Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Additional Records

Collection Number: 5646

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library

This collection was processed with the help of generous funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Additional Records, 1962-1971

Collection Number:

5646

Creator:

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLF&E)

Quantity:

0.5 linear ft.

Forms of Material:

Records (documents).

Repository:

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library

Abstract:

Records of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen ad speeches by its president, H. E. Gilbert.

Language:

Collection material in English

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen was founded on December 1, 1873 in Port Jervis, New York by Erie Railroad firemen in order to provide mutual support for railroad firemen. Their first convention was in 1874, at which they adopted their first constitution. The Brotherhood initially emphasized insurance, but by the late nineteenth century had branched out into labor-management relations.

In 1907, the organization changed its name to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen [BLF&E], reflecting the changes in its membership as former firemen were promoted to engineers and permitting locomotive engineers to join its ranks. In 1969, the union merged 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.

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Inclusive date range: 1962-1971

Bulk dates: 1967-1971

This collection contains select records from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers [BLF&E] and eleven speeches from BLF&E President H. E. Gilbert. The records are from the early 1960s and document the struggle faced by locomotive firemen, also known as helpers, as their positions on locomotive crews were being eliminated.

The bulk of the collection consists of the speeches of H. E. Gilbert and are all concerned with the merger of the BLF&E with the Order of Railroad Conductors and Brakemen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and the Switchmen's Union of North America that created the United Transportation Union. The speeches advocate for the merger, defend the need for the merger, discuss what steps have been taken to create the UTU, and then reflect back on the successes of the merger and areas for improvement that the UTU leadership will address.

SUBJECTS

Names:

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen.

Gilbert, H. E.

United Transportation Union

Erie-Lackawanna Railroad

Subjects:

Labor unions -- Mergers -- United States.

Arbitration, Industrial.

Form and Genre Terms:

Records (documents)

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Access Restrictions:

Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.

Restrictions on Use:

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

Cite As:

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Additional Records #5646. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

RELATED MATERIALS

CONTAINER LIST

Container		Description	Date
Box 1	Folder 1	Erie-Lackawanna Employees Mass Meeting Poster	1962
		"General Chairmen and Top Officers of All Railroad Labor Unions, Representing E&L Employees were Requested to be at This Highly Important Meeting" (includes list of local chairmen of various railroad unions)
Box 1	Folder 2	Emergency Board No.154: Report to the President	1963
Box 1	Folder 3	Interdivisional Runs: Conferences, mediation, correspondence	1965
Box 1	Folder 4	Interdivisional Runs: Employees Protections	1965
Box 1	Folder 5a	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.16: At School of Law, University of Kansas	1967
Box 1	Folder 5b	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.17: Unity: The Key to the Secure Future	1967
		Advocating for unification and the formation of UTU
Box 1	Folder 6	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.18: At the SUNA 8th Quadrennial Convention.	1967
		Advocating for unification and creation of UTU
Box 1	Folder 7	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.19: At the BLF&E 39th Convention	1968
		Includes full copy of Enginemen's Press, vol. 10, No. 24, in which the speech is printed.
Box 1