Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, Local Union 200 records, 1903-1966

Finding Aid

Prepared by Jane Richard L. Wilson June 18, 1979; Prepared for the Web by Mikhail Slobodinskii, June 23, 1999
2 record storage boxes, 2 cubic feet, 11th floor

Scope and Content

Through the efforts of Roger Meade, Director of the Ohio Labor History Project, the Kent State University Archives obtained the records for the Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America, Local 200. On May 22, 1979, the materials were delivered to the Archives.

Local 200 is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL/CIO). The members of Local 200, from the very origins of the union, have participated in the affairs of labor in general. Over the years, Local 200 has been represented and voiced opinions at conferences of the Ohio Federation of Labor and the United Labor Congress. It has also cooperated in labor activities of other local unions. Local 200 has also contributed to other areas such as various charity efforts and the national war drive during World War II. Prior to World War II, Local 200 considered merging with Local 444, another meat cutters union. In fact there is a book of minutes from Local 444 spanning a time from March, 1934 to November, 1938, which discusses the proposed merger. This volume is placed at the beginning of box one.

Overall the materials in this collection help to document nearly sixty years of Local 200 through its minutes, journals, correspondence, agreements and standards. Records of minutes comprise most of the material and span a period of time form 1908 through 1959. There are neither minutes for the years prior to 1908, nor for the period from November, 1912 to the early summer of 193. In addition, no minutes are included for the years after 1959. There are, however, two journals of the union, which cover two separate periods, from January of 1903 to August of 1909, and from January, 1922 to January, 1930. Other items of interest include agreement articles concluded after the Second World War. The most recent material relates to working agreements of the early 1950's and early 1960's. Specific agreements are also included involving the Kroger Company. The most current of the agreements is dated January, 1966.

In terms of general arrangement, journals precede the minutes records of Local 200. Both have been arranged chronologically. Researchers should also note two folders in box two containing loose minutes and journal entries. All other types of materials have been arranged topically or by form of material. Agreements that involve the Kroger Company, for instance, have been place together in one folder.

The material in this collection offers an insight into the history of Local 200 and, tangentially, provides a look into the cares and concerns of area citizens and of the country as a whole. Not only is the researcher provided a glimpse into the politics, concerns, and amusements of organized labor, but also into the interactions of unions and businesses at the local level.

The Union has agreed to dedicate both literary and property rights to Special Collections and Archives.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America (AMC & BW of NA), Local 444, minutes: March, 1934 - November, 1938.
2. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, journal: January, 1903 - August, 1909.
3. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, journal: January, 1922 - January, 1930.
4. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, minutes: October, 1908 - October, 1912.
5. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, minutes: July, 1933 - December, 1942.
6. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, minutes: January, 1943 - September, 1947.
7. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, minutes: October, 1947 - January, 1953.

Box 2
Folder -- Contents

1. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, minutes: January, 1953 - December, 1959.
2. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, journal additions: January, 1903 - August, 1909; January, 1922 - January, 1930, and undated.
3. AMC & BW of NA, Local 200, minutes additions: January, 1953 - December, 1959.
4. Correspondence: April, 1959.
5. Agreement articles: 1949.
6. Agreement memoranda: 1946, 1947.
7. Working agreements: 1953, 1961.
8. Working agreement supplements: 1950, 1961.
9. Kroger agreements: 1951, 1963, 1966.
10. Apprenticeship standards: 1946.
11. Membership applications: 1910, 1925, 1926, 1928