Over the years, Local 373 has developed into one of the strongest Locals in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Our History

In 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 the W. Pennsylvania Laborers' District Council, which, at the time, had their office at the Carlton House, across the street from the William Penn Hotel on Grant Street. 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 Llloyd 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, & 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 J. Chapman, Milton Piper, Simon Swindle,
  Ellis McGruder, Curtis Upsher

More recently, the 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. Also, in May 2018, the merger between Local 373 and Local 286 was approved by the membership, adding Washington, Fayette and Greene counties to 373 jurisdiction. Longtime 286 Business Manager, Dennis Pazzabon remained a Union Representative with Local #373 until his retirement in Dec 2018.

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.