Left to Right: Lawrence Collins, Financial Secretary/Treasurer, Iron Workers Local #3, Barry Chad, Assistant Head, Pennsylvania Department, William 'Red' Collins, member and officer of Pittsburgh Locals
No. 818 and 3 (Mr. Collins now deceased), David Rosenberg, Archives of Industrial Society, University of Pittsburgh, and William Ligetti, Executive Director, Ironworker Employers Association.

A History of the Iron Workers Union is a gift to the Pennsylvania Department, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
Iron Workers Union Local #3 and the Ironworker Employers Association jointly presented the volume celebrating the 100th Anniversary, 1896-1996, of the Ironworkers. The International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers (IABSOIW) was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On page v., "a special thanks" is offered by Raymond J. Robertson, General Vice President, IABSOIW, "to William 'Red' Collins, retired member and officer of Pittsburgh Locals No. 818 and 3, who unearthed a great deal of early history and some historic photographs of our founding convention in Pittsburgh." The Pennsylvania Department also wishes to express its thanks to Mr. Collins for his consideration and his efforts.
On 27 November 1996, copies of the the History were presented to the Pennsylvania Department (Barry Chad accepting) and to the University of Pittsburgh (David Rosenberg accepting).

Our Founding Convention

Ironworkers were also organizing at this time in Pittsburgh, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. They began to communicate with each other and decided to meet in Pittsburgh the last week of January 1896, but this was later postponed until the following week, perhaps because of weather conditions at that time of year.
The choice of Pittsburgh as the founding convention city was not only practical (centrally located) but it was symbolic as well. Where would be a better place to build a national or international bridgeman's union that in the City of Bridges? One of the local papers (The Leader) reported the day before the convention that "more bridge builders are employed here than in any city in the country." The story further reported that [George W.] Geary would try to establish headquarters in Chicago (but) "the choice is between Pittsburg and Chicago."
Representatives from six cities answered the call to convene at Moorhead Hall in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, February 4, 1896 to organize an International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers. The following day, the Pittsburg Press reported that sixteen delegates from Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, New York City and Pittsburgh assembled. Later, the Pittsburgh Leader stated that delegates had been expected from Detroit and Philadelphia as well, for the five-day meeting.
The Pittsburg Press listed the sixteen delegates who attended the organizational convention as: Ed Ryan of Boston; John T. Butler, Daniel F. McIntyre, M. Hanna of Buffalo; George W. Geary, James G. Crowley, Patrick J. Dalton of Chicago; Emil and Edward Treter, and Cornelius Brady of Cleveland; John Brady, William Barry and James W. Kelly of New York; David McKelvey, Michael Cronin and William Mullin of Pittsburgh.
The out-of-town delegates stayed at the nearby St. Charles Hotel at the corner of Third and Wood Streets. On Tuesday, February 4, 1896 they gathered at Moorhead Hall at the corner of Second and Grant Streets to begin the founding of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers of America.
On the first day of the convention the delegates selected David McKelvey, president of the Pittsburgh local as president of the convention. Patrick Dalton, of Chicago, was selected as secretary. Each of the delegations reported their "estimated" membership, as follows: Boston, 500; Buffalo, 300; Chicago, 700; Cleveland, 350; New York, 1500; and Pittsburgh 350. (The rounded figures suggest the delegates guessed at short term potential membership).
At the opening session President M. M. Garland, of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers, offered congratulations to the new Bridge and Structural Iron Workers Union. President Garland stressed the advantages of organization and recommended that the new organization affiliate as soon as possible with the American Federation of Labor. This would give the new organization additional strength as well as solidarity with union brothers in the building trades.
On the second day the permanent officers were selected. Edward J. Ryan of Boston became our Union's first President, and John Brady was elected First Vice-President. M. Hanna became Second Vice-President, and James G. Crowley, Secretary-Treasurer. George Geary became the National Organizer. Chosen as Executive Board members were David McKelvey, James W. Kelly, Daniel F. McIntyre and Emil Treter. It seems that at the end of the first day the Cleveland delegation returned home because their local had gone out on strike.
During the next three days many issues were discussed by the delegates. One of these issues was the possibility of establishing a uniform wage rate for all the locals, but this proved impossible. While Pittsburgh Ironworkers received $2.75 for a nine-hour day, Buffalo and Cleveland received only $2.50. Workers in Chicago worked eight hour days. They decided to drop, for now, the idea of a uniform wage scale, and work for the eight hour day that the Haymarket Martyrs had died for and concentrate on organizing.
Various obstacles faced their organizing effort. The employers, particularly the large contractors, did not like having their Ironworkers organized and there was a shortage of steel shapes that often delayed jobs. In addition, the International officers were not full-time paid officials. Very little time and energy remained after the officers put in their full day's work on the steel. If they had not lost their will and strength to run a union at night or on Sundays, they certainly didn't have the financial means for the necessary communication and transportation.
A 25 cent per capita tax was levied each month, but most locals did not have the funds to pay into the International, nor was there an established headquarters. Each year the International Headquarters moved to the home of the elected Secretary-Treasurer, and if he would move, so would the headquarters. All this while the local union's major concern was with their individual incessant struggles with various employers' associations. In its first four years of existence the International barely survived.

--an excerpt from A History of the Iron Workers Union, pp. 18-19.