SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION EXECUTIVE OFFICE FILES: WILLIAM MCFETRIDGE COLLECTION Papers, 1936-1963 (Predominantly, 1955-1960) 23 Linear Feet Accession Number 1542 OCLC # DALNET # The Papers of SEIU President William McFetridge were placed in the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs in 1993 by SEIU and were opened for research in March of 1997. A nephew of William F. Quesse, SEIU’s founder and first International President, William McFetridge began his career with SEIU in 1923 as a member of Chicago’s Flat Janitors Local 1. In 1927 he assumed the position of SEIU Third Vice President and then ascended to the position of SEIU 1st Vice President in 1930, a position he maintained until April of 1940, when he became President of the International. He succeeded George Scalise, whose fall from power resulted from improper union activities and a conviction on embezzlement and forgery charges. Responding to the state of disorganization that existed in the union under Scalise, McFetridge began a program of modernizing the union’s financial and record-keeping procedures, thereby inhibiting others within the union from engaging in illegal or unethical practices. McFetridge’s modernization plan entailed the creation of a research department, the establishment of a legislative affairs department, the hiring of labor attorneys, and the publication of various SEIU periodicals, all of which resulted in the acquisition and dissemination of information that permitted the union to form alliances within and outside the labor movement, keep track of opposing forces, increase its understanding of local union concerns, and better position itself for negotiations. A testament to his emerging stature within the labor movement, the federal government chose McFetridge as a consultant to an International Labor Organization conference in Switzerland in 1949 and, in 1950, he was elected to a seat on the AFL executive council. Needless to say, McFetridge’s ascendancy benefited the union as a whole. Under his presidency, McFetridge expanded organizing campaigns beyond the traditional building service workers and pursued members from service industries associated with airports, greenhouses, atomic plants, hospitals, bowling alleys, nurseries, cemeteries, nonacademic professions within schools, and many others. SEIU did not grow without great sacrifice during the McFetridge years. Like other unions, SEIU suffered from the ill-effects of the Taft-Hartley Act and many locals went out on strike for wages, working conditions, hours, and other At the time the records within this collection were created, this union was called the Building Service Employees International Union. In 1968, the union dropped the word, “Building” from its title. The name change reflected a changing membership, which included service employees not associated with buildings. 2 demands. And yet, during McFetridge’s 20 year tenure as president ending in 1960, SEIU grew from 70,000 to 275,000. Following his departure from the presidency of the International, McFetridge became the President of Chicago’s Local 1. In this capacity, he waged a heated jurisdictional dispute with Local 4, which was led by McFetridge’s one time International Secretary-Treasurer, George Fairchild, and came into conflict with the new SEIU President, David Sullivan, regarding a Chicago real estate project. McFetridge left the union shortly thereafter, as he had lost both fights and, as a result, fell into disfavor with the union’s top leadership. The records comprising this collection chronicle McFetridge’s last years as President of SEIU. Records reflecting the bulk of his first fifteen years are maintained on microfilm at the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs. The Audio-Visual Department for the Archives retains a small amount of photos related to SEIU during this period, although most SEIU related photos and other audio visual material have been retained by the International. For more information on William McFetridge, please consult A Need for Valor: The roots of the Service Employees International Union, 1902-1992. The following is a listing of important subjects; the index at the end of the guide directs researchers to the folders where records of these and other subjects are located. American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Audits of local unions Contract Negotiations Death Gratuity Claims Factional disputes Financial Reports/Statements Grievances International Brotherhood of Teamsters Jurisdictional disputes Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act Mergers National Labor Relations Board Organizational campaigns Picketing Raids Right to Work Strikes Taft-Hartley Trusteeships Unfair Labor Practice Complaints/Charges The following is a