The collection consists of business records and correspondence pertaining to the Brotherhood and the Western Pacific Railway during the mid-twentieth century.
Documents in the collection contain information on the railroad's hiring and job bidding procedures, as well as hours worked and wages paid for various positions. In addition, the collection has material on union/management disputes arising form violations of labor agreements, and on the business operations of the Brotherhood's General Chairman's office.
History / Biographical
In December 1899, the Order of Railway Clerks was organized in Sedalia, Missouri. Initially the Order affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The Order's first convention, however, severed this connection in 1901 and it was not resumed for many years. The name of the organization was changed to the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks in 1904, and two years later it became involved in its first strike against the Southern Pacific.
The Brotherhood expanded in 1908 to include freight handlers, and over the next ten years other classes of workers joined as well. The 1919 convention adopted the name Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees. Airline clerks and employees were added in 1945, although the word "airline" did not appear in the official union name until 1967.