United Association

Journeymen in the pipe trades in the 1880s worked in three basic crafts: plumbers, steamfitters and gasfitters.

The first truly successful national body, the United Association of Journeymen Plumbers, Gas Fitters, Steam Fitters, and Steam Fitters' Helpers of the United States and Canada, was officially founded on October 11, 1889.

Gradually, former members of rival unions joined the United Association. The depression of 1893–1897 slowed the development of a stronger organization. Membership in the United Association grew to 6,700 in 1893, but fell to 4,400 by 1897. Yet, by that year 151 local unions were listed on its rolls.

Starting in 1898, the construction industry entered a period of expansion and prosperity that lasted until 1914. From 1898 to 1906 the United Association quadrupled its membership.

During its first years, the United Association was essentially a federation of local unions, rather than a truly national union of the pipe trades. The major breakthrough toward a unified national organization came at the 1902 national convention in Omaha, when delegates approved a Nationalization Committee proposal establishing a comprehensive system of sick, death and strike benefits.

As such reforms to strengthen the national organization were being made in the early part of the century, however, some locals broke ranks to form a rival union. In August 1906, members of the secessionist union realized the futility of further rivalry and agreed to affiliate with the United Association.

From 1898 to 1914, the United Association went through several phases of a struggle with the International Association of Steam and Hot Water Fitters and Helpers, a prolonged and sometimes bitter dispute both over jurisdiction over a craft (steamfitting) and work assignments (plumbers vs. steamfitters). The conflict affected other building trades when walkouts by the rival steamfitting organizations, as a result of their jurisdictional dispute, led to work stoppages by other crafts.

The strength of the United Association, and favorable rulings by the American Federation of Labor, including the revocation of the International Association's charter in 1912, ended this jurisdictional battle, but other jurisdictional issues would continue to challenge the union.

New disputes arose over the construction of chemical plants and other manufacturing and service establishments that required extensive piping systems. Large volumes of newer types of pipefitting installation in the shift from World War I wartime industries to peacetime construction caused considerable difficulties. Jurisdictional problems also developed with other national unions, but the United Association retained jurisdiction over important, growing areas of work like construction of industrial plants, public utilities, petroleum facilities and residential buildings.

In the first half of the century, the United Association moved to formalize apprenticeship training programs, including making a five-year apprenticeship mandatory in 1921, and in 1938 holding that all apprentices be members of the United Association and attend related training classes. Its National Plumbing Apprenticeship Plan of 1936 was the first set of standards governing apprenticeship to win approval of the federal government.

In the Depression, United Association membership fell from its 1929 peak of 60,000 to 26,000 by 1933.

After several constitutional changes through the years, the 1946 convention changed the name of the organization to its present name: The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada.

Throughout World War II and after, the United Association made considerable gains in membership and prestige. Between 1940 and 1954 membership surged from 60,000 to 240,000 with veterans entering the skilled craftsmen field.

United Association member George Meany was elected in 1952 to be president of the newly formed AFL-CIO and was to provide a shaping force in the American labor movement until his death in 1980.

The New Frontier of President John F. Kennedy and Great Society of President Lyndon Johnson were movements supported by the United Association. With expanded training programs beginning in 1956, the UA was able to meet the demands of accelerated construction activity in the 1960s. With the increased work the slogan, "There is no substitute for UA skilled craftsmen" became widespread throughout the industry. By 1971 the UA was 320,000 strong.

According to UA's reports to the Department of Labor since 2000, the union has consistently had about 93 percent members in "building trades", the remaining 7 percent in "metal trades". Out of the total membership, most are considered "journeymen", with about 12 percent considered "apprentices". As of January 1, 2017, fourth- and fifth-year apprentices are eligible to vote in the union.[2]

"The objects of this Association are to protect its members from unjust and injurious competition, and secure through unity of action among all workers of the industry throughout the United States and Canada, claiming, as we do, that labor is capital, and is the only capital that possesses power to reproduce itself or in other words, to create capital. Labor is the interest underlying all other interests; therefore, it is entitled to and should receive from society and government protection and encouragement."[3]

