The 1960's were a good decade for carpenters around the country and for local 308 in Cedar Rapids. During these years the economy remained stable and carpenters benefited. The average unemployment rate during the 1960's was 4.8%, and union carpenters' real wages increased by more than 30%. In Cedar Rapids wages for union carpenters increased from $3.17 in 1959 to $5.49 by 1969. After a drop in membership between 1960-1963, the number of carpenters who joined 308 increased steadily from 500 in 1963 to 687 in 1969.

The relationship between the carpenters and union contractors m Allied Construction remained stable during most of the 1960's. The local and the union contractors continued to bargain regular contracts every "two to three years." In the first two contracts of the decade, the carpenters gained wage increases, fought for insurance to cover stolen tools, won enforcement mechanisms for safety violations, and began to elect stewards on the job. Local 308 and Allied construction also established a Joint Apprenticeship school. Before the 1960's apprentice carpenters were "indentured" to a contractor usually for four years. Starting in the mid 1960's apprentices were "indentured" to the Joint Apprenticeship school and sent out to work for contractors until the jobs were done.

By the end of the decade, however, the contractors and carpenters, were unable to agree on a new contract. In 1969 Local 308 decided to try to win more "non-taxable items" in their contract. The carpenters also tried to get wage increases to "catch up with the other crafts." They wanted .65 increase for hourly wages to close the growing wage spread between carpenters and the other crafts.

The contractors rejected the proposal and offered a smaller hourly wage increase distributed over a longer period Local 308 refused to accept the contractors' proposal, and on April 30, 1969, for the second time in its seventy-year history, the local went on a major strike. The carpenters were not alone. Throughout eastern Iowa 40 building trades contracts expired in the spring. In Cedar Rapids, the sheetmetal workers and roofers also called strikes over contract disputes. The picket lines the three trades set up around the city brought major construction to a standstill. Most of the carpenters of 308 held the line and picketed. Twenty-six days later they won the largest increase 308 ever bargained, $1.47-1/2 per hour increase in wages and fringes over a two year period.

By the end of the 1960's, it seemed like some stability had emerged in Local 308 after the leadership transition of the early 1960's. The union bargained solid contracts for its members, and local 308's membership reached a high of 687 in 1969. The union had a firm financial footing, and the officers had convinced the members to vote for the first Health and Welfare plan. By 1970 the first signs appeared that the seventies would be years of high wages and plenty jobs for the carpenters of Cedar Rapids. -BACK-NEXT-