The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1456, traces its origins to the New York Society of Journeyman Shipwrights and House Carpenters of the City of New York from the early 1800s. New York City native Peter McGuire helped to found the national Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners in 1881. In 1898, Charles Johnson Sr. organized and was treasurer of the local chapter, which consisted primarily of dockbuilders. Known as a Nordic local, its original members descended from Scandinavian immigrants.

After the turn of the century, external challenges from the courts and U.S. economy gave way to internal strife over leadership and organizational structure. The 1920s, which saw a period of great growth for the building industry, were followed by the stock market crash of 1929 and a decline in membership. Full recovery from the Great Depression did not occur until World War II. Postwar prosperity brought growth in collective bargaining, and the national organization's membership grew to 700,000 by 1946. Many women joined the union at this time.

Another New York construction boom in the late 1940s led to improved wages, benefits, and training, with New York City wages reaching $2.75 per hour in 1947. Critics of organized labor subsequently passed "right-to-work" laws, trying to re-establish open shops. In spite of new legal battles, the Brotherhood continued to grow as New York construction flourished. Union carpenters received substantial pensions and fringe benefits. However, anti-union sentiments increased nationwide, spawning a Congressional investigation into racketeering in American trade unions, including the Brotherhood. The Landrum-Griffin Act passed in 1959, requiring greater disclosure of union activities.

The early 1960s saw a decline in construction and greater labor unrest and unemployment. To open up more jobs, New York carpenters added new methods and materials to their skillsets, such as wiring, plumbing and finishing.

New York building projects in the early 1970s, such as the World Trade Center and Verrazano Bridge, could not offset a recession and rise in unemployment until the close of the decade. Responding to the 1972 formation of the Associated Builders and Contractors and the growth of open shop contractors, the Brotherhood in the 1970s and 1980s joined larger efforts to protect members' jobs and pensions. The 1990s saw rising corruption, increased federal oversight, nonunion construction, and formation of breakaway groups. In 2011, national union officials dissolved Local 1456 and merged it with another carpenters' unit.

Sources: Attie, Jeanie. Carpenters, New York State, 100 years of progress : a history of the New York State Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 1881-1981. New York State Council United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.

Robbins, Tom. "Laying Down His Hammer to Apply a Broom to a Troubled Union." The New York Times March 7, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/nyregion/new-face-lingering-problems-for-new-york-citys-carpenters-union.html