The Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union (GMPIU) was a labor union representing craft and industrial workers primarily in the ceramics, china, craft metals, fiberglass, glass, insulation, and pottery industries, in the United States and Canada.

History

The union was established on May 1, 1988, when the

Glass, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers' International Union The Glass, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers' International Union (GPPAW) was a labor union representing manufacturing workers in various industries in the United States and Canada. The union was founded on August 5, 1982, with the merger of th ...

merged with the

International Molders and Allied Workers' Union International Molders and Foundry Workers Union of North America was an affiliated trade union of the AFL–CIO. The union traced its roots back to the formation of the Iron Molders' Union of North America, established in 1859 to represent craftsm ...

.Kennedy, Joseph S. "In Struggle To Survive, A Union Changes, Grows." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''. January 21, 1993. The

Coopers' International Union of North America The Coopers' International Union of North America (CIUNA) was a labor union representing coopers in the United States and Canada. The origins of the union lay in the Coopers of North America union, founded in 1870. It was a founding affiliate of t ...

followed in 1992.Chaison, p. 169. With the Coopers merger, the GMPIU had about 80,000 members in the United States and Canada in about 435 locals. As of 1993, the GMP had 35 staff working at its headquarters. Job losses continued. As of 2009, the union had just 30,392 members. The

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

cut heavily into its membership, and by the end of 2012 it had just under 28,000 members. In 2016, the union agreed to merge into the

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

. The merger was completed on January 1, 2018, and the union became the GMP Council of the Steelworkers.

Presidents

:1988: James E. Hatfield :1994: Frank W. Carter :1997: James H. Rankin :2004: John P. RyanPresident Ryan resigned at the union's January 2010 Executive Board meeting. International Vice President Bruce R. Smith was sworn in as president. See
"GMP Executive Board Meets, Proposed Budget for 2010 Affirmed. " ''GMP Horizons.'' January/February 2010, p. 2.
Accessed 2013-11-22. :2010: Bruce SmithPresident Smith served out the remaining two years of President Ryan's term. He was re-elected as president in 2013.

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Chaison, Gary N. ''Union Mergers in Hard Times: The View From Five Countries.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 1996.

External links

* {{Authority control 1842 establishments in Pennsylvania Organizations established in 1988 Trade unions in the United States Trade unions in Canada Manufacturing trade unions Trade unions established in 1988 Trade unions disestablished in 2018