Structural Building Trades Alliance - Formation of The SBTA

Formation of The SBTA

Formation of the Structural Building Trades Alliance was prompted by a series of strikes and the beginning of the open shop movement in 1903. A wave of jurisdictional strikes in 1903 all but shut down construction in most major cities in the United States. Building contractor associations were also forming in several large cities, forcing unions to accept contracts which prohibited sympathy strikes, banned restrictions on the kind of work an employee might perform, and permitted the unlimited introduction of new machinery, materials and working methods. Employers were also pushing hard for an end to the closed shop, which threatened unions' membership gains.

In response, certain labor leaders advocated the formation of a new organization that avoided the faults of the NBTC. Frank Duffy, secretary-general of the Carpenters union, argued for the creation of a new organization which would be independent of but aligned with the AFL, and which would balance the power of local unions with that of national and international parent bodies. Duffy may also have seen the new organization as a way of forcing the AFL to stop chartering specialty construction unions.

The SBTA was formed in Chicago during a conference of building trades unions held from October 7 to October 10, 1903. The new organization firmly declared its allegiance to the AFL (but did not seek to join the federation), and refused to admit unions which did not belong to the federation. The SBTA admitted only large, amalgamated unions as members in an attempt to lessen jurisdictional struggles, and permitted only representatives of national and international unions to have a voice in organization affairs. George P. Gubbins, president of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, was elected the SBTA's first president. William J. Spencer, head of organizing for the Plumbers, was elected secretary-treasurer. Seven vice presidents representing the Carpenters, Electrical Workers, Iron Workers, Laborers, Operating Engineers, Painters and Plasterers were also elected. Election for an eighth vice-presidential slot would be held later. Jurisdictional disputes were to be resolved by a majority vote of the SBTA's Board of Governors (the two officers and eight vice-presidents), with voting based on a one union-one vote scheme.