LU 1: New York, New York

LU 3: Denver, Colorado

LU 4: Worcester, Massachusetts

LU 5: Washington, DC

LU 6: Rochester, Minnesota

LU 7: Albany, New York

LU 8: Kansas City, Missouri

LU 9: Central New Jersey

LU 10: Richmond, Virginia

LU 11: Duluth, Minnesota

LU 12: Boston, Massachusetts

LU 13: Rochester, New York

LU 15: Minneapolis, Minnesota

LU 16: Omaha, Nebraska

LU 17: Memphis, Tennessee

LU 21: Peekskill, New York

LU 22: Buffalo, New York

LU 23: Rockford, Illinois

LU 24: Lodi, New Jersey

LU 25: Rock Island, Illinois

LU 26: Western Washington

LU 27: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

LU 30: Billings, Montana

LU 32: Seattle, Washington

LU 33: Des Moines, Iowa

LU 34: St. Paul, Minnesota

LU 38: San Francisco, California

LU 41: Butte, Montana

LU 42: Norwalk, Ohio

LU 43: Chattanooga, Tennessee

LU 44: Spokane, Washington

LU 45: St. Joseph, Missouri

LU 46: Toronto, Ontario

LU 50: Toledo, Ohio

LU 51: Providence, Rhode Island

LU 52: Montgomery, Alabama

LU 55: Cleveland, Ohio

LU 56: Halifax, Nova Scotia

LU 58: Colorado Springs, Colorado

LU 60: New Orleans, Louisiana

LU 62: Monterey-Santa Cruz, California

LU 63: Peoria, Illinois

LU 67: Hamilton, Ontario

LU 68: Houston, Texas

LU 71: Ottawa/Hull, Ontario

LU 72: Atlanta, Georgia

LU 74: Wilmington, Delaware

LU 75: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

LU 78: Los Angeles, California

LU 81: Syracuse, New York

LU 83: Wheeling, West Virginia

LU 85: Saginaw, Michigan

LU 91: Birmingham, Alabama

LU 94: Canton, Ohio

LU 98: Detroit, Michigan

LU 99: Bloomington, Illinois

LU 100: Dallas, Texas

LU 101: Belleville, Illinois

LU 102: Knoxville, Tennessee

LU 104: Springfield, Massachusetts

LU 110: Norfolk, Virginia

LU 111: Escanaba, Michigan

LU 112: Binghamton, New York

LU 114: Santa Barbara, California

LU 118: Racine, Wisconsin

LU 119: Mobile, Alabama

LU 120: Cleveland, Ohio

LU 123: Tampa, Florida

LU 125: Cedar Rapids, Iowa

LU 128: Schenectady, New York

LU 130: Chicago, Illinois

LU 131: Concord-Manchester, New Hampshire

LU 136: Evansville, Indiana

LU 137: Springfield, Illinois

LU 140: Salt Lake City, Utah

LU 141: Shreveport, Louisiana

LU 142: San Antonio, Texas

LU 144: Montreal, Quebec

LU 145: Grand Junction, Colorado

LU 146: Fort Worth, Texas

LU 149: Champaign, Illinois

LU 150: Augusta, Georgia

LU 152: Morgantown, West Virginia

LU 155: State of Arkansas

LU 157: Terre Haute, Indiana

LU 159: Martinez, California

LU 160: Carbondale, Illinois

LU 162: Dayton, Ohio

LU 166: Fort Wayne, Indiana

LU 168: Marietta, Ohio

LU 170: Vancouver, British Columbia

LU 172: South Bend, Indiana

LU 174: West Michigan

LU 177: Brunswick, Georgia

LU 178: Springfield, Missouri

LU 179: Regina, Saskatchewan

LU 183: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

LU 184: Paducah, Kentucky

LU 186: Monaca, Pennsylvania

LU 188: Savannah, Georgia

LU 189: Columbus, Ohio

LU 190: Ann Arbor, Michigan

LU 192: Cheyenne, Wyoming

LU 198: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

LU 200: Nassau-Suffolk, New York

LU 208: Denver, Colorado

LU 210: Hobart, Indiana

LU 211: Houston, Texas

LU 213: St. John, New Brunswick

LU 219: Akron, Ohio

LU 228: Marysville, California

LU 230: San Diego, California

LU 234: Jacksonville, Florida

LU 244: Antagonish, Nova Scotia

LU 246: Fresno, California

LU 247: Alexandria, Louisiana

LU 248: Ashland, Kentucky

LU 250: Los Angeles, California

LU 254: Winnipeg, Manitoba

LU 259: Hicksville, New York

LU 262: Juneau, Alaska

LU 268: St. Louis, Missouri

LU 272: Portsmouth, Virginia

LU 274: Jersey City, New Jersey

LU 281: Chicago, Illinois

LU 282: Halifax, Nova Scotia

LU 286: Austin, Texas

LU 290: Portland, Oregon

LU 292: Montreal, Quebec

LU 295: Daytona Beach, Florida

LU 296: Boise, Idaho

LU 300: North & South Dakota

LU 310: White Horse, Yukon Territory

LU 314: Kansas City, Missouri

LU 322: Southern New Jersey

LU 324: Victoria, British Columbia

LU 325: Fredericton, New Brunswick

LU 333: Lansing, Michigan

LU 340: Minneapolis, Minnesota

LU 342: Oakland, California

LU 343: Vallejo-Napa, California

LU 344: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

LU 345: Los Angeles, California

