[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAPA SOLANO BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 8, 1999

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Mr. 
Thompson of California, and I rise today to recognize the Napa Solano 
Building Trades Council as this organization celebrates its 100th 
anniversary of service to the men and women engaged in the building 
trades in Northern California.
  One hundred years ago in September, 1899, the first trade and labor 
council in Napa and Solano Counties was formed when eleven tradesmen 
representing five local unions met in the Mechanics Hall in Vallejo to 
form the Trades and Labor Council of Vallejo, CA.
  The unions represented at that historic meeting were the Boilermakers 
Local 148, Carpenters Local 180, Machinist Lodge 252, Shipwrights Local 
1068, the Pipe Fitters Union, and the Iron Molders Local 164.
  The original officers of the Council, President Richard Caverly of 
the Boilermakers, Vice President N.B. Grace of the Carpenters, 
Secretary John Davidson of the Shipwrights, Treasurer William Brownlie 
of the Shipwrights, and Sergeant-at-Arms G.E. Smith of the Carpenters 
will always be known as the union leaders who started the official 
labor movement in Solano and Napa Counties.
  A Charter was granted to the fledgling organization by the American 
Federation of Labor and signed by President Samuel Gompers on October 
9, 1899, making it one of the oldest labor councils in the State of 
California.
  The Trade and Labor Council flourished and the original membership 
increased rapidly. The member unions formed their own councils as well 
as the Solano Building and Construction Trades Council, the Solano 
Central Labor Council and the Mare Island Navy Yard Metal Trades 
Council.
  Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that we acknowledge and honor today 
this pioneering labor organization and the men and women in the 
building trades in Napa and Solano Counties. These men and women of 
labor have made an immeasurable difference in the lives of working 
families.

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