Founding of Ironworkers Union
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
On Feb.4, 1896, sixteen delegates met at Moorheads Hall here to form the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, & Reinforcing Iron Workers. Active in the struggle for health & safety standards; by 1996 it had 140,000 members.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On February 4, 1896, sixteen delegates gathered at Moorheads Hall on this site to form the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers. Meeting in Pittsburgh, the heart of America's steel and bridge-building boom, they organized to win better wages and, above all, safer conditions in one of the era's most dangerous trades. By its centennial in 1996 the union counted some 140,000 members.
Why it matters
The ironworkers' union helped drive the fight for health and safety standards that protected the men who built America's bridges and skyscrapers.
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Related events
- · Founding of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers (1896)
Themes & tags
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