Series 2: Labor Relations

The most complete series in the Uniroyal Collection is LABOR RELATIONS. Two sub-series, contract negotiations and grievance case files, document twenty years of collective bargaining and nearly forty years of grievance settlement at the Eau Claire Plant. The company's set of grievance files document grievances to the third step from 1945 to 1976. Cases which proceeded to arbitration, also from 1945 to 1976, are documented in Eau Claire Mss AA, records of the United Rubber Workers Local #19 (after 1945 the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America). Local #19's files also include the union's minutes of meetings with the company concerning contract negotiations and grievances from 1944 to 1986. The arbitration hearing files parallel and supplement the grievance case files found in the company records. The minutes form a continuation of the company's grievance committee minutes which end in 1976, and for the earlier years, provide a record of the same meetings from the union's point of view.

Records of Contract negotiations begin with 1940, one year after Local #19 of the United Rubber Workers won their first written contract. The files are arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by subject. After 1945, both company-wide and local negotiations are documented. Company-wide contract meetings took place at U.S. Rubber headquarters in New York City and involved representatives from all tire manufacturing plants and facilities. Agreements reached at this level formed the basis for subsequent negotiations held in Eau Claire, between Local #19 and management of the Gillette plant. The local contract was often referred to as the local supplement or supplementary agreement. Contract negotiations files include minutes of meetings between company and union officials in New York and Eau Claire, correspondence and memoranda, notifications and requests for bargaining, draft agreements and proposals, and information on local office workers and wage employee strikes. Issues typically subject to negotiation included wage rates, hours, union security, and benefits such as health and hospital insurance, holiday pay, pension plans, and supplemental unemployment benefits. The files document an NLRB election to certify the office workers' unit in 1943, and after 1946 negotiations with Warehouse Employees Union Local #359 which represented workers at the Eau Claire plant's Minneapolis warehouse. Of interest in the 1943 office worker files are lists of non-eligible employees not found elsewhere in the collection. After 1950, under wage data, are detailed interplant comparisons of wage rates and employee earnings prepared by management. A survey conducted by management in 1954 gathered data on employee lay-offs and on lost time due to plant shut-downs and reduced work weeks from 1948 to 1953. Summary reports filed in 1954 cite the date and reasons for layoffs, shut-downs and reductions, and list total numbers of employees involved by department, sex, and seniority; and total days lost. Statistics for years after 1954 are filed under “employment stabilization.”

Grievances brought by members of Local #19 against Eau Claire Plant management from 1945 to 1976 are thoroughly documented in Grievance Case files. Grievances prior to 1945 are documented in minutes of meetings between management representatives and members of the union executive committee. Case files are arranged numerically by case number, which corresponds to the date the grievance was submitted to Eau Claire's Industrial Relations Department. Each file contains a copy of Local #19's official grievance reporting form, minutes of meetings held between management representatives and members of the union's executive and departmental grievance committees, and related correspondence, memoranda, and notes. The grievance form includes the worker's complaint, lists the department and occupation of the worker or workers involved, and summarizes management's disposition of the matter. After 1950 or so, documentation of second and third step answers to grievances are seen more often, and the files include formal notices of Labor Standard changes. Since 1929, the Eau Claire Plant had operated under the Bedaux “wage incentive” plan which set standards for every worker's task and provided extra pay for individual output in excess of the standard. Worker grievances frequently involved protests of the standards established by the time-keeper or the set rates of pay. Other grievances involved safety measures and working conditions. Also represented were issues such as seniority and transfers, the classifications of jobs as male or female, and equal pay for equal work.

Contract Negotiations, 1940

Box 28 Folder 1: Agreement between URWA and U.S. Rubber Company - Gillette Plant
Box 28 Folders 2-4: Minutes of contract meetings

Box 28 Folder 5: Agreement
Box 28 Folder 6: Minutes and memoranda

Box 28 Folder 7: Guards
Office workers

Box 28 Folder 8: Draft agreement

NLRB election

Box 28 Folder 9: Eligible employees
Box 29 Folder 1: Meetings and notices
Box 29 Folder 2: Seniority list

Wage Employees

Box 29 Folder 3: Draft agreements
Box 29 Folder 4: Memoranda

Box 29 Folders 5-7: Office workers

Contract Negotiations, 1945

Box 30 Folder 1: Company-wide
Local

Box 30 Folder 2: Office workers
Box 30 Folder 3: Strike vote
Box 30 Folder 4: Wage employees

Box 30 Folder 5: Company-wide
Local

Wage employees

Box 30 Folder 6: General
Box 30 Folder 7: Inequity agreement

Box 31 Folder 1: Warehouse employees, Minneapolis

Company-wide

Box 31 Folder 2: Agreement
Box 31 Folder 3: Draft agreements
Box 31 Folder 4: General
Box 31 Folder 5: Holiday pay
Box 31 Folder 6: Threatened strike
Box 31 Folder 7: Wage demands

