 Local autonomy also meant that jurisdictional decisions in one area held no weight in another, creating a patchwork of different jurisdictional rules nationwide.Membership on the local level was also spotty, hurting local council finances and undercutting the weight of local council decisions.Because the NBTC permitted not only unions belonging to the AFL but also independent union to join, the AFL formally accused the group of dual unionism in 1899 and proceeded to establish building trades councils of its own.