Railroad Industrial Relations Project Oral History Interviews Audiorecordings, 1973
Collection Number: 5481 AV

The Railroad Industrial Relations Project [RIRP] was established on July 1, 1969 in an agreement between the United Transportation Union [UTU] and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations [ILR], Cornell University. The purpose of the project was to document the formation of the UTU and the history of its predecessor brotherhoods. In addition to collecting the records of the UTU and its predecessor organizations, the RIRP conducted numerous oral histories with local and national officers of the UTU and its predecessor organizations. These interviews were collected between 1970 and 1971 in an effort to document the unification effort, the effect it had on members of the predecessor brotherhoods, and the everyday lives of railroad employees (these interviews may be located in Collection 6058).

To supplement this collection of oral histories, the RIRP decided to conduct additional oral histories with representatives of the railroad carriers in 1973. The RIRP reached out to the National Railway Labor Conference [NRLC] to arrange for this. The NRLC is the industrywide bargaining agent for the railroads. It was formed in 1962 with the merger of the regional Carriers' Conference Committees (Western, Eastern, and Southeastern) so that there would be one entity with which to negotiate. The RIRP interviewed three executives of the NRLC (Hiltz, Dempsey, Parks) to document management's perspective on the industry and labor relations.

The RIRP also reached out to a former president of the industry trade group, the Association of American Railroads (loomis), and the vice president of personnel for the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (Oliver) to further broaden the documentation of management's perspective.

Three additional interviews with two UTU officers were also conducted in 1973, and they are included in this collection. The interview with H.E. Gilbert and his wife, Alice, and the interview of James Paddock by Miriam Freilicher provide biographical information about these two labor leaders. The second interview with Mr. Paddock focuses on alcoholism, substance abuse, and the ways in which these diseases may be fought within the railroad industry.

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Railroad Industrial Relations Project Oral History Interviews Audiorecordings #5481 AV. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Collections: /4073: James O. Morris Office Files 5148: Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen Records 5833: James A. Paddock Additional Papers 5295: Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company Selected Personnel Files 5188 AV: Association of American Railroads "Railroad Regulation: An Absurd Game" Slide Transparencies and Sound Recording 5188m: Association of American Railroads Agreement of May 1936 5141: Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Records 5205: National Railway Labor Conference Additional Records 5205 mf: National Railway Labor Conference Records on Microfilm 5329: National Railway Labor Conference Circulars 6058 OH: Kheel Center Collection of Oral Histories