The members of Local 308 responded to the war effort with energetic patriotism. The local's first response to the war was to pass a motion that protected its members who served in the armed forces from delinquency. In January 1940 the local voted to pay the per cap tax and suspend the non-attendance assessment for any member that served in the army. The local also bought more than $1000 dollars worth of defense bonds, and donated money to the American Legion's "Keep'em Smokin" campaign that sent cigarettes to the soldiers overseas. In May 1942 the union joined a parade held in Cedar Rapids for the Iowa Volunteers. The parade was over two-miles long and had a strong labor contingent. Meetings were also occasionally adjourned early so members could return home during blackouts. Despite the carpenters' patriotism and the promise of increased prosperity, the war years were difficult ones for local 308. But the demands of the wartime economy and military service led to a decline in membership and severely strained Local 308's resources.

Even with declining membership during the war, the union bargained strong contracts. In 1942 the carpenters negotiated a contract for $1.25 per hour and improved working rules. Three years later the contractors agreed to a 25-cents-wage increase. The carpenters, however, had to wait another year to receive the increase until the Wage Adjustment Board approved it. Roosevelt created the board in 1941 to regulate wages and "maintain industrial peace" during the war.

A postwar boom in housing and highway construction also made cooperation with other skilled trades increasingly important. The number of new housed being built more than tripled from 1945 to 1946. The expansion of housing construction around the country and in Cedar Rapids, however, led to increased use of non-union labor. It also threatened to undermine the safety and building codes 308 fought hard to establish the 1920's.

Many of the new houses that contractors sought to build in Cedar Rapids were prefabricated. Before the 1940's, contractors relied heavily on the carpenters from 308 who had the skills to build durable housing. The spread of prefabricated houses after WWII, however, reduced contractors dependence on local 308. House builders could now hire relatively unskilled non-union workers whom they could easily train to install specialized parts of the house. In order for contractors to build these prefabricated houses, however, they had to undo city and state building codes that set certain safety and durability standards.

The members of 308 knew that the elimination of building codes threatened their livelihood. So they to pressure city and state politicians to maintain the codes. At a general meeting in March 1946, the members of 308 unanimously opposed "letting down the bars it took too many years of hard work to get what we now have" and opposed code revision so contractors could build "cracker box houses." Many house contractors in Cedar Rapids agreed with 308's efforts to prevent the spread of prefabricated non-union built houses.

The 1940's had been a decade full of promise and challenge. World War, anti-labor legislation, a conservative political climate, the rise of industrial union, and the spread of prefabricated housing presented the members of 308 with significant barriers and opportunities. The members of 308 and their leaders met the challenges and left the decade stronger than at any point in the history of their union. By 1950 membership reached an all time high of 493, the Cedar Rapids local had become an influential voice in local and state politics, the trades in Cedar Rapids were united, and an unprecedented economic boom would make the next three decades years of growth for local 308. -BACK-NEXT-