Milestones in Timeline Form

MILESTONES OF UAW LOCAL 848 HISTORY

1935 - UAW-CIO formed on April 27th at South Bend, Indiana. Click here for more about the period.

1937 - Flint sitdown.

1939 - North American Aviation opens manufacturing facility at Grand Prairie.

1941 - On June 20th, the NLRB rules that Ford must accept union at Dallas plant. Ford local's President R.E. Curtis becomes International Rep, appoints Jack Anderson as President of new Local 645 to be organized at North American.

1941 - First Local 645 meeting. Jack Anderson elected president of Local 645. Hiram Moon is Secretary Treasurer.

1943 - UAW-CIO wins North American ratification election in February.

1944 - O.H. Britt President of local 645

1945 - Olen Jones President of local 645. North American Aviation closed and locked its doors at the end of WWII. Click here for more on the formation of the UAW Local.

1946 - Temco organized in North American's main building, known later as LTV Building 1. Union dues were $2.50 per month. Joe F. Ivy is first President of the new Local 390 UAW-CIO.

1946 - Walter Reuther elected President of UAW-CIO.

1947-48 - Anti-union Taft Hartley Law passes. Texas becomes "Right to work (scab)" state.

1948 - Chance Vought moves to Grand Prairie location. UAW-CIO wins COLA at General Motors. Click here to read about the formation of the UAW Local at Vought.

1949 - On August 3 the UAW-CIO won election for representation. First employee-funded pension program is won at Ford. Local 893 is formed at Vought and wins first hospitalization plan.

1950 - George F. Dull elected President Local 893. December 3, first COLA was paid: $.03. COLA was lost in the next contract at Local 893. Local 390 continued theirs. UAW-CIO uses the new medium, television, to explain their demands at Chrysler.

1951 - Charlie Scott elected President Local 893. Scott appoints the first African American union officer -- Steward Herschel Matthews.

Temco Corporation establishes a plant in Garland. Local 1081 is formed there. Ruth McLendan is their delegate to the 1953 UAW-CIO convention.

1953 - Lockout over badges at Vought. Dean F. Sabine elected President Local 893. UAW-CIO and International Association of Machinists work out a joint plan for negotiating with aerospace companies. The last Corsair fighter airplane is produced by Vought.

1954 - Local 893 represents 5,335 members and 2400 nonmembers as of June 10.

1955 - Chance Vought unveils new XF8U-1 day fighter. Workers at GM & Ford win first SUB (Supplemental Unemployment Benefits) plan. Elnora Purcell is elected Shop Chairperson at Vought. Everett Day becomes President. Local 893 represents 5,100 members and 2,800 nonmembers as of September 1.

1956 - AF of L and CIO merge into AFL-CIO. UAW-CIO is renamed UAW, UAW-AFL becomes Allied Industrial Workers. H.A. McClung elected President of Local 390. Roy Evans was President of Local 893. Local 893 set up first direct negotiations with insurance carrier over workers comp. Andy Anderson President of Local 1081. Local 893 represents 5,460 members and 1,750 nonmembers as of September 1.

1957 - Ralph Hedge President of Local 1081. The local wins burial policy. Local ran a tv show, "Labor Bosses of Texas", to help get Ralph Yarborough elected. Local 893 represents 6,500 members and 3,500 nonmembers as of October 15.

1958 - Joe Roschie President of Local 390. Resigned in middle of term. John Chandler took over. Bill Thurmond President of Local 1081.

1959 - H.E. Farnsworth President of Local 390.

1960 - April, Local 893 conducts "hit and run" strike. Dues paying membership fell from 3,522 (90%) in January to 1,830 (47%) in April. A decertification election was held on April 6th. 3,900 employees were judged eligible to vote; 282 voted "no union" and 3,267 (92% of voters) voted for the UAW!

1961 - Bill Owens President of Local 893.

1962 - Local 848 formed from 893 (Chance Vought) and Temco locals 1081 and 390. Bill Owens first president of Local 848. First contract with LTV dated October 1. It includes COLA. Click here for history of Local 848 beginning in 1962.

1963 - Local 848's newsletter is given the name Texas Aerospacer.

1965 - Local 848 represents 3,500 members and 500 nonmembers as of April.

1967 - Nova Howard President until May 1969. New union hall at 2218 E Main Street dedicated on January 28th. Previously they had used a remodeled bowling alley. While hall was being built, they used temporary offices at 909 Dalworth. UAW withdraws from AFL-CIO on February 3. Local 848 represents 5,009 members and 750 nonmembers as of February 1.

1968 - Local 848 wins Christmas shutdown. The local helps plant guards organize their union, UPGWA 263. Supplemental Unemployment Benefits were negotiated with LTV. The system lasted until 1972. Local 848 represented 9,701 members and 5,000 nonmembers as of March.

1969 - B.J. Meeks President.

1970 - Walter Reuther dies in plane crash. Leonard Woodcock becomes President of UAW.

1971 - Nova Howard President from May to December. After a formal protest by B.J. Meeks, the UAW International overturned the election. B.J. Meeks president from December until May, 1973.

1973 - Frank Inman Jr President of Local 848

1977 - Jack Jones President of Local 848

1978 - Nova Howard President of Local 848.

1981 - Nova Howard dies. Tommy Bates President of Local 848.

1983 - Owen Bieber becomes President of UAW at convention in Dallas.

1984 - Carroll Butler President of Local 848. Click here for the 1984-85 fight against LTV.

1984-85 - LTV imposes takeaway contract. Union "runs the plant backward" for 15 months. 65 loyal union members fired. Concludes with 11 hour strike and a contract July 1, 1985.

1986 - July 17, LTV declares bankruptcy.

1990 - UAW International declares union elections bad and supervises new elections. BJ Meeks defeated as Chairman.

1992 - Local 848 ratifies five year contract. LTV Aerospace is sold to two separate companies, Carlyle and Loral. Later, Loral sells to Lockheed and Carlyle sells to Northrop Grumman.

1993 - BJ Meeks re-elected Chairman. Mike Hall elected President

1999 - Meeks declines to run for office. Rocky Wagner elected Chairman. Hall defeated by Chuck Stanley.