The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen records contain material relating to the national organization, national railroad labor relations, and railroad labor issues, from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. In addition, the General Chairman's Reports, which comprise a sizable portion of the collections, relate largely to labor cases on the Southern Pacific, El Paso and Southwestern, and Northwestern Pacific Railroads. Of particular interest is the volume on the arbitration of questions raised by electrification of the Southern Pacific's East Bay suburban operations. In addition to information on these lines, the volume contains testimony describing operations on the Pacific Electric Railway and other Southern California electric routes.
The records of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen are organized in eight series listed below. The first seven are arranged according to the office or organization of origin, and then chronologically within each series. The eighth series, consisting of ephemera pertaining to the Brotherhood, is arranged according to the type of item.
History / Biographical
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen was founded on December 1, 1873 at Jervis, New York, to provide mutual support for railroad firemen. The Brotherhood early on emphasized insurance, although in the late nineteenth century it became involved in labor/management relations. By the turn of the century, the organization also had changed its name to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, thereby permitting locomotive engineers to hold membership. In 1969, it joined with the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and the Switchmen's Union of North America to form the United Transportation Union.