About

At the turn of the century most windows were wood or steel. Aluminum started to be used in the twenties. Most windows had angle glazing, face putty or wood stops. The men who worked in the mills or hardware stores could cut glass and face putty ,those were their skills. When metal storefronts came to vogue they were made from copper. Aluminum came later.

After World War 1, large factories were built, some having 40,000 to 200,000 lites of glass, all face putty. Most were steel sash windows, but some were wood windows.

Vitrolite, a colored glass 11/32 or thicker came on the market as a replacement for marble. Glaziers Local 513 took in a marble man to teach glaziers how to install this material, Ray Steins. Vitrolite covered walls, columns, bulk heads and headers of movie houses, storefronts, kitchens and baths in housing. Millions of square feet were installed up until the mid 60’s when it fell out of favor. It was produced by LOF Products and PPG and came in 20 colors.

When the Depression hit St. Louis , there was very little work for Glaziers within 513’s territory. The rest of the country was in the same condition, so there were no jobs for our members even if they were willing to travel. In order to be a union shop, employers had to agree to hire a minimum of 4 people every day. There were only 4 shops, Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Hadley-Dean, Burroughs and Nurre. When there was a large replacement extra men were hired. It was not uncommon for a fringe glazier to work 25 to 30 days a year.

Glaziers went back to 40 hours a week.

All trades were returning to work and Glaziers began to work overtime before the beginning of World War II. When America went to war every Glazier was working 6 to 7 days a week. When the veteranss returned to the work place the government directed the union to open up the apprentice program to the veterans. 513 took in 7 to 10 apprentices for ten years. During these years 95%of storefronts were made of aluminum. We were experiencing full employment which was to last for 19 years.

Health and Welfare Plan was started.

Tubular metal and tube aluminum doors were introduced to the market. Our glass companies got the distributing rights to this material and the glaziers began installing these new materials.

Vacation Fund was started.

Pension fund started with $.10 contribution, the original trustees were Walter Brown, Bob Riley and Ed Walsh. The first members who retired in 1959 received a monthly pension of $25.00 at age 65.

Glaziers started erecting small curtain walls, 12-20 feet high. Flush glaze tubes came on the market. Pre-glazed windows started arriving in St. Louis. We first saw their use in residential capacity. The early 60’s were a big building boom in downtown St. Louis. The installation of fixture glass in retail stores was awarded to Glaziers, this work had been done by Carpenters for 60 years. Glaziers 513 gained untold numbers of hours by the award of this type of work.

During the early 70’s many members had to leave town to find work. The post war building boom had ended. Several old line glass houses went out of business in the early 80’s. Trouble with non-union and disputes with other trades, Carpenters, Iron Workers and Sheet Metal Workers were taking their toll on our traditional work. In 1992 and 1993 half of 513’s members were out of work.

The Glaziers union, almost from the date of their original chartering , had their offices at the Painters District Council headquarters. The first meeting place was at Spellbrink’s Hall at 1319 Franklin Ave. In 1923 the Painters purchased a church on Grand at Page where they met for 22 years. In December of 1950, The District Council moved to 2715 North Union Blvd. In 1960 they moved to the current Painters District Council Building at 2501 59th Street. Through all those years , Glaziers 513 kept their offices with the Painters. Then in 1979 during a period of political unrest at Painters DC2, Glaziers 513 was forced to relocate their offices. It was a difficult period. We rented officespace at the White building on Brentwood and held our union meeings at Howard Johnson’s.Our members didn’t have easy access to the Business Rep and Fund office personnel. The Pension Fund Trustees, at that time, decided to look into the feasibility of building a Pension Fund Building. Finally in June, 1981 they took possession of the new Glaziers, Architectural Metal and Glassworkers Pension Fund Trust Building. The Pension Fund Trustees oversee the operation of this building and rent office space and classrooms to the Elevator Constructors Local 3, Sign and Pictoral Painters Local 774 and their own Apprentice and Journeyman Training Fund and our Union offices.