James Kirby ( – October 8, 1915) was an American

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

leader and president of the

United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, often simply the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), was formed in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire and Gustav Luebkert. It has become one of the largest trade unions in the United State ...

from 1913 to 1915."The Late James Kirby" (Oct 1915) ''The Bricklayer, Mason and Plasterer'', Volumes 18-19 p.225 Born and raised near

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It serves as an ...

, he went to Chicago shortly after learning his trade as a carpenter, settling in South Chicago where he was a

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

and member of Local 199. He was elected a delegate to the Chicago District Council of the Carpenters' union, and president of the district council several times. In 1905 he was elected president of the Structural Building Trades Alliance. He served until 1908, when the Alliance affiliated with 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 ...

and changed its name to the Building Trades Department (BTD). He was elected president of the BTD and served until 1910. In 1910, Carpenters president William Huber appointed him "general organizer" for the international union. In 1912, he ran for president of the union and won. He served as president until his death. When he was elected president of the United Brotherhood, he moved to Indianapolis with his family. He died suddenly after an operation for appendicitis. His funeral was attended by trades union officials from all over the United States.

References

Sources

*"Glossary." ''The Samuel Gompers Papers, Vol. 8: Progress and Reaction in the Age of Reform, 1909-13.'' Stuart J Kaufman, Peter J. Albert, and Grace Palladino, eds. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 2000. *Tenner, Gene. "A Rich History Is Alive and Well at Local 272." ''The Carpenters' Forum.'' Spring 2006. American trade union leaders 1915 deaths United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America people American Federation of Labor people American trade unionists Year of birth uncertain {{worker-activist-stub