LU 350: Reno, Nevada

LU 353: Peoria, Illinois

LU 354: Latrobe, Pennsylvania

LU 355: Burlingame, California

LU 357: Kalamazoo, Michigan

LU 360: East St. Louis, Illinois

LU 364: Colton, California

LU 367: Anchorage, Alaska

LU 370: Flint, Michigan

LU 372: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

LU 373: Rockland County, New York

LU 375: Fairbanks, Alaska

LU 376: Norfolk, Virginia

LU 392: Cincinnati, Ohio

LU 393: San Jose, California

LU 396: Boardman, Ohio

LU 398: Pomona, California

LU 400: Appleton, Wisconsin

LU 401: Eastern-Central Ontario

LU 403: San Luis Obispo, California

LU 404: Northwest, Texas

LU 412: Albuquerque, New Mexico

LU 417: Minneapolis, Minnesota

LU 420: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

LU 421: Charleston, South Carolina

LU 430: Tulsa, Oklahoma

LU 434: Central & Western Wisconsin

LU 436: Pascagoula, Mississippi

LU 439: East St. Louis, Illinois

LU 440: Indianapolis, Indiana

LU 441: Wichita, Kansas

LU 442: Stockton, California

LU 447: Sacramento, California

LU 449: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

LU 452: Lexington, Kentucky

LU 455: St. Paul, Minnesota

LU 459: Missoula, Montana

LU 460: Bakersfield, California

LU 464: Omaha, Nebraska

LU 467: San Mateo, California

LU 469: Phoenix, Arizona

LU 473: Jessup, Georgia

LU 475: Newark, New Jersey

LU 477: Portsmouth, Virginia

LU 483: San Francisco, California

LU 484: Ventura, California

LU 486: Baltimore, Maryland

LU 488: Edmonton, Alberta

LU 489: Cumberland, Maryland

LU 495: Cambridge, Ohio

LU 496: Calgary, Alberta

LU 500: Chicoutimi, Quebec

LU 502: Louisville, Kentucky

LU 516: Vancouver, British Columbia

LU 519: Miami, Florida

LU 520: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

LU 521: Huntington, West Virginia

LU 524: Scranton, Pennsylvania

LU 525: Las Vegas, Nevada

LU 527: Southwestern Ontario

LU 529: Waco, Texas

LU 533: Kansas City, Missouri

LU 537: Boston, Massachusetts

LU 538: Johnson City, Tennessee

LU 539: Minneapolis, Minnesota

LU 542: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

LU 548: Montgomery, Alabama

LU 550: Boston, Massachusetts

LU 551: Herrin, Illinois

LU 553: Alton, Illinois

LU 562: St. Louis, Missouri

LU 565: Parkersburg, West Virginia

LU 568: Gulfport, Mississippi

LU 572: Nashville, Tennessee

LU 577: Portsmouth, Ohio

LU 582: Santa Ana, California

LU 589: Hibbing, Minnesota

LU 597: Chicago, Illinois

LU 598: Pasco, Washington

LU 600: Reading, Pennsylvania

LU 601: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

LU 602: Washington, DC

LU 608: Montreal, Quebec

LU 614: Memphis, Tennessee

LU 619: Vicksburg, Mississippi

LU 625: Charleston, West Virginia

LU 628: Thunder Bay, Ontario

LU 630: West Palm Beach, Florida

LU 633: Owensboro, Kentucky

LU 636: Detroit, Michigan

LU 638: New York, New York

LU 640: Phoenix, Arizona

LU 648: Pocatello, Idaho

LU 653: Centralia, Illinois

LU 663: Sarina, Ontario

LU 669: Columbia, Maryland

LU 671: Monroe, Michigan

LU 675: Honolulu, Hawaii

LU 682: Sydney, Nova Scotia

LU: 690: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

LU 692: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

LU 693: Barre, Vermont

LU 696: Newark, New Jersey

LU 699: Seattle, Washington

LU 702: Nashville, Tennessee

LU 704: Detroit, Michigan

LU 709: Los Angeles, California

LU 711: State of Ohio

LU 716: State of Maine

LU 718: Oak Ridge, Tennessee

LU 719: Broward County, Florida

LU 721: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

LU 725: Miami, Florida

LU 740: St. John’s, Newfoundland

LU 760: Sheffield, Alabama

LU 761: Burbank, California

LU 773: Glens Falls, New York

LU 776: Lima, Ohio

LU 777: State of Connecticut

LU 781: Kansas City, Missouri

LU 787: Toronto, Ontario

LU 788: Portsmouth, New Hampshire

LU 798: Tulsa, Oklahoma

LU 800: Sudbury, Ontario

LU 803: Orlando, Florida

LU 811: Honolulu, Hawaii

LU 821: State of Florida

LU 827: Cornwall, Ontario

LU 851: Hopewell, Virginia

LU 853: Toronto, Ontario

LU 854: Henderson, Tennessee

LU 855: Jersey City, New Jersey

LU 900: Washington, DC

Wikimedia Commons has media related to United Association.

• Official website