Coopers' International Union of North America

The Coopers' International Union of North America (CIUNA) was a labor union representing coopers in the United States and Canada.

The origins of the union lay in the Coopers of North America union, founded in 1870. It was a founding affiliate of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in 1880, and in 1888 was chartered by the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Later in the year, it ceased to operate as a national union, and surrendered its charter. However, about ten of its local unions survived, and on November 10, 1890, they formed the CIUNA at a meeting in Titusville, Pennsylvania.[1]

The new union was chartered by the AFL on October 3, 1891.[2] It had a long-standing dispute with the United Brewery Workmen, which led to many coopers instead being represented by that union. Prohibition in the United States further reduced the membership of the union, and by 1925, it had only 1,215 members.[1] By 1953, membership had recovered to 5,000.[3]

The union was affiliated to the new AFL–CIO from 1955. By 1980, membership had fallen to a new low, of 1,056.[4] On September 1, 1992, the union merged into the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union.[2]