The United Paperworkers' International Union (UPIU) was a
labor union representing workers involved in making paper, and later various industrial workers, in the United States and Canada.
The union was founded on August 9, 1972, when the
merged with the
United Papermakers and Paperworkers The United Papermakers and Paperworkers (UPP) was a labor union representing workers involved in manufacturing paper in the United States and Canada.
The union was established on March 6, 1957, when the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers me ...
.
Like both its predecessors, it was chartered by the
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
. On formation, the union had 389,000 members. In 1974, the large majority of its Canadian section split away, to form the
Canadian Paperworkers' Union.
In 1978,
Joseph Tonelli
Joseph Paul Tonelli (February 26, 1908 – March 4, 2000) was an American trade union leader.
Born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, Tonelli moved to New York City in 1928, where he began working in the paper industry. In the mid-1930s, he helped ...
, the union's president, was indicted on a charge of embezzling $360,000 of union money.
In
1987 and 1988, UPIU members struck against
International Paper
The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 56,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.
History
The company was incorporated January 31 ...
in
Jay, Maine
Jay is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,620 at the 2020 United States Census. Jay includes the village of Chisholm.
History
This was once territory of the Anasagunticook (or Androscoggin) Abenaki Indians, ...
. The strike generated international attention but ultimately ended in defeat for the strikers and the permanent replacement of union members with non-union replacements.
The
Independent Workers of North America
Independent Workers of North America was a union created as a result of a split within the cement division of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers,, known as the Boilermakers Union.
...
union merged into the UPIU in 1991,
followed in 1994 by the
Allied Industrial Workers of America The International Union, Allied Industrial Workers of America (AIW) was a labor union representing industrial workers in the United States.
The union dated its origins to August 26, 1935, when the United Auto Workers (UAW) was established. As it ...
. On January 4, 1999, the union merged with the
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union
The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) was a trade union in the United States which existed between 1917 and 1999. At the time of its dissolution and merger, the International represented 80,000 workers and was affiliated with the AFLâ ...
, to form the
.
Presidents
:1972:
Joseph Tonelli
Joseph Paul Tonelli (February 26, 1908 – March 4, 2000) was an American trade union leader.
Born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, Tonelli moved to New York City in 1928, where he began working in the paper industry. In the mid-1930s, he helped ...
:1978:
Wayne Glenn
Wayne Eugene Glenn (August 24, 1924 – January 3, 2021) was an American labor union leader.
Born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, Glenn served in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he began working at the International Paper ...
:1996:
Boyd D. Young
References
{{reflist
Trade unions established in 1972
Trade unions disestablished in 1999
Paper industry trade unions
AFL–CIO