Missouri State University Libraries

Records of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union (HEREBIU), Local 336

Collection Number: LA 5
Volume: .8 Linear Feet
Dates: 1945-1964 (Bulk: 1955-1962)

Provenance

The records of HERE, Local 336 were transferred to the Ozarks Labor Union Archives on February 1, 1983 by former business agent Ralph Dillard. The collection was processed in 1998 by Trina Yeckley.

Copyright

This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Access

The collection is unrestricted. Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be obtained from the Ozarks Labor Union Archives. Citations should be as follows: Identification of the item, box and folder number, Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union, Local 336, Ozarks Labor Union Archives, Missouri State University.

Organizational History

HEREBIU, Local 472 was chartered in 1934 and represented Springfield area bartenders. Local 472 was popularly referred to as the Bartenders' Union, while HEREBIU, Local 336, which organized restaurant workers, was often called the Culinary Alliance. The history of the unions is sketchy since the location of the early records of the unions is unknown.

In 1953, Local 472 amended their by-laws to exclude women from the union. At least one bar, The Grove, was picketed when the proprietor insisted on hiring a woman bartender. The bartender, Betty Sue Lisenby was denied membership in the union due to her gender. The union claimed the denial was because Lisenby crossed a picket line in 1949. The NLRB decided in favor of Local 472 and Lisenby was replaced by a male union member. On March 11, 1956, Local 472 admitted Shelly Farron as the first woman bartender in Springfield.

During the 1961 negotiations, the Springfield Bar Association announced that member bars would now be open shops, free to hire union or non-union labor. Local 472 posted pickets on April 25. After several weeks on strike, some bartenders began taking other jobs. Spirit was low among the remaining members; many accused the International office of abandoning Local 472. On June 3, the strike was declared a defeat. On July 9, 1961 President Ralph Dillard and Business Agent Harold Gardner resigned, citing the memberships' displeasure with the way they handled the strike.

On February 28, 1962 Local 472 merged into Local 336 due to decreasing membership. At the time of the merger Local 472 had only 33 active members; Local 336 membership was approximately 120. Local 336 has not been active since the late 1960s.

Ralph Eugene Dillard (1922-1997) was a bartender in Springfield for over 40 years. Throughout his career Dillard bartended at Sander’s Tavern, the Mayfair, the Flaming Pit, and the Mason-Dixon. In the 1960s he owned the Stardust Lounge. Dillard served as the business agent and later President of the Bartenders’ Union from to 1961. Dillard also served as President of the Local Joint Executive Board, an organization composed of members of Local 472 and Local 336.

Scope and Content

This collection contains the records of Ralph Dillard (1922-1997), business agent of the Bartenders’ Union, Local 472 from 1953 to 1961 and President of the Local Joint Executive Board made up of the Bartenders and the Hotel and Restaurant Employee Union, Local 336. The collection consists of Local 472’s by-laws (1956 & 1960), minutes (1953-1962), agreements (1956), correspondence (1960-1961); Local 336’s agreements (1957), correspondence (1952-1961), and the general business records of both unions (1945-1964). Minutes (1951) and financial statements (1951-1957) of the Local Joint Executive Board are also included. The last folder is Ralph Dillard’s scrapbook which contains a variety of news clippings (mostly undated) about Local 472.

Container List

Box 1	Folder
	1	By-laws	Local 472	1956(?) & 1960
	2	Minutes	Local 472	1953-1957
	3	Minutes	Local 472	1956-1958
	4	Minutes	Local 472	1958-Jan. 1962
	5	Minutes & Financial Statements	Local Joint Ex. Board	Minutes 1951 Financial 1951-1957
	6	Agreements	Locals 336 & 472	1956-57(?)
	7	Correspondence	Local 336	1952
	8	Correspondence	Local 336	1955
	9	Correspondence	Local 336	1956
	10	Correspondence	Local 336	1957
	11	Correspondence	Local 336	1958
	12	Correspondence	Local 336	1959
	13	Correspondence	Local 336	1960
	14	Correspondence	Local 336	1961
	15	Correspondence	Local 336	1962
	16	Correspondence	Local 336	1963
	17	Correspondence	Local 336	1964
	18	Correspondence	Local 472	1960-1961
	19	General Files	Audit Report, Local 336	1958-1964
	20	General Files	Audit Report, Local 472	1959-1962
	21	General Files	Audit Report, Local Joint Ex Board	1960-1961
	22	General Files	Election Ballots	N.D.
	23	General Files	Form, Bar Card Contract	N.D.
	24	General Files	Meals as Taxable Income	1955-1957
	25	General Files	Membership Applications	1950-1960s
	26	General Files	Monthly Reports, Local 336	1958-1963
	27	General Files	Monthly Reports, Local 472	1957-1962
	28	General Files	Pensions	1953-1962
	29	General Files	Traveling Cards	1951-1961
	30	General Files	U.S. Dept. of Labor	1959-1962
	31	General Files	Withdrawal Cards	1945-1961
	32	Scrapbook	Ralph Dillard, Local 472	1950's-1960's