Emergency Board no. 52 Files, 1937-1948
Collection Number: 5308
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Emergency Board no. 52 Files, 1937-1948
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5308
Abstract:
Transcripts, exhibits, and reports of United States Emergency Board no. 52. The dispute
concerned a contract dispute between the Railway Express Agency and the New York City
Metropolitan area Local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Creator:
Emergency Board no. 52
Meyer, Arthur S. (Arthur Simon), 1880-1955
Friedman, Clara H. (nee Handelman)
Quanitities:
1.5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
Emergency Board no. 52 was created by President Harry S. Truman on October 22, 1947
under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act to investigate a dispute between the
Railway Express Agency and its 4,700 vehicle and garage employees in the New York
City Metropolitan area, specifically the five boroughs of New York and Weehawken,
Hoboken, and Jersey City, New Jersey. The dispute, regarding contract negotiations
between the Railway Express Agency and the employees' unions, Local 808 and 459 of
the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of
America, A.F.L., resulted in a strike which lasted from September 18 to October 14,
1947. The employees were demanding a reduction in hours to a 40-hour workweek and
higher wages. The strike ended when the unions agreed to submit their demands to a
Presidential fact finding board.
At the suggestion of Mayor William O'Dwyer, President Harry S. Truman appointed three
New Yorkers to the board. The chairman was Arthur S. Meyer; the other two members
were Frank M. Swacker and Aaron Horovitz. Mr. Meyer brought on Clara Friedman (nee
Handelman), with whom he had worked on arbitration boards overseeing New York City
transit disputes, as consultant and secretary. Mrs. Friedman was a member of the National
Academy of Mediators.
The Emergency Board conducted 20 days of hearings between October 27 and December
1, 1947, considering union proposals for changes in the title, preamble, and 26 working
rules of the Local Agreement, and Railway Express Agency proposals for changes in
17 working rules. The mediation was able to dispose of 62 contested matters, the most
important being the voluntary agreement between both sides to create Board of Adjustment
procedures for arbitrating future grievances.
The Emergency Board recommended a general wage increase and a reduction of work hours
from a six day, 44 hour week to a five day, 40 hour week. The other demands of the
union, including vacations and holidays, were denied.
The decision in this case was predicated upon its location in the New York City metropolitan
area. It declined to set a precedent for other areas or classes of employees.
Inclusive dates: 1937 - 1948
Bulk date: 1947
This collection contains transcripts of the proceedings of the Emergency Board no.
52, exhibits and briefs submitted to the Emergency Board by both the Railway Express
Agency and the Locals 459 and 808 of the Teamsters Union, the notes, correspondence
and memos from the chairman of the Emergency Board, Arthur S. Meyer, and the correspondence
file of the Emergency Board. It also contains a final draft of the report submitted
to President Harry S. Truman on January 15, 1948.
The transcripts are divided into 20 volumes. The exhibits contain rulebooks, contracts,
previous decisions by other emergency boards, summaries of costs of living compared
to the current wage structure, the costs of a wage increase to the REA, and comparisons
of the national contract to what the Locals were requesting. Arthur S. Meyer's folders
contain drafts of the agreement, supplemental exhibits, economic summaries from labor
arbitrator Clara H. Friedman (nee Handelman), and drafts of the final report with
annotations.
The correspondence file documents the various people and agencies who were involved
in the mediation. It also contains a letter signed by President Truman appointing
Arthur S. Meyer as chairman and member of the Emergency Board.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
Emergency Board no. 52 Files #5308. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation
and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Names:
United States. Emergency Board No. 52.
Railway Express Agency.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America.
Subjects:
Transport workers -- New York (State) -- New York.
Transport workers -- Labor unions -- New York (State) -- New York.
Wages-- Transport workers -- New York (State) -- New York.
Collective bargaining agreements -- Local transit -- New York (State) > New York.
Strikes and lockouts -- Transport workers -- New York (State) > New York.
CONTAINER LIST
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 1
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 2
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 3
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 4
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 5
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 6
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 7
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 8
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 9
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 10
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 11
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 12
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 13
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 14
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 15
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 16
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 17
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 18
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 19
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 |
Transcript Proceedings of the Emergency Board No. 52 Vol. 20
|
1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 |
Report to the President by the Emergency Board. January 15, 1948
|
1948 |
|
Scope and Contents
Final draft of report, with five corrections of small typos in red pencil. Separate
sheet lists the corrections, and the names of the individuals the report was sent
to at its completion.
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1a |
Railway Express Agency, Inc. Exhibits [folder 1 of 3]
|
1937-1947 |
|
Scope and Contents
(extra long paper in exhibit, needs to be copied or re- housed)
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1b |
Railway Express Agency, Inc. Exhibits [folder 2 of 3]
|
1937-1947 |
|
Scope and Contents
(extra long paper in exhibit, needs to be copied or re- housed)
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 1c |
Railway Express Agency, Inc. Exhibits [folder 3 of 3]
|
1937-1947 |
|
Scope and Contents
(extra long paper in exhibit, needs to be copied or re- housed)
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 2a |
Locals 459 and 808 of the Teamster Union: Exhibits and Brief [folder 1 of 2]
|
1944-1947 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2b |
Locals 459 and 808 of the Teamster Union: Exhibits and Brief [folder 2 of 2]
|
1944-1947 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Brief on the Argument of Employees Represented by Teamsters Locals 459 and 808
|
1947 |
|
Scope and Contents
Submitted December 1, 1947
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 4a |
A. S. Meyer's Files Related to Emergency Board no. 52 [folder 1 of 2]
|
1947 |
|
Scope and Contents
Notes, correspondence, and memos from Arthur Meyer and Clara Friedman
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 4b |
A. S. Meyer's Files Related to Emergency Board no. 52 [folder 2 of 2]
|
1947 |
|
Scope and Contents
Notes, correspondence, and memos from Arthur Meyer and Clara Friedman. Also contains
full draft of report to President Harry S. Truman
|
|||
| Box 2 | Folder 5 |
National Mediation Board. Railway Express Agency, Inc. October 1947. Correspondence
|
1947-1948 |
|
Scope and Contents
Includes letter from President Harry S. Truman to Arthur S. Meyer, appointing him
as member and Chairman of Emergency Board no. 52 on October 22, 1947.
|
|||