The Granite Cutters' International Association of America was a trade union representing granite cutters in the United States and Canada.
History
The union was founded in March 1877 near
Rockland, Maine, USA. Its official publication was the Granite Cutters’ Journal. It was among the founding organizations of the
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...
.
It was founded as the Granite Cutters' National Union and later Granite Cutters' International Union of the United States and the British Provinces of America before taking its final name in 1905. Jobs for skilled granite cutters dwindled in the 1960s and the union eventually merged into the
.
Leaders
The leader of the union was initially the secretary; from 1905 the secretary-treasurer; and from 1912, the president.
:1877:
Thompson H. Murch
:1878:
Josiah B. Dyer
Josiah Bennett Dyer (January 5, 1843 – March 12, 1900) was a British-born American labor union leader.
Born in Luxulyan in Cornwall, England, Dyer completed an apprenticeship as a stonecutter, and joined the Operative Society of Masons. His ...
:1895:
James Duncan
:1923: Samuel Squibb
:1935: Lawrence Foley
:1951: Costanzo Pagnano
:1967: Joseph P. Ricciarelli
Further reading
* Grindle, Roger L. Tombstones and Paving Blocks: The History of the Maine Granite Industry. Courier-Gazette, Rockland, Me, 1977.
References
American Federation of Labor affiliates
Stonemasons' trade unions
Trade unions established in 1877
1877 in Maine
Rockland, Maine
Trade unions in Maine
Trade unions in Massachusetts
1877 establishments in Maine
Defunct trade unions in the United States
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