Washington, D.C. Local, 1899-1951

Like Series I and II, this series contains correspondence, membership, and financial records, but it also contains the minutes of business meetings held by the local, reports of delegates to the biennial conventions, and records that document a training program for foreign nationals conducted by the Department of State in the years after World War II. Records in this series date from 1899 to 1951.

The earliest records of the formation of the organization that became the International Association of Siderographers are included in the series. These records document the initial formation of the Washington, D.C. association and include correspondence regarding the recruitment of new members in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

A large and unique element of this series are the minutes of business meetings held by the local between 1914 and 1947. These records document the procedures followed during the meetings, the union's relationship with the other locals, membership issues including payment of dues, and other business of concern to the union. Meetings are apparently held monthly throughout the thirty-three year period, and there are existing minutes for some of these.

The bulk of the correspondence in this series dates between 1928 and 1931, although there are single letters whose rates range from 1899 to 1947. Included in this portion of the series are several telegrams notifying the local of the deaths of members in the New York local.

Also notable in the Washington, D.C. local series are the records of three trials or cases that document disputes of individual members with the union as a whole. These disputes are filed under the last name of the individual member involved. In all three cases, individuals were charged with violating the principles of the association and with conduct unbecoming a member; the charges appear to be violations of work rules or secrecy codes.

The siderographers who were members of this local were all employed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Priniting, and many of the records in the series reflect the special concerns of this place of employment.

The series is organized alphabetically by document type and/or subject, then chronologically.