Local

Office workers

Box 31 Folder 8: General
Box 32 Folder 1: Salary negotiations
Box 32 Folder 2: Salary rate range increase
Box 32 Folder 3: Security referendum
Box 32 Folder 4: Voluntary union dues check-off

Wage employees

Box 32 Folder 5: Final agreement
Box 32 Folders 6-7: General
Box 32 Folder 8: Inequity agreement- Engineering Division
Box 33 Folder 1: Inequity agreement- Straight-time and incentive workers

Box 33 Folder 2: Warehouse Employees AFL Local #977

Company-wide

Box 33 Folder 3: Draft agreements
Box 33 Folder 4: Notes and proposals

Local

Box 33 Folder 5: Office workers
Wage employees

Box 33 Folders 6-7: General
Box 33 Folder 8: Final agreement

Box 34 Folder 1: Warehouse employees

Box 34 Folder 2: Company-wide
Local

Box 34 Folder 3: Hospitalization benefits
Box 34 Folder 4: Memorandum of understanding #3
Box 34 Folder 5: Warehouse employees

Company-wide

Box 34 Folder 6: Company interpretation
Box 34 Folder 7: Final agreement
Box 34 Folder 8: General
Box 34 Folder 9: Pension negotiations
Box 34 Folder 10: Wage and productivity data

Local

Box 34 Folder 11: Inequity agreement
Box 34 Folder 12: Memoranda of understanding #4 and #5 to 1948 Contract
Box 35 Folders 1-2: Office workers
Box 35 Folder 3: Office workers - Pension, severance pay and insurance
Box 35 Folder 4: Office workers - Salary adjustment
Box 35 Folders 5-7: Wage employees

Company-wide

Box 35 Folder 8: Agreement
Box 36 Folder 1: Company interpretation of agreement, concessions and grievances
Box 36 Folders 2-3: Meetings and proposals
Box 36 Folder 4: Wage data

Local

Box 36 Folder 5: Analysis of local plant supplementary agreements
Office workers

Box 36 Folder 6: General
Box 36 Folder 7: Wage adjustment for lay-off during 1950 strike

Wage employees

Box 36 Folder 8: Final agreement
Box 37 Folders 1-2: Proposals
Box 37 Folder 3: Summary of cost for settlement of grievances

Company-wide

Box 37 Folder 4: Agreement
Box 37 Folder 5: Company interpretation of agreement
Box 37 Folders 6-7: Meetings and proposals
Box 37 Folder 8: Wage data

Local

Box 37 Folder 9: Office workers
Wage employees

Box 38 Folder 1: Incorporation of wage increase into incentive system
Box 38 Folder 2: Memoranda of understanding
Box 38 Folder 3: Wage inequity adjustment

Company-wide

Box 38 Folder 4: Agreement
Amendments to agreement

Box 38 Folder 5: Pension and insurance plan
Box 38 Folder 6: Vacations
Box 38 Folder 7: Wage increase

Meetings and proposals

Box 38 Folders 8-9: March-April
Box 39 Folder 1: August-September

Box 39 Folder 2: Suggested changes to the 1951-1953 agreement
Box 39 Folder 3: Wage data

Local

Box 39 Folder 4: Hospital and surgical insurance
Office workers

Box 39 Folder 5: Agreement
Box 39 Folder 6: Amendment to 1950 pension, insurance, and severance pay agreement
Box 39 Folder 7: Meetings and proposals

Wage employees

Box 39 Folder 8: Agreement
Box 39 Folder 9: Average hourly and unmeasured work
Box 39 Folder 10: Memoranda of understanding
Box 40 Folders 1-2: Meetings and proposals
Box 40 Folder 3: Wage inequities

Company-wide

Box 40 Folder 4: Agreement on wage increase
Box 40 Folder 5: Analysis of grievances and wage payment policies
Guaranteed annual wage (employment stabilization) survey

Box 40 Folder 6: Instructions
Box 40 Folders 7-8: Results, 1948-1954- Employee lay-offs
Box 40 Folder 9: Results, 1948-1954- Lost time due to shut down

Box 41 Folder 1: Meetings
Box 41 Folder 2: Wage data

Local

Box 41 Folder 3: Office workers
Wage employees

Box 41 Folder 4: Incorporation of wage increase into incentive system
Box 41 Folder 5: Meetings and proposals
Box 41 Folder 6: Suggested changes to both company-wide and local contracts

Company-wide

Box 41 Folder 7: Company interpretations
Box 41 Folder 8: Employment stabilization statistics
Box 41 Folders 9-10: Meetings and proposals
Box 42 Folders 1-2: Pension and insurance
Box 42 Folder 3: Strike, 1955 April 1
Box 42 Folder 4: Wage data
Box 42 Folder 5: Wage reopening meetings and proposals

Local

Box 42 Folder 6: Cancellation notices
Box 42 Folder 7: Incorporation of wage increase into the incentive system
Office workers

Box 42 Folder 8: Meetings and proposals
Box 42 Folder 9: Pension and insurance agreement
Box 42 Folder 10: Salary demands-reopening of May contract
Box 42 Folder 11: Strike, 1955 April 4

Wage employees

Box 43 Folder 1: Cost estimates
Box 43 Folders 2-3: Meetings and proposals
Box 43 Folder 4: Wage inequity adjustment

Company-wide

Box 43 Folder 5: Comparison of contracts in 19 CLO-URWA plants
Box 43 Folder 6: Employment stabilization statistics
Box 43 Folder 7: Meetings and proposals
Box 43 Folder 8: Supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB) plan
Box 43 Folder 9: Wage data

Local

Office workers

Box 43 Folder 10: Salary increase
Box 43 Folder 11: SUB Plan

Box 43 Folder 12: Wage Employees, incorporation of wage increase

Company-wide

Meetings and proposals

Box 43 Folder 13: January-February
Box 44 Folder 1: March-April

Box 44 Folder 2: Reopening of general wage scale
Box 44 Folder 3: Wage data

Local

Box 44 Folder 4: Comparison of 20 local contracts
Box 44 Folder 5: Incorporation of wage increases into incentive system
Meetings and proposals

Box 44 Folder 6: Office workers
Box 44 Folders 7-8: Wage employees

Box 44 Folder 9: Company-wide
Local

Box 44 Folder 10: Office workers
Box 44 Folder 11: Supplemental unemployment benefits
Box 45 Folder 1: Wage employees, incorporation of wage increase into incentive system

Box 45 Folder 2: Analysis of union grievances
Company-wide

Box 45 Folder 3: Agreement
Box 45 Folder 4: Company interpretation of agreement
Box 45 Folder 5: Meetings and proposals
Box 45 Folder 6: Pension, insurance and severance pay
Box 45 Folder 7: Sickness and accident insurance
Box 45 Folder 8: Strike, 1959 April 10
Box 45 Folder 9: Supplemental unemployment benefits
Box 45 Folder 10: Wage and rate data

Local

Office Workers

Box 46 Folder 1: Agreement
Box 46 Folder 2: Employee training program
Box 46 Folder 3: Male wage increase
Box 46 Folders 4-5: Meetings and proposals
Box 46 Folder 6: Pension and severance pay
Box 46 Folder 7: Supplemental unemployment benefits
Box 46 Folder 8: Unemployment compensation due to strike

Wage Employees

Box 46 Folder 9: Cost of union demands
Box 46 Folder 10: Meetings and proposals
Box 47 Folder 1: Supplemental Agreement
Box 47 Folder 2: Unemployment compensation claims due to strike
Box 47 Folder 3: Wage increases and incorporation into the incentive system
Box 47 Folder 4: Wage inequity settlement

Box 47 Folder 5: Comparison of local contracts and wage data
Box 47 Folder 6: Office workers
Box 47 Folder 7: Wage employees

Case files

Box 47 Folders 8-10: #1-45, 1944 May-1945 October
Box 48 Folders 1-7: #45-299, 1945 January-1947 April
Box 49 Folders 1-8: #300-799, 1947 April-1949 December
Box 50 Folders 1-6: #800-999, 1949 December-1952 April
Box 51 Folders 1-6: #1000-1149, 1952 April-1954 August
Box 52 Folders 1-6: #1150-1299, 1954 August-1956 June
Box 53 Folders 1-12: #1272, 1300-1379, 1956 June-1957 February
Box 54 Folders 1-12: #1374, 1380-1479, 1957 March-1958 February
Box 55 Folders 1-8: #1480-1589, 1957 September-1959 October
Box 56 Folders 1-8: #1590-1640, 1959 October-1960 June
Box 57 Folders 1-7: #1640-1739, 1960 June-1961 September
Box 58 Folders 1-8: #1740-1799, 1809, 1961 October-1962 March
Box 59 Folders 1-7: #1800-1919, 1962 March-1964 February
Box 60 Folders 1-8: #1900, 1916, 1918, 1920-2010, 1964 February-1966 February
Box 61 Folders 1-7: #2011-3000, 1966 February-1968 August
Box 62 Folders 1-8: #3001-3189, 1968 August-1970 March
Box 63 Folders 1-9: #3190-3369, 1970 April-1972 June
Box 64 Folders 1-11: #3370-3599, 1972 June-1974 July
Box 65 Folders 1-8: #3600-3755, 1974 August-1976 December

Grievance Committee meetings

Box 27 Folders 1-8: 1937-1940
Box 73 Folders 1-3: 1945, 1948, 1950