International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Technical, Salaried & Machine Workers, AFL-CIO. Local 1131 (Milwaukee, Wis.).Records, 1938-1998.Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 181 and PH Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 18110.8 cubic ft. (24 archives boxes, 6 small archives boxes, and 1 oversize folder) |
ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Access to selected folders in this collection is restricted as stipulated in the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S. Code, Section 552(a). Researchers who would like access to the restricted material must sign an agreement for the use of restricted records. Ask an archivist for details.
There are no access restrictions on the rest of the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The records of Local 1131 primarily document the period 1979-1998, the last 20 years of the Local's existence. There are virtually no records concerning its formation in 1937 or its role in production during the period of the Allis Family ownership and management. Even for the 1979-1998 period the collection is incomplete, but it does highlight many of the labor issues prevalent at the time such as the loss of local ownership and management and the de-industrialization of Milwaukee. The files concerning the complex issue of mismanagement of the Local's pension funds illustrate the experience of workers during the so called "junk bond" era. Because the Louis Allis workers were highly skilled, longtime employees, retirement was always a prominent issue for the Local and the issue of pensions appears repeatedly in the collection.
The files are arranged as General Records, Contract Negotiations, and Grievance Litigation.
The General Records include minutes of executive board and membership meetings (1979-1998), officers' correspondence, monthly treasurer's reports, and newsletters (mainly 1972-1996). Additionally, there is general information collected about Magnetek, Litton Industries, and Executive Life Insurance Company, especially administrative manuals, actuarial and financial statements, and other information concerning retirement plans. Information about the period of the Allis family management is fragmentary, consisting of scattered company bulletins, photographs of union and company activities, wage payment policy letters, job descriptions, and a job evaluation manual. There are no true membership records in the collection, but lists of retirees are sometimes included within the minutes and the bargaining and retirement information files. General historical information includes a copy of the 1950 constitution, the year in which the Local affiliated with IUE, scattered clippings, and a history written by Lee Gierke. Photographs received with the collection present perhaps the strongest documentation of the years before 1979. Included are candid photographs of union activities and retirees with Jack Allis. Numerous photographs, probably dating from the 1950s, illustrate the company's health and safety programs. Color photographs and slides document Solidarity Day III in 1983-the height of anti-Litton unrest in Milwaukee. Other snapshots document employees at work. Also included is a color portrait and one candid of Louis Allis and several candids of Jack Allis.
Contract Negotiations include printed agreements dating from 1945 through 1994 and working files on negotiations primarily dating from 1970 to 1974. These chronologically arranged files include minutes of bargaining sessions, company and union proposals, surveys of bargaining priorities, background information, and notes. The minutes, which often consisted of typed formal minutes prepared by both management and the union, are a highlight of the collection.
The Grievance Litigation series is also incomplete. Certainly a complete file of routine, first step complaints is missing, and it is likely that even the cases that advanced further through the process are not fully represented. Several cases highlight the issues of job evaluation and seniority, a key issue for the Local. The files are arranged by the venue in which the issue was litigated: arbitrations, grievances, National Labor Relations Board cases, and civil court cases. These files variously include background information, correspondence, court documents, and orders and denials. Most extensive are materials about the civil case brought against Magnetek by the IUE International in behalf of Local 1131. In addition to files of court documents, exhibits, and correspondence with the union attorney, the files include numerous depositions by various Louis Allis employees that touch on their general employment experiences as well as the case itself. Local officers Pat Salmone and Lee Gierek were extensively deposed. Additional correspondence in the General Records under the Pension heading also relate to this case.
ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: The Louis Allis Company, a manufacturer of large electric motors, generators, and industrial controls, had its origins in the year 1901 when Louis Allis, the son of E. P. Allis, first invested in the Mechanical Application Company, a small local company. In 1903 he became president of the company. In 1906 the company located to 427 Stewart Street, the site of the Allis family's original homestead. The company continued as the Mechanical Appliance Corporation until 1922 when the name was changed to honor Allis. The company began with 15 employees and by 1906 the workforce had grown to 75.
