Granite Cutters' International Association

GCIA

Granite Cutters' International Association of America
Merged into	Tile, Marble, Terrazzo, Finishers', Shopworkers' and Granite Cutters' International Union
Founded	1877
Dissolved	1980
Location	United States, Canada
Affiliations	American Federation of Labor

The Granite Cutters' International Association of America (GCIA) was a trade union representing granite cutters in the United States and Canada.

History

The union was founded in March 1877 near Rockland, Maine, USA.[1] Its official publication was the Granite Cutters’ Journal. It was among the founding organizations of the American Federation of Labor.

It was founded as the Granite Cutters' National Union and later Granite Cutters' International Union of the United States and the British Provinces of America before taking its final name in 1905. Jobs for skilled granite cutters dwindled in the 1960s and the union eventually merged into the Tile, Marble, Terrazzo, Finishers', Shopworkers' and Granite Cutters' International Union.[2]

Leaders

The leader of the union was initially the secretary; from 1905 the secretary-treasurer; and from 1912, the president.[3]

1877: Thompson H. Murch[3]

1878: Josiah B. Dyer[3]

1895: James Duncan[3]

1923: Samuel Squibb

1935: Lawrence Foley

1951: Costanzo Pagnano

1967: Joseph P. Ricciarelli

Further reading

• Grindle, Roger L. Tombstones and Paving Blocks: The History of the Maine Granite Industry. Courier-Gazette, Rockland, Me, 1977.

References

1. "Granite Cutters International Association of America – Special Collections and University Archives". Retrieved 23 May 2017.
2. "History of the Stonecutters Union". Retrieved 23 May 2017.
3. The Samuel Gompers Papers. University of Illinois Press. 1986. ISBN 9780252033896.