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After collecting Labor Memorabilia for over thirty-five years, I have decided to sell-off my collection of over 4400 Labor Union & Cause items. Many of these items have never appeared on ebay or for that matter, on any other venues selling historical pieces. Some of the pieces go back to the year of 1834 and others are from the Knights of Labor, Western Federation of Labor, IWW and other labor organizations of the late 19th century. T are Parade Badges, Pins, Convention Badges, Ribbons, Caps & Hats, 3-D items, Plates, Paper, Books, Signs & Posters of practically every union which ever existed including noted Labor leaders of the century. Most of the items are in Nice, Great, Excellent, Near-Mint, Mint and Minty-Mint condition and also, many are Rare, Very Rare and Extremely Rare pieces.

One of the items is a great looking, Extremely Rare, early 1898ca. "OPERATING PLASTERERS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION(OPIA) - LOCAL UNION No. 22 - LINCOLN, NEBRASKA" badge. This 2.25" x 8.25" badge with a gold-tone brass hanger and red/white/blue ribbon with sharp, crisp silver lettering is in MINT CONDITION with a UNION LABEL[stamp] on the lower face of the ribbon. The hanging medallion with a celluloid insert shows the emblem/logo of the Plasterer with the tools needed to carry out his work. This piece has all of the original gold gilt on the hanger & the hanging medallion and hanging gold fringe on the lower part of the badge. Rarely, do you ever find a badge of this type in this spectacular condition. This piece is a MUSEUM QUALITY item!! This badge was worn by a proud union member in Labor Day Parades and to other fraternal affairs of the local union including social events. The reverse side is black with silver lettering and was worn to a wake or funeral of a departed brother. This Extremely Rare badge in MINT CONDITION will make a great addition to an OPIA Union collection or a Labor Union collection.

Operative Plasterers International Association(OPIA)

Local Unions of plasterers began to appear in American cities as early as the 1820s and early 1830s. Most of the unions disappeared during the depression following the panic of 1837, but organization resumed on a broad scale during the 1850s. Shortly before the end of the Civil War the first national union of plasterers, the National Plasterers' Organization of the United States(NPO). Made its debut on the American labor scene.

But after nearly a decade of activity, The Plasterers ' Organization, victimized by the depression of the 1870s, disintegrated. The union reorganized during the following decade and in 1889 adopted the title Operative Plasterers International Association(OPIA) of the United States and Canada. The OPIA affiliated with the American Federation of Labor(AFL) on November 14, 1908. A few years later(August 30, 1915) the OPIA merged with another small AFL national union, the American Brotherhood of Cement Workers, chartered by the AFL on September 22, 1903. The union title was then changed to Operative Plasterers' and Cement Finishers' International Association of the United States and Canada(OP&CFIA).

Although experiencing a sharp membership decline during the depression of the 1890s, the OP&CFIA grew steadily during the decades of the twentieth century. A membership of 6,000 in 1900 doubled before 1910 and redoubled by the 1920s. The OP&CFIA continued to grow, reaching nearly 40,000 before the devastating effects of the Great Depression pushed unemployment rates in the building trades to unprecedented levels. Membership fell below the 20,000 figure by the mid-1930s before moving upward until the mid-1950s. In 1950, the union changed its name to Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association(OP&CMIA). In 1973 the OP&CMIA reported a membership of 68,000 members located in 450 local unions.

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