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The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Canel Lodge 700 was founded on 20 April 1959. The lodge, located in Middletown, Connecticut, was organized by machinists at the Canel Atomic Testing Lab. In 1959, the local gained collective bargaining recognition from the Canel Lab. Pratt and Whitney took over the plant circa 1965. Pratt and Whitney continued union recognition after the takeover.

The early history of the Connecticut Employees Union Independent is largely the story of one man, Salvatore Perruccio, a prominent labor leader in the state of Connecticut for almost forty years. The Connecticut Employees Union Independent was formed on 26 April 1967, when Perruccio and 325 state employees working at the Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown decided to break away from AFSCME and begin their own union. The split with AFSCME was not friendly, and the Federation attacked the new union with a variety of tactics ranging from court injunctions, subterfuge, and even violence. The Independent managed to survive, and by 1981 it boasted a membership of over 8,000 state employees, most of whom were maintenance workers.

District Lodge 91 received its charter in May 1953. At that time the representative locals consisted of Hartford Aircraft Lodge 743, chartered in 1941, representing workers at Hamilton Standard (located in East Hartford until 1952 when it moved to Windsor Locks); Industrial aircraft Lodge 1746, chartered in February, 1945, representing workers at Pratt and Whitney, East Hartford; and Industrial Aircraft Lodge 1746A, chartered in October, 1951, representing Pratt and Whitney workers in Southington. In March 1959 Canal Lodge 700, in Middletown, was chartered and added to District 91 representation. Prior to 1953, Pratt and Whitney workers' lodges were part of IAM District 26. As of 1984, District 91 included Lodge 700, Lodge 707 (from North Haven), Lodge 743, Lodge 1746, and Lodge 1746A.