The Stove, Furnace and Allied Appliance Workers' International Union of North America (SFAW) was a

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing workers involved in fitting heating equipment in the United States and Canada.

History

The union was founded on December 29, 1892, in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

, as the International Stove Mounters' Union. In 1894, it was chartered by 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 mutual ...

. It underwent frequent name changes, its longest name being the Stove Mounters', Steel Range Workers' and Pattern Fitters' and Filers' International Union of North America. It became the Stove Mounters' International Union of North America in 1902, and although it became the Stove Mounters' and Steel Range Workers' Union of North America in 1904, it returned to its the shorter name in 1910. By 1925, the union had about 1,600 members. It transferred to the new

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

in 1955, and by 1957, its membership had grown to 9,183. The union adopted its final name in 1962. By 1980, membership had fallen to 6,400,{{cite book , title=Directory of National Unions and Employee Associations , date=1980 , publisher=United States Department of Labor , location=Washington DC , url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/bls/bls_2079_1980.pdf , access-date=3 May 2022 and on October 1, 1994, it merged into the

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB) is a trade union in the United States and Canada. It is for boilermakers and related occupations, and is affiliated with the AFL–CIO. The ...

Presidents

:1892: H. P. Oberling :1895: James McGinn :1896: Thomas H. Devenish :1898: George S. Schwab :1900: J. H. Kaefer :1901: James A. Davis :1902: John Tierney :1903: Allen J. Studholme :1904: D. W. Ottinger :1910: Frank Grimshaw :1913: Walter L. Funderburk :1929: Edward W. Kaiser :1940s: Joseph Lewis :James M. Roberts :1974: George E. Pierson :1980s: Thomas B. Kemme

References

Engineering trade unions Trade unions established in 1892 Trade unions disestablished in 1994