, 1945-February, 1948
4. Grievance Reports: 1945-1948
5. Agreements between the General Fireproofing Company and the United Steelworkers of America, Local 1617: 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1965
6. Supplemental Agreements Relating to the Agreements of 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1955
7. Agreements, Memorandums and Extensions of Agreements: 1947-1951
8. Collective Bargaining Agreement between the General Fireproofing Business Equipment Company and the United Steelworkers of America, Local 1617: 1972, 1976
9. Labor Grade Efficiency Table and Job descriptions for the General Fireproofing Company; 1942 and [no date]
10. United Steelworkers of America, Instruction Books, Records, and Reports for Individual Lodges: 1942
11. United Steelworkers of America, Local Union Elections Manuals: 1961, 1964, 1967
12. Arbitration Newsletter: February 12, 1964
13. 1617, local newsletter: July, 1977
14. Miscellaneous items
15. Photograph: United Steelworkers of America, 8th Constitutional Convention, September, 1965, Los Angeles, California
16. Photograph, unidentified group (shelved in 11th floor map case) (Missing as of May 7, 2003)