listing of important correspondents represented by at least five letters; the index at the end of the guide directs researchers to the folders where letters of these and other correspondents are located. Burke, Thomas 2 3 Carey, James Cordtz, Richard Daley, Richard Fairchild, George Hardy, George Harrison, George Hearn, Albert Levey, Charles Meany, George Ottley, Peter Schnitzler, William Shortman, Thomas Sullivan, David Zander, Arnold Series I, Executive Office Local Union Files, 1936-1960, Boxes 1-15: Correspondence and other material between the Executive Office of SEIU and local unions. This series is arranged numerically in local union order. Series II, Executive Office Officer Files, 1951-1962, Boxes 15-16: Largely comprised of activity reports that chronicle the day-to-day activities of the union's officers, although a fair share of correspondence is also located within this series. This series is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the officer. Series III, Executive Office International Representatives and Organizers Files, 1951-1961, Boxes 16-20: Activity reports chronicling the day-to-day activities of International Representatives and Organizers largely comprise this series, although a sprinkling of correspondence, clippings, and other material is also located in this series. This series is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the organizer or representative. Series IV, Executive Office General Files, 1947-1963, Boxes 20-23: Arranged in alphabetical order according to subjects and personal names. SERIES ONE: EXECUTIVE OFFICE LOCAL UNION FILES, Boxes 1-15 This first series ("Local Union Files") is largely comprised of correspondence and other material sent to, from, and regarding SEIU locals and the International's Executive Office. The local names and numbers listed below are written as they appear in the files; they may have changed over time. Please check the SEIU Charter Book for current names and/or numbers. The correspondence and other records of note that are located within these "Local Union Files," include requests for strike sanctions, handwritten letters from rank and file members voicing various concerns, local union rosters, membership lists, charter approvals and revocations, grievances, Orders from the Executive Office establishing or modifying union policy, as well as correspondence regarding jurisdictional disputes, strike funds, contract negotiations, death gratuities, internal local union conflicts, trusteeships, mergers and other issues as well. These records are arranged by local union number. This series, spanning from 1936-1960, is 14.25 linear feet. 3 4 Folder Local Date No. No. Location Local Name Range Box #1 1 1 Chicago, IL Chicago Flat Janitors Union 1956-1957 2 2 New York, NY Window Cleaners’ Union 1952-1960 3 3 Toledo, OH Building Service Employees International Union 1956-1960 4 5-M Detroit, MI Wayne County Training School Employees’ 1959 5-10 6 Seattle, WA Building Service Employees International Union 1955-1960 11 8 Toledo, OH Window Washers Union 1957 12 9 San Francisco, CA Theater and Amusement Janitors 1956-1960 13 10 Buffalo, NY Theater and Amusement Employees 1956-1958 14-19 11 Maywood, IL Suburban Schools and Municipal Employees Union 1956-1959 Folder Local Date No. No. Location Local Name Range Box # 1 20 12 Kansas City, MO Building Service School Employees 1956-1959 21 13 Toledo, OH School Employees Union 1956-1960 22 13-M Mt. Pleasant, MI Mt. Pleasant & Isabella County Service Employees’Union 1958-1959 23-25 14 San Francisco, CA Apartment, Motel, Hotel and Elevator Operators Union 1955-1960 26 15 Springfield, IL Building Service Employees 1956-1960 27 16 Pittsburgh, PA Window Cleaners’ Union 1956-1959 28 17 Milwaukee, WI Building Service Employees’ International Union 1956-1959 29 17-A Milwaukee, WI County Employees Union 1956-1959 30 18 Oakland, CA Building Service Employees’ International Union 1956-1960 31 19 Chicago, IL Public School Bathroom Attendants’ Union 1956-1960 32 21 LaCrosse, WI Municipal Building Service Employees Union 1956-1960 33 21-M Flint, MI Greater Flint Service Employees 1958-1960 34 22 Sacramento, CA Building Service Employees’ 4 5 International Union 1956-1960 35 22-M Detroit, MI Detroit Public Lighting Local 1959-1960 36 23 Seattle, WA Window Cleaners Union 1956-1960 37 23-M Detroit, MI Detroit Housing Local 1959 38 24 Stockton, CA Building Service Employees International Union 1958 39-40 25 Chicago, IL Chicago Office, Theatre, and Amusement Building Janitors’ Union 1956-1960 Box #2 1 25-B Chicago, IL Building Service Employees Union 1956-1960 2 26 Minneapolis, MN Building Service Employees International Union 1956-1959 3 27 Longview, WA Building Service Employees Union 1956-1958 4 28 Knoxville, TN Greater Sanilac County Service Employees 1956-1959