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The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America began in 1881, when 36 carpenters from 11 cities formed a national union with a constitution, a structure and two thousand members. From humble beginnings arose a powerful political and economic force, setting the standards for wages, benefits, conditions and quality on every project in the U.S. Much has changed in a century, but growth still rests on reaching out and opening doors to all working carpenters.

One of the great labor leaders of the 19th century, Peter J. McGuire was one of the founding fathers of the Brotherhood, and was General Secretary for our first 21 years. He worked tirelessly to keep the union alive in the early years, and his efforts led to the 8-hour workday, founding of the AF of L, wages that more than doubled, and union membership at more than 167,000 by 1903. He also created a lasting memorial to workers -- the Labor Day holiday.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America has been going through some exciting changes in the last few years. Under the leadership of General President Doug McCarron we have reorganized our structure and rededicated our union to representing every carpenter in the field through organizing and negotiating better wages and working conditions.

In New England, we've gone from having several state and local councils consisting of Local Unions that acted independently to a single, regional council with more than 26,000 members and 30 local unions all working together to achieve common goals. In the last five years, we have almost doubled our organizing and servicing staff using a process that allows every member consideration for hiring and an open, unbiased and rigorous process for evaluating applicants. We have negotiated contracts that are good for carpenters, but also fair for contractors. We realize that if a union contractor cannot compete and be successful, neither can union carpenters.

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