View source for Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association

{{Short description|Trade union in the US and Canada}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox union
| name = OPCMIA
| location_country = United States and Canada
| affiliation = [[AFL–CIO]], [[Canadian Labour Congress]]
| members = 43,739 (2018)<ref name="OLMS_LM-2_2019-03-29">{{Cite OLMS|filenum=000-132|rptId=699268|rptForm=LM2Form|date=March 29, 2019}}</ref>
| full_name = Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada
| image = Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association logo.png
| founded = {{Start date and age|1864|07|21}}
| dissolved = 
| merged = 
| headquarters = 9700 Patuxent Woods Drive, Suite 200<br />[[Columbia, Maryland]] 21046
| key_people = Daniel Stepano (general president)
| website = {{official URL}}
| footnotes = 
}}
The '''Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada''' ('''OPCMIA''') is a [[trade union]] of [[plasterer]]s and [[cement]] [[Masonry|masons]] in the [[construction industry]] in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Members of the union finish [[interior wall]]s and ceilings of buildings and apply [[plaster]] on masonry, [[metal]], and wire [[lath]] or [[gypsum]]. Cement masons are responsible for all [[concrete]] construction, including pouring and finishing of slabs, steps, wall tops, [[Curb (road)|curbs]] and [[Street gutter|gutters]], [[sidewalk]]s, and [[Road surface|paving]]. The organization is a member union of the [[AFL–CIO]] and [[Canadian Labour Congress]].

==History==
The union traces its roots to the era of the [[American Civil War]], when an organization known variously as the '''National Plasterer's Union''' or the '''National Plasterers Organization''' attempted to unify the various local [[craft unions]] that represented workers in the trade.

The modern organization was formed in 1882, when a number of [[Local union|locals]] who had supported the [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]] local in a [[Strike action|strike]] earlier that year met in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], to reestablish a national organization.

In 1946 the union established a program, in conjunction with the Contracting Plasterers' International Association and the Associated General Contractors, to establish national apprentice training standards. The union trained a large number of veterans of [[World War II]] in its apprenticeship programs, while curtailing the competition from non-union contractors. 

In 1960 the union followed many other U.S. unions in moving its headquarters, transferring them from [[Cleveland]] to the [[Washington Metropolitan Area|Washington, D.C. region]]. It is currently headquartered at [[Columbia, Maryland]].

==Presidents==
:1882: Michael Mulvihill
:1883: James W. Smith
:?
:1908: John H. Donlin
:1912: [[Edward J. McGivern]]
:1927: [[Michael J. Colleran]]
:1940: John E. Rooney
:1959: Edward J. Leonard
:1970: Joseph P. Power
:1981: Melvin H. Roots
:Robert J. Holton
:1996: John J. Dougherty
:2007: Patrick Finley
:2016: Daniel Stepano

==See also==
{{Portal|Organized labour}}
* [[Concrete finisher]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh20002001/348.htm Profile of the work of plasterers and stucco masons] from the [[Occupational Outlook Handbook]]

{{Stonemasonry}}
{{AFL-CIO}}

{{Canadian Labour Congress}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:AFL-CIO affiliates]]
[[Category:Canadian Labour Congress affiliates]]
[[Category:Plasterers' trade unions]]
[[Category:Trade unions established in 1882]]