Formation of Local Building Trades Councils
Even as jurisdictional battles increased, local building trades councils had formed in most major cities by 1897. A "Board of Walking Delegates" was formed in New York City in 1884, and the Chicago Building Trades Council—the first true local building trades organization—formed in 1890. These local building trades councils not only enforced jurisdictional rules by calling sympathy strikes, but also built support for unions when they went on strike.
But local building trades councils were often ineffective. When an employer gave work to one union, a rival union would strike to force the employer to give the work to its members. These jurisdictional strikes often led to the shut-down of entire construction sites, throwing all employees out of work. The winner of a jurisdictional strike more often than not was also the union which had more power—either more members, or members whose work was critical to construction work (such as "operating engineers")—rather than the union whose workers were best suited for the job.
Read more about this topic: National Building Trades Council
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