Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, Local Unions 68, 158, and 438 records, 1898-1918; 1930-1967

Finding Aid

Prepared by James K. Stimpert, July 9, 1980; Revised by Gregory Bodwell, May 27, 1997; Updated February 2015
5 record storage boxes, 5 cubic feet, Storage

This collection is housed in a climate-controlled environment off site and requires at least up to three weeks for retrieval. Please call or email the department with requests for this material prior to planning your visit.

Scope and Content

Through the efforts of Patricia Burnett, Ohio Labor History Project, and Lawrence Kelley, Business Agent and Recording-Secretary of Local 438, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America (BPDPA), these records arrived on March 31, 1980, at the American History Research Center, Kent State University.

The BPDPA was organized at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1887, and incorporated in December, 1894, with its general offices located at Lafayette, Indiana. Local Union 68, at Bellaire, Ohio, was founded in the late nineteenth century and Local Union 158, at Martins Ferry, Ohio, came into existence at the turn of the twentieth century. Local Union 438, at Steubenville, Ohio, was formed in October, 1901, the records from which comprise the bulk of this collection. By 1913 the Brotherhood was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor but resisted all advances and intrusions of the rival Congress of Industrial Organizations until the AFL and the CIO merged in 1955. In 1968, Local Unions 68 and 158 merged into Local Union 438, located in Steubenville. The jurisdiction of this enlarged Local Union includes the counties of Jefferson, Harrison, Belmont, and part of Monroe in Ohio, and parts of Brooke and Hancock counties in West Virginia.

Most of the material in this collection covers the years 1898-1918 and 1930-1967, but concentrates on the late 1930's through the 1940's. There are also three bound volumes of minutes from Local Union 68 that, excluding the period from April, 1901 through April, 1905, run from 1898 through 1918. There is one volume of minutes from Local 158, covering May, 1943 through March, 1958, and several folders of minutes from Local 438, covering the years 1941 through 1948. There are also numerous ledgers and other bound volumes from both Locals 438 and 68. Materials from Locals 68 and 158 are located in the last nine folders of the collection. The remainder of the records are arranged into topical categories that include bylaws, conference proceedings, financial reports, correspondence sent and received, wage scale and work agreements, and other assorted papers bearing on Local Union 438 affairs. Subject files have been kept intact, where appropriate.

This collection, studied in conjunction with the records of BPDPA Local Union 476 in Youngstown, Ohio or those of other labor unions in the Steubenville area, would be of value to the researcher interested in the BPDPA itself, labor affairs in Steubenville, or local history. Several items of correspondence also help to document the rivalry between the AFL and CIO in Steubenville and surrounding areas.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Ritual and Secret Work of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America
2. Constitution, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America (BPDPA): 1938
3. Constitution, BPDPA: 1942
4. Constitution, BPDPA: 1947
5. Constitution, BPDPA: 1955
6. Constitution, BPDPA: 1965
7. Bylaws and Wage Scale Agreement, Local 438: 1938
8. Bylaws and Wage Scale Agreement, Local 438: 1943
9. Bylaws and Wage Scale Agreement, Local 438: 1944
10. Bylaws and Wage Scale Agreement, Local 438: 1945
11. Bylaws and Wage Scale Agreement, Local 438: 1949
12. Bylaws and Wage Scale Agreement, Local 438: 1951
13. Bylaws and Correspondence related to proposed changes: 1953-1954, and undated
14. Bylaws and Correspondence related to proposed changes: 1959-1960
15. Bylaws, Local 438: 1964
16. Wage Scale Agreements, Local 438: 1938, 1946, 1948
17. Wage Scale and Work Agreements, Local 438: 1953-1954
18. Wage Scale and Work Agreements, Local 438: 1955
19. Wage Scale and Work Agreements, Local 438: 1956
20. Wage Scale and Work Agreements, Local 438: 1958
21. Wage Scale and Work Agreements, Local 438: 1960
22. Wage Scale and Work Agreements, Local 438: 1962-1965
23. Wage Scale and Work Agreements, Local 438: 1966-1968
24. Bylaws, Local 158: 1947
25. Bylaws, Local 158: 1956
26. Bylaws, Local 249 (Dayton, Ohio): 1953
27. Bylaws, Local 165 (East Liverpool, Ohio): 1953
28. Bylaws, Local 93 (Marietta, Ohio): 1956
29. Union law, proposed changes: 1937-1938, 1940, 1945, 1957, and undated
30. Correspondence sent, general: March, 1936 - October, 1939
31. Correspondence sent, general: January-August, 1940; July, 1942 - January, 1944; July, 1950; September, 1963; and undated
32. Correspondence sent, charges and fines: September, 1936 - December, 1939
33. Correspondence sent, charges and fines: February, 1940; October, 1943 - March, 1944; March-August, 1957; and undated
34. Correspondence sent, unfair labor practices charges: March, 1937 - August, 1940
35. Correspondence received, general: February - March, 1930; October, 1933 - December, 1936
36. Correspondence received, general: January-December, 1937
37. Correspondence received, general: January-December, 1938
38. Correspondence received, general: January, 1939 - July, 1940
39. Correspondence received, general: April, 1943 - November, 1945
40. Correspondence received, general: March, 1947 - May, 1948; November, 1952; August, 1954; July, 1956
41. Correspondence received, general: April-July, 1957; and undated
42. Correspondence received, excuses from meetings: January, 1937; November, 1942 - April, 1945; and undated
43. Correspondence received, charges and fines: May, 1937 - February, 1940; March, 1944
44. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - December, 1941
45. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - December, 1942
46. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - December, 1943
47. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - November, 1944
48. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - December, 1945
49. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - December, 1946
50. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - December, 1947
51. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 438: January - October, 1948
52. Minutes of Joint Trade Board Meetings: April 3, May 1, August 7, September 18, 1961
53. Roll-calls: November, 1949 - July, 1950

