Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, ICC, and Erie Lackawanna Briefs Regarding
the Railroad Merger, 1960
Collection Number: 5347
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, ICC, and Erie Lackawanna Briefs Regarding
the Railroad Merger, 1960
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5347
Abstract:
Consists of proceedings and papers filed before the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, by the Brotherhood of Maintenance
of Way Employes and the Railway Labor Executives' Association, contesting a railroad
merger between the Erie Railroad Company and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western
Railroad Company, on the grounds that it would result in loss of jobs guaranteed to
union members.
Creator:
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
Erie Lackawanna Railroad (EL)
Quanitities:
0.5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
The merger between the Erie Railroad Company and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western
Railroad [DLW] was approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission [ICC] on September
15, 1960. The DLW, its properties and franchises, were put under the complete control
of the Erie Railroad Company, resulting in the creation of the Erie-Lakawanna Railroad
Company [ELRR]. Both the Erie and the DLW had been losing revenue in the post-war
period due to a decline in passenger and freight traffic, most notably the decline
in use of anthracite coal which had been the mainstay of DLW's freight operations.
This was compunded by the rise of the interstate highway system and the opening of
the St. Lawrence Seaway, which provided direct access to the Great Lakes and further
eroded their customer base. The Erie and DLW, long-time rivals and covering similar
geographic areas, started to merge operations in 1956 in an attempt to make the company
profitable. As a result of this merger, an estimated 4,000 jobs would be abolished
or transferred to other locations, resulting in hardship for both the affected employees
as well as any employee of lesser seniority who would be displaced, or "bumped," by
an employee with greater seniority.
In an attempt to protect their members, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
[BMWE] and the Railroad Labor Executives Association [RLEA], filed suit in U.S. District
Court, seeking to halt the merger. The BMWE was the authorized collective bargaining
representative for maintenace of way workers on both the Erie and the DLW; the RLEA,
an association of 22 railroad union executives, filed as party-intervenor in the proceedings
before the ICC. Their efforts ultimately proved fruitless, as the merger was allowed
to proceed as planned, and the employees were compensated by the so-called "New Orleans
conditions" as originally delineated by the ICC.
Inclusive date range: 1960
Bulk date: 1960
This collection includes a brief filed with the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, involving the Brotherhood of
Maintenance of Way Employees [BMWE] (plaintiff) and the Railway Labor Executives'
Association [RLEA] (intervenors/plaintiffs) vs. the Interstate Commerce Commission
[ICC] (defendant), and the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Company [ELRR] (intervenors/defendants).
The arguments concern the effect of a merger on the employees of the Erie Railroad
and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, and the union's request that the
court uphold the 1940 Transportation Act guaranteeing four years of employment for
all current employees. The brief, filed by the BMWE, includes the history of the merger
that created the ELRR, arguments against the merger, a history of employee protection
in the railraod industry, the history of the 1940 Transportation Act, and the application
of the "New Orleans conditions," whereby employees adversely affected by the merger
may be granted compensatory protection if their employeement is terminated rather
than being guaranteed at their current level for a period not exceeding four years.
The collection also includes the lifting of the injunction by the court, allowing
the merger to be completed as per the original plan approved by the Interstate Commerce
Commission, including the "New Orleans conditions" with regards to the railroad employees.
Legal brief in folder 1 is warped.
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INFORMATION FOR USERS
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, ICC, and Erie Lackawanna Briefs Regarding
the Railroad Merger #5347. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives,
Cornell University Library.
Names:
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
Interstate Commerce Commission
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company
Erie Railroad Company
Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Company
Railway Labor Executives' Association
United States. Interstate Commerce Commission
Subjects:
Railroad law -- United States
Railroads -- Mergers -- United States
Job security -- Railroads -- United States
Railroads -- Consolidation -- United States
Railroads -- Employees
Railroads -- Employees -- Labor unions -- United States
CONTAINER LIST
|
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
| Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Brief of Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and Railway Labor Executives'
Association v. I.C.C and Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Co.
|
1960 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Lifting of injunction in the case of Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and
the RLEA v. the I.C.C and Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Co.
|
1960 |