United Association

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UA

United Association
United Association
Founded	1889
Members	approximately 320,000
Country	United States and Canada
Affiliation	AFL-CIO
Key people	William P. Hite, General President Patrick R. Perno, General Secretary-Treasurer Stephen F. Kelly, Assistant General President
Website	www.ua.org

The United Association, or UA, is a trade union of journeymen and apprentices of the plumbing and pipefitting industry of the United States of America and Canada. The members fabricate, install and service piping systems.

1 History
2 About
3 See also
4 References

[edit] History

The UA was founded in 1889 by P. J. Quinlan, whom also operated as its first General President. Before 1889, unionized plumbers, steamfitters and gas fitters were organized by local, independent unions. These unions were organized sporadically, sometimes affiliating themselves with a variety of different trades and occasionally with no trades at all. These types of unions were ineffective and began to decline. Local union leaders considered uniting pipe trades journeymen nationally, which resulted in the creation of the United Association.

[edit] About

The objects of this Association are to protect its members from unjust and injurious competition, and secure through unity of action among all workers of the industry throughout the United States and Canada, claiming, as we do, that labor is capital, and is the only capital that possesses power to reproduce itself or in other words, to create capital. Labor is the interest underlying all other interests; therefore, it is entitled to and should receive from society and government protection and encouragement.."^[1]