James Duncan (union leader)
| James Duncan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 5, 1857 Portlethen, Kincardineshire, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Died | September 14, 1928 (aged 71) Quincy, Massachusetts, USA |
| Occupation | Trade union leader; granite cutter; president of the Granite Cutters' International Association |
| Known for | Co-founder, American Federation of Labor |
James Duncan (May 5, 1857 – September 14, 1928) was a Scottish American union leader, and president of the Granite Cutters' International Association from 1885 until his death in 1928. He was an influential member of the American labor movement, helping to co-found the American Federation of Labor.
Duncan was born on May 5, 1857, in Portlethen, Kincardineshire in Scotland. His parents were David and Mary (Forbes) Duncan. His father was a farmer, and David was raised Presbyterian. He attended public elementary school in Aberdeen, then apprenticed as a granite cutter.
In 1873, Duncan became a full-fledged granite cutter. His first trade was as a maker of headstones, but he later carved granite statues as well.
Duncan married the former Lillian Holman in 1887. The couple had one child.
In 1880, Duncan emigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. He joined the Granite Cutters' National Union in 1881, and was elected the local's secretary. Duncan moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1884, and joined the Granite Cutters' union in that city as well. He was elected the local union's secretary shortly thereafter.
In May 1895, Duncan was elected secretary of the Granite Cutters' National Union. He was also named the editor of the union's journal, the Granite Cutters' Journal. He moved the union's headquarters to Quincy, Massachusetts in 1900, where he took up residence. The Granite Cutters' National Union had been organized in 1877 as the Granite Cutters' International Union of the United States and the British Provinces of America. The union's founder and first president was Thompson H. Murch, of Maine. He was elected to Congress in 1878, and was replaced by Josiah B. Dyer. Dyer moved the union's headquarters from Maine to Concord, New Hampshire. The union was, at best, a loose federation of largely independent locals. Although it claimed jurisdiction over and had locals in Canada, the Canadian members were an afterthought to the union. In 1880, the union changed its name to the Granite Cutters' National Union and changed its constitution to reduce its jurisdiction to the United States. During his first few years in office, Duncan proposed and won passage of numerous amendments to the union's constitution, forming the Granite Cutters' National Union into one of the most effective unions in the country. He was not, however, a supporter of civil rights for African Americans. Duncan negotiated several contracts in the Deep South which required employers to fire black granite cutters and hire Caucasian ones. When the American Federation of Labor (AFL) later complained about the agreements, Duncan strongly defended them and invoked the AFL's principle of autonomy for member unions in defense. The matter was dropped.
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