History

In early 1988, business and labor leaders met to address what was then perceived as a less than cooperative labor-management environment in the Dubuque area. These leaders joined together to invest their time and resources in establishing a council, which would create a labor-management environment conducive to industrial attraction and retention.

On February 19, 1988, a meeting was held at the Interstate Power Company to discuss possibility of forming a Dubuque Area Labor-Management Council. Participants included: Pat Dillon, Dan Hammel, Mel Maas, Francis Giunta, Rob Apel, Pat Crahan, Sam Haas, and Mike Stohlmeyer. On July 18 of that same year the Council was incorporated as an Iowa non-profit.

Representing the original board of directors were Dillon, Giunta, Hammel, Maas, Haas, Stohlmeyer, Crahan and Randy Peck. In order to get the organization up and running the State Labor-Management Cooperation Council awarded DALMC a $10,000 grant.

On April 1, 1990, the first director of the Council was hired. Chuck Isenhart was hired on a part-time basis and quickly became full-time director of DALMC that October. Isenhart was a key asset in raising the much needed money that the Council received from the FMCS's grant program. The initial grant from Federal Medication Conciliation Services was $51,075 which was applied to expand the Council's programming.

The first Labor-Management Resource Center was opened on September 23, 1991 in the Fischer Building in Downtown Dubuque.