AN INTRODUCTION TO DISTRICT COUNCIL 2

District Council 2 has over 7,000 members working in more than 151, large and small, plants in California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah, Colorado and Nevada.  Our plants produce many products related to packaging operations and all types of printing and paper converting, such as:

Corrugated Boxes                   Flexible Packaging

Paper Mills                              Paper and Plastic Bags

Commercial Printing                Business Forms

Labels/ Ticket                         Envelopes

Newspapers                            Ink

Warehouses                            Books

Food Processing                     Mailing

Plastic Containers                   Folding Cartons

The principal officers of District Council 2 are Secretary-Treasurer Clark Ritchey and President Daniel Cabada.  District Council 2 is currently composed of six locals and there are eight full-time representatives and organizers.  

How we began:  During the 1950’s there were several small local unions in the Los Angeles area which were having difficulty negotiating fair contracts and organizing new companies.  They merged their treasuries and their expenses, forming one local union which is now District Council 2.

With the increased strength, they were able to negotiate better contracts and set up a health insurance Trust Fund, unequalled by any other organization in the industries represented by  DC2, and created a Pension Union-Employer Trust Fund.  In the late 1960’s Dental and Prescription Drug Plans plus Supplemental Life, Sickness and Accident Insurance were negotiated and not long down the line a Vision Plan was also added.

As companies grew in the 1980’s, most of the locals on the West Coast, including Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Idaho, became District Council 2 through a series of mergers and affiliations.

In 1986 Graphic Communications Union Local 777M of Northern California merged into Graphic Communications Union Local 388M, one of the six affiliated local unions of Graphic Communications Union District Council No. 2.  A few months later, Washington Local 747M, along with District Council 4 of Portland were affiliated with DC2.   Local 4N of Northern California recently merged into Local 388M.

DC2 has continued to move forward to represent all of our Brothers and Sisters in our Union in a spirit and manner consistent with the ideals of a progressive Union.  Our members, through Collective Bargaining, have guaranteed wages, pension Health and Welfare Plans, seniority and a winning grievance and arbitration procedure to guarantee dignity and respect on the job and in the community.