Box 2
Folder -- Contents

1. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1936-1937
2. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1938-1941
3. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1942-1943
4. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1944-1945
5. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1946-1948
6. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1949-1950
7. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1951-1952
8. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1953-1954
9. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: 1955-1956
10. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 438: [1950?]

Box 3
Folder -- Contents

1. Day Book Ledger, Local 438: June, 1934 - December, 1935
2. Day Book Ledger, Local 438: September, 1942 - September, 1945
3. Day Book Ledger, Local 438: May, 1947 - January, 1950
4. Day Book Ledger, Local 438: February, 1950 - November, 1951
5. Day Book Ledger, Local 438: February, 1956 - April, 1958
6. Day Book Ledger, Local 438: April, 1958 - September, 1960
7. Day Book Ledger, Local 438: October, 1960 - June, 1963

Box 4
Folder -- Contents

1. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1925-1926; 1938
2. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1946-1947
3. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1948-1949
4. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1949-1951
5. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1951-1952
6. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1952-1953
7. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1954-1955
8. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1955-1956; 1958
9. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1959-1960
10. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1961-1962
11. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1963-1965
12. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1965-1967
13. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1967-1968
14. Treasurer's Cash Books, Local 438: 1969-1970
15. Treasurer's Cash Books and miscellaneous financial matters, Local 438: 1948-1960; 1957-1960
16. Treasurer's Cash Books and miscellaneous financial matters, Local 438: 1960-1965
17. Financial reports, quarterly: 1957 - 1959
18. Financial reports, quarterly: 1960 - 1963
19. Financial reports, monthly: October, 1922; March, 1932; June - December, 1934; January - December, 1935
20. Financial reports, monthly: January - March, May, 1936; January - December, 1942
21. Financial reports, monthly: January - December, 1943; January - April, August - December, 1944
22. Financial reports, monthly: January - August, October - December, 1945; January - December, 1946
23. Financial reports, monthly: January - December, 1947; January - July, September, October, December, 1948
24. Financial reports, monthly: January - June, August, 1949; July - December, 1950
25. Financial reports, monthly: January - December, 1951; January - December, 1952
26. Financial reports, monthly: January - November, 1953; January, March - May, 1954
27. Miscellaneous financial materials: 1942-1967; and undated
28. Trustees reports: March, 1949 - June, 1954; and undated

Box 5
Folder -- Contents

1. Convention and Conference materials: 1937-1939; 1944-1945
2. Convention and Conference materials: 1954; 1956-1957; and undated. NOTE: Includes General Convention Proceedings fo the BPDPA, Seattle, Washington: September, 1954
3. Ohio State Conference of Painters, Proceedings: September, 1948; August, 1951; April, 1952
4. Ohio State Conference of Painters, Proceedings: August, 1952; August, 1953; April, 1954
5. Ohio State Conference of Painters, Proceedings: August, 1954; August, 1955; August, 1956
6. Ohio State Conference of Painters, Proceedings: May, 1957; August, 1957; March, 1958
7. Political matters, Committee on Political Education: 1957; and undated
8. Political matters, Ohio State Federation of Labor, Legislative Bulletins: 1943-1945, 1947, 1950, 1957
9. Political matters, miscellaneous: 1935, 1937-1939, 1944-1947, 1961
10. U.S. Department of Labor, National Painting, Decorating and Paperhanging Apprenticeship Standards (Washington, D.C.: 1954)
11. Miscellaneous items
12. Miscellaneous items
13. Xerox copy of newspaper clippings: May 3, 1957; and undated
14. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 68: April, 1898 - March, 1901
15. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 68: May, 1905 - December, 1909
16. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 68: January, 1910 - March, 1918
17. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 68: 1922-1929
18. Membership and Dues Ledger, Local 68: 1956
19. Day Book Ledger, Local 68: 1901-1904
20. Membership and Mailing List, Local 68: [1903?]
21. Membership Roll Call, Local 68: 1904-1926
22. Minutes, BPDPA, Local 158: May, 1943 - March, 1958