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The Formation of Local #373In the latter part of 1963, the International Union discussed the situation in Allegheny County where you had three different local unions with over-lapping jurisdiction. It was creating many problems between the locals and instead of working to protect their jurisdiction against the other crafts, they were fighting with each other. In early 1964, a meeting was set up at Laborer's District Council, which, at the time, had their office at the Carlton House, across the street from the William Penn Hotel on Grant St. Peter J. Livolsi was the President of the Council at the time. The three local unions that attended the meeting were: Local #11 with Jack Williams as Business Manager and Robert Giles as President; Local #136 with Simon Swindle as Business Manager and Chester Harper as President; and Local #226 with Business Manager Milton Piper and Financial Secretary William Barrett. Also in attendance was Ralph Thomas, an International Representative, and Lloyd F. Engle Jr. as Legal Council. President Livolsi presided as chairman of the meeting and stated that the purpose of the meeting was to open discussions on the possible merger of the three locals into one. The International Union had sent a letter to each local and to the District Council urging cooperation between the locals to accomplish this goal. Otherwise, they'd step in and take over all of them and do it themselves. Everyone present at the meeting agreed that they did not want this to happen. Although there were many hard feelings towards each other at the onset, they all knew what had to be done. There were several meetings held in the ensuing months and finally on August 13, 1964, Local Union #373 was given a charter by the International. The number "373" was created by adding the three prior locals together(226, 136, and 11). The first officers of the local union were: President: Jack Williams
Vice-President: Chester Harper
Recording Secretary: John J. Chapman
Secretary-Treasurer: Milton Piper
Business Manager: Simon Swindle
Field Representatives: Ray Delduca Willie Stevens Elmer Smith Jack Williams
Sergeant-at-Arms: Joseph DeFrank
Auditors: James Williams Matt Long Earl Easley
Executive Board: Jack Williams Chester Harper John Chapman Milton Piper Simon Swindle Ellis McGruder Curtis Upsher More recently, the Laborers District Council felt the need to consolidate a little more. Due to financial difficulties, Local 347 was recommended to merge into Local 373. Consequently, on April 4, 1989, the merger was approved by the membership. Former Local 347 Business Manager Mark Flaherty was added as a Field Representative on June 19, 1989. Due to this restructuring and the solid leadership exhibited by former and current representatives, Local 373 has become one of the strongest locals in the Mid-Atlantic region. |
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