Precursor Organizations
In the late 19th century, the construction industry was in transition, and this transition led to large, frequent jurisdictional conflicts between labor unions. Proliferation in new building techniques and materials led to an increase in specialized construction professions, which in turn led to the establishment of numerous small specialty unions and fights over which union's members would perform the work. The nature of the construction industry at the time also concentrated power in the hands of local rather than regional or international unions.
Jurisdictional disputes between unions became more frequent and intractable over time, occupying much of the attention of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Nearly 95 percent of all strikes from 1897 to 1914 were jurisdictional strikes. Increasingly, the debate involved a growing battle over craft versus industrial unionism.
Even as jurisdictional battles increased, local building trades councils had formed in most major cities by 1897. But local building trades councils were often ineffective.
In 1897, a group of building trades unions from the Midwest formed the National Building Trades Council (NBTC) to adjudicate jurisdictional battles and encourage the amalgamation of construction and building unions. But the NBTC structure also proved unworkable. Many national and international unions refused to join, few unions abided by its jurisdictional decisions, and membership on the local level was spotty. The (AFL) accused the group of dual unionism in 1899 and subsequently established its own building trades councils.
The National Building Trades Council lost whatever effectiveness it had in 1903 after the formation of the Structural Building Trades Alliance. It survived until 1921, then disbanded. http://www.derrickrosemvp.com/
Read more about this topic: Structural Building Trades Alliance