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After collecting Labor Memorabilia for over thirty-five years, I have decided to sell-off my collection of over 4700 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 these 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 "1908-May 5 - AMALGAMATED ASSOCIATION of IRON, STEEL & TIN WORKERS of NORTH AMERICA(AAISTWNA) - 33rd ANNUAL CONVENTION - DELEGATE - YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO - OUTING COMMITTEE" badge. This 2.25" x 5.5" convention badge is in Excellent Condition with a UNION BUG[stamp] on the tin hanger has a celluloid insert which reads "Delegate". The upper hanger has a celluloid insert with information on the convention. The face of the the hanging tin medallion has the emblem/logo of the AAISTWNA. This Extremely Rare Convention badge will make a great addition to an AAISWA Union collection or a Labor Union collection or for the history buff of the USWA Union .

Amalgamated Association of Iron & Steel Workers of North America(AAISW)

Unionization of the iron industry first began in the Pittsburgh area during the 1850s. As the center of the nation's heavy iron trade, Pittsburgh attracted skilled workers already experienced in trade unionism from the iron centers of the British Isles. The panic of 1857 stimulated an existing desire for collective labor action, and on April 12, 1858, a local union of iron puddlers, named the Iron City Forge of the Sons of Vulcan, was organized in Pittsburgh. A secret organization with a small membership, it engaged in little trade union activity. The revival of the iron trade during the Civil War, however, revitalized Sons of Vulcan, and on September 8, 1862, it reorganized as a national union - The Grand Forge of the United States, United Sons of Vulcan.

Few employer-labor conflicts erupted during the war, but immediately after the war, the effort to reduce wages precipitated a long eight-month strike. The Sons of Vulcan enjoyed some advantages in the struggle; the highly skilled iron puddlers were difficult to replace, and the centralization of the iron trade in the Pittsburgh facilitated their organization. As a result of the strike, the union signed a trade agreement with an employers' association in February 1865, which contained a sliding scale of wages based on the selling price of bar iron. The settlement lasted for two years after which a new trade agreement, lasting until 1873, satisfied worker demands for higher wages.

The Sons of Vulcan grew slowly during the 1860s. In 1870 the national organization assumed authority over calling strikes and levying and collecting strike assessments. Tafter the union grew rapidly, reaching nearly 3,500 members in seventy forges in 1873.

Workers in other branches of the industry had begun organizing at about the same time as the puddlers. The first permanent local unions of workers employed in the furnaces and rolls of finishing departments appeared in Chicago in 1861. In August 1872 several lodges combined to form the Associated Brotherhood of Iron and Steel Heaters, Rollers and Roughers of the United States( ABISHRR ). By 1873 the new national union had organized twenty-two lodges in seven states and had a paid membership of 480. Rollers, roughers, catchers. hookers, straighteners and buggymen also formed a national organization in Springfield, Illinois, on June 2, 1873-The National Union of Rollers, Roughers, Catchers and Hookers of the United States( NURRCH ). Renamed the Iron and Steel Roll Han...

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