The Amalgamated Lithographers of America (ALA) is a labor union formed in 1915 to conduct collective bargaining on behalf of workers in the craft of lithography. The ALA was established through the amalgamation of several small unions already existing in the lithographic industry, one of which dated back to 1886.
The union remained in independent existence for nearly half a century as part of the American Federation of Labor and its successor federation, the AFL-CIO, until combining with the International Photo-Engravers Union (IPEU) to establish the Lithographers and Photoengravers International Union (LPIU) in 1964.
After a series of subsequent organizational mergers, the core of the ALA remains in existence in the 21st Century as Local One-L of the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Headquarters of the organization are located in New York City.
History
Background
Traditional lithography is a form of artistic reproduction using techniques first developed around the turn of the 19th century. A drawing is adhered to a smooth stone by means of an oily crayon or ink, with nitric acid applied to the stone and repelled by the oil, instead working on the unmarked areas and leaving the drawing in relief. The process is both labor-intensive and difficult, and therefore costly, although the reproduction of colors by lithographic means frequently results in a brilliance and precision unequaled by other forms of mass reproduction.
Prior to the American Civil War, lithographers began to establish local trade unions in many of the larger cities of the United States of America. Many of these local organizations were destroyed by the economic chaos and unemployment associated with the Panic of 1857 and did not revive until after the conclusion of the war in 1865.
It would not be until 1886 that a permanent national trade union of lithographers was formed. This organization, the Lithographers' International Protective and Beneficial Association of the United States and Canada (LIPBA) was formed as an adjunct of the Knights of Labor, a predecessor and rival to the fledgling American Federation of Labor which favored an industrial form of organization. LIPBA consequently included a wide range of skilled workers among its ranks, including artists, engravers, transferrers, and skilled press operators.
Most of the artists and engravers withdrew from LIPBA in 1890 to form their own organization, the cumbersomely named International Lithographic Artists' and Engravers' Insurance and Protective Association of the United States and Canada (ILAE). Originally conceived as a mutual benefit society, the ILAE rapidly moved into collective bargaining, attempting to use its clout to establish a minimum wage for artistic workers in the industry and to abolish the use of piece work. This agenda lead it into conflict with employers, culminating in a major strike in New York City in 1896 after negotiations with the employers' association of lithographic firms was unsuccessful. The strike was ultimately ended by the use of arbitration, with the final result going far to meet most of the union's demands over wages and working conditions.
Since neither LIPBA (transferrers and press operators) nor ILAE (artists and engravers) would admit the lesser skilled press feeders into their organizations, in 1898 there was a third union formed in the lithographic industry, the International Protective Association of Lithographic Apprentices and Press Feeders of the United States and Canada. In addition, no fewer than three other unions were established in the next two years, each a craft union attempting to carve out a specific niche. These included the Poster Artists' Association of America (PAAA, established 1899), the Paper Cutters Union (established 1900), and the International Association of Stone and Plate Preparers of the United States and Canada (established 1900).