The Louis Allis Company continued to expand until the Great Depression. On March 17, 1937 the industrial employees at Louis Allis were chartered as the United Auto Workers, Local 251. After a 15-minute sit-down strike the company recognized the union. Then, after the first contract was signed, the Local changed affiliations to become Local 1131 of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE), a member of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, on July 7, 1937. During the 1940s the Local experienced pay increases and improvements in seniority and vacation benefits. Although over 600 employees at the plant were in the armed forces during World War II, the Local grew to over 2000 members, and it took a leading role in the Milwaukee war effort. The company employed women and African Americans to fill G.I. vacancies during the war, but most of these wartime workers were laid off after the war. In 1950 the Local affiliated with the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (IUE) after the UE was expelled from the CIO due to its alleged communist control.
The 1950s were a relatively peaceful period at the Louis Allis Company and there were additional wage increases and a pension fund was created. During the 1960s the company built plants in South Carolina, Indiana, and Michigan and moved several product lines to those locations. The loss of these jobs resulted in the decline in union membership to about 1000 at the end of the decade. This move also failed to improve the company's profitability, and on February 2, 1967, the company, then under the management of Jack Allis, the grandson of Louis Allis, was sold to Litton Industries. Litton Industries was a large multinational corporation with headquarters in California. The end of local family management led to increased unrest among the Louis Allis workers and increasingly acrimonious contract bargaining. In 1973 the Local voted to go out on strike as a result of what they saw as bad faith by the company. The strike lasted 19 days, with the management threatening to close the plant. Eventually a contract was signed that improved wages and benefits. In 1979 the Local struck again.
Two strikes in six years, as well as similar experiences by employees at other Litton plants, fueled a national campaign to publicize the company's labor practices. Local 1131 cooperated with the IUE international, other IUE Locals, and the UE international in this effort. In Milwaukee the attempt to draw attention to Litton as the "J.P. Stevens of the 80s" and the "Nation's #1 Union Buster" culminated in Solidarity Day III in 1983. Together these actions won a favorable response from the National Labor Relations Board and from Congress. In 1984 Litton announced plant closings across the country, but before this took place, it sold Louis Allis to Magnetek, Inc., an investor group that included partnerships related to Michael Milken of Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Shortly after Magnetek received control of Litton's pension plan, approximately 80% of the fund was transferred to the Executive Life Insurance Company (ELIC) of California. This transfer was concealed from the union for three years. During this time the Louis Allis pension monies were merged with other Magnetek pension plans. In 1991, ELIC declared bankruptcy as a result of its investment in junk bonds. When Local 1131 learned of this transfer of pension funds, it began a long, frustrating attempt to obtain information about the company's manipulations. In 1990 the Local was forced to sue Magnetek in civil court in order to protect the benefits of its retirees. This lawsuit was filed a year before ELIC's bankruptcy called national attention to the junk bond empire created by Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert. In 1992 the union won a landmark victory. In 1994 Magnetek sold the Louis Allis division for $8.3 million to a group of eight plant managers, at which time the company reverted to the Louis Allis name and established a new headquarters in Alabama. In August 1998 the company locked out the 130 production workers remaining at the Stewart Street plant after they rejected concession sought in connection with a prospective sale. Production then ceased in Milwaukee and the management put the plant up for sale.
COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:
International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Technical, Salaried & Machine Workers, AFL-CIO. Local 1131 (Milwaukee, Wis.). Records, 1938-1998. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 181 and PH Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 181. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
RELATED COLLECTION:
Allis, Louis, 1866-1950. Papers, 1843-1950 (Milwaukee Micro Collection 71)
ACQUISITION: Presented by Lee Gierke of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1999 (accession number M2002-172).
PROCESSING: Processed by Amy Rommel, Kyle Krause, and Carolyn Mattern from 2000 to 2002.
MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:
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Last edited on
Thursday, June 19, 2003.
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