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One of the great labor leaders of the 19th century, Peter J. McGuire was one of the founding fathers of the Brotherhood, and was General Secretary for our first 21 years. He worked tirelessly to keep the union alive in the early years, and his efforts led to the 8-hour workday, founding of the AF of L, wages that more than doubled, and union membership at more than 167,000 by 1903. He also created a lasting memorial to workers -- the Labor Day holiday.

His first experience of practical activism came in 1872. McGuire marched alongside the one hundred thousand workers who struck for the eight-hour day in the spring of that year. Years later, McGuire remarked that the events of 1872 convinced him of the value of a militant labor movement.

McGuire continued his work, leading up to the famous Tompkins Square rally of January 13, 1874. This demonstration occupies and important place in the pages of American labor history. The battle for workers' rights has often met stiff resistance, and the park in Tompkins Square will always be remembered as the site of a violent attack on the young labor movement. For the rest of the decade, McGuire divided his time between organizing and working in the trade. He worked in finish shops and piano factories, mostly to finance his political life. He spoke up and down the East Coast, throughout the Midwest and the South. He helped form the socialist Workingmens' Party and traveled on its behalf. The number of his speaking engagements was as extensive as his funds were limited. On a tour of New England in 1877, McGuire walked from city to city enrolling hundreds of new members in the party with each speech. When his feet gave out, he hopped freights. During one six-week stretch, he is said to have made 107 speeches, usually to audiences of several thousand.

McGuire's speeches challenged his listeners to question the economic system that produced boom-and-bust business cycles, an insecure, underpaid labor force, and wretched working conditions. McGuire warned that workers were condemned to harsh and trying lives as long as the capitalist's desire for profits determined economic and political choices. He urged independent political action and the creation of a working-class party to speak in the name of labor. Always ready to practice what he preached, McGuire managed campaigns for local and state offices in Connecticut, and received over 9,000 votes in a Cincinnati election, despite being there for only six weeks

For years the carpenters of the whole country have been disorganized and without any common understanding. The 300,000 men of the trade have been at the mercy of a few thousand contractors and boss builders. "In the present age there is no hope for workingmen outside of organization. Without a trades union, the workman meets the employer at a great disadvantage. The capitalist has the advantage of past accumulations; the laborer, unassisted by combination, has not."

It was logical that McGuire should be he one to deliver the call for a national union. His leadership in the Workingmen's Party, the St. Louis Trades Assembly, and in a successful strike of St. Louis carpenters in 1881, made him the country's best known organizer of carpenters, though he was still just 29.

Representative from 11 cities answered his invitation to the Chicago convention. Four days of heated discussion produced a constitution and a structure. The delegates disagreed on a number of issues, but there was no disagreement on the new union's leader. P.J. McGuire was unanimously elected to the post of General Secretary.

The UBC's early years were difficult. The union grew slowly, from a membership of 2,042 in 1881 to 5,789 in 1885. Some cities were well organized, while others remained entirely non-union. At the national level, McGuire spent 18 hours a day speaking, writing, and organizing to keep the organization afloat. The national office followed him-to St. Louis, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia-as he moved around, responding to crisis after crisis. He rarely collected his $20 weekly salary, and if he did, it immediately went towards union expenses. "We should not lose sight of our character as a trade union, and sink ourselves into a mere benevolent society or insurance company. We must elevate the craft, protect its interests, advance wages, reduce the hours of labor, spread correct economic doctrines and cultivate a spirit of fraternity among the working people regardless of creed, color, nationality or politics. These principles are the foundation principles of our organization."