Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association | |
| Founded | 1882 |
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| Country | United States, Canada |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO |
| Key people | John J. Dougherty, president |
| Office location | Washington, D.C. |
| Website | www.opcmia.org |
The Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association (OPCMIA) of the United States and Canada is a labor union that represents plasterers and cement masons in the construction industry in North America. Union members finish interior walls and ceilings of buildings and apply plaster on masonry, metal, and wire lath or gypsum. Cement masons are responsible for all concrete construction, including pouring and finishing of slabs, steps, wall tops, curbs and gutters, sidewalks, paving and other concrete construction.
The oldest United States construction union, the organization traces its roots to the era of the American Civil War, when an organization known variously as the National Plasterer's Union or the National Plasterers Organization attempted to unify the various local craft unions that represented workers in the trade. The new organization attempted to establish standard wages and working conditions, regulate the training of apprentices, establish a traveling card system to permit union members to travel from one local's jurisdiction to another, while excluding those unfit for membership.
Those efforts did not bear fruit, however, until 1882, when a number of locals who had supported the Cincinnati, Ohio local union in a strike earlier that year met in St. Louis, Missouri to reestablish a national organization. The new union endorsed the Eight hour day movement while pledging to avoid "unnecessary strikes". The union amended its constitution in 1887 to include Canadian workers. In 1914 it changed its name to the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Finishers' International Association; the following year it reached an agreement with the United Brotherhood of Cement Workers to bring those workers into the union.
In 1946 the union established a program, in conjunction with the Contracting Plasterers' International Association and the Associated General Contractors, to establish national apprentice training standards. The union trained a large number of veterans of World War II in its apprenticeship programs, while curtailing the competition from non-union contractors. In the late 1960s, under pressure from the federal government and civil rights organizations, the union opened up its apprenticeship programs to allow more African-American and Latino workers into its locals.
In 1960 the union followed many other U.S. unions and moved its headquarters from Cleveland, Ohio to Washington, D.C. John J. Dougherty, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is its current General President.
