St. Louis Typographical Union No. 8, Records, 1856-1974 (C3661)

16.4 linear feet and 40 oversize volumes

RESTRICTED

INTRODUCTION

The St. Louis Typographical Union No. 8 Records consists of minutes, financial records, correspondence and printed material of the union. The records also include The Typographical Journal and The Bulletin of the International Typographical Union and material from the St. Louis Allied Printing Trades Council.

DONOR INFORMATION

The St. Louis Typographical Union Records were donated to the University of Missouri on 13 February 1979 by the union (Accession No. 4210).

RESTRICTIONS

Consult the reference staff about the restrictions on this collection.

ORGANIZATIONAL SKETCH

The St. Louis Typographical Union No. 8 was organized in 1852 and was one of the founding unions of the National Typographical Union (later the International Typographical Union). The union went out of existence shortly after it was organized, but was reorganized in 1856. The union's main efforts were to organize the typographers of the St. Louis area, regulate working hours and wages, and establish standards of performance that had to be met by its members. As time went on the union developed a number of benevolent functions. It established a pension fund and unemployment and sick relief, and helped the families of deceased members as well. The union also supported other labor groups' efforts to unionize. While the union itself did not participate in politics, it encouraged its members to support pro-labor candidates and issues.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The St. Louis Typographical Union No. 8 records arranged into the following series:

More complete descriptions of the series are found in the folder list

FOLDER LIST

Minutes, 1856-1956.

Minutes of monthly meetings. At the meetings current issues and problems were discussed. Among the subjects often brought up were efforts to unionize printing shops and have businesses request the union label on their printing, priority (seniority), overtime, apprentices, working conditions, the scale of wages, and working hours. The union paid benefits to its members in the form of sick relief, unemployment, death benefits, and pensions. Lists of those receiving the benefits were included in the minutes. The union was affiliated with other labor groups such as the Allied Printing Trades Council and the Central Trades and Labor Union. Minutes of these groups are included in the union meeting minutes.

f. 1-3Minutes, July 1856-December 1887
f. 4-43Minutes, December 1887-August 1906. This material was originally in four volumes. For preservation purposes the material that was pasted in the volumes has been removed and placed into folders. In order to use this material it is necessary to have both the volume and the folder.
f. 4-5v. l, December 1887-September 1895
f. 6-19v. 2, October 1895-December 1899
f. 20-34v. 3, January 1900-December 1903
f. 35-43v. 4, January 1904, August 1906

There are no minutes for September 1906-December 1912.

f. 44-133Minutes, 1913-1919. One of the main concerns of this period was the improvement of working conditions in the print shops. The Typographical Union at this time was also against prohibition. Halting the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, would put the printers who printed the bottle labels out of work.
f. 134-263Minutes, 1920-1929. In 1921 the Typographical Union started fighting for a 44-hour work week. The union went out on strike, which lasted until the 44-hour week was finally accepted in 1924. The Missouri Workmen's Compensation Law was also introduced and adopted in the 1920s. while the union was not politically active as a unit, it did encourage its members to support labor legislation and labor-oriented political candidates.
f. 264-389Minutes, 1930-1939. The number of members on the union relief list grew from an average of 5 or 6 to over 200 at the depth of the Depression. The union employed many of its out-of-work members to talk to businessmen and encourage them to have the union label put on all their printing. The Depression also caused a rise in the number of disagreements pertaining to overtime and priority among the employed members. With the coming of the Roosevelt administration the union also had to deal with the National Labor Relations Board. Disagreements with the Con P. Curran Printing Company, the Christian Board of Publication, and the Pearlstone Printing Company were brought before the NLRB.
f. 390-534Minutes, 1940-1949. During World War II the union "did its share" by purchasing large amounts of war bonds. The Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 caused a great deal of concern and fear that unionism would be destroyed. The union encouraged its members to support pro-labor political candidates and efforts to repeal the act.
f. 535-635Minutes, 1950-1956. The Taft-Hartley Act and the Right to Work movement were concerns of the union during the 1950s.

Executive Committee.

The executive committee was responsible for processing a prospective member's union application and recommending to the union, at the monthly meeting, whether the applicant should be accepted or rejected.

f. 636Minutes, 1901-1903

Financial Records, 1928-1955

f. 637-687Monthly financial records, 1928-1954, showing income and expenses, including rent, salaries and benefits. See also v. 5-7.
f. 688-693Trustees' monthly reports, 1949-1954.
f. 694-700Miscellaneous records, 1944-1955, including money sent to the I.T.U., salaries, rents, donations and taxes.

St. Louis Allied Printing Trades Council

f. 701-790Reports, 1929-1956. The St. Louis Allied Printing Trades Council's main objective was to have its label on all printing done in the St. Louis area. The reports include minutes of the Council's meetings, the secretary's reports and the field representative's reports.

The Typographical Journal (v. 79-165), 1931-1974

f. 791-877The Journal was the official publication of the International Typographical Union. The Journal informed local unions about recent I.T.U. decisions, changes in the I.T.U. laws, and what other locals were doing, as well as issues that were of major concern to the I.T.U. and the labor movement as a whole.

Volumes 79-81, 83, 85, 93, 97, 99, 124-126, 129, 131, 158, 160-165 have issues missing. Volume 127 is completely missing.

The Bulletin (v. 1-46), 1912-1958

f. 878-916The Bulletin was issued monthly to keep the local unions informed about wage scales throughout the United States. The Bulletin was later expanded to include statistics covering the cost of living, employment, wages and hours, and food prices, and statements about issues that were important to labor.

V. 3, 9, 10, 13-20 have issues missing. V. 7, 8, 11, 12, 45 are completely missing.

Miscellaneous

f. 917Constitution and bylaws, 1948.
f. 918Expelled for non-payment of dues, 1873-1920.
f. 919Junior Typographical Union of St. Louis, 1925-1933. Records of receipts and disbursements of the apprentice organization of the union.

Check Registers, 1923-1956; Relief Loans Records, 1930-1931; Local Pension Fund Records, 1935-1948

f. 920-925The relief loans records are in the back of the check register in f. 921. The pension fund records are in the back of the check registers in f. 922-925 and v. 40.

Volumes

v. 1-4Minutes, 1887-1906. See also f. 4-45.
v. 5-7Monthly financial reports, 1928-1958. See also f. 637-687.
v. 8-39Dues records, 1894-1920.
v. 40Check register, 1945-1948. See also f. 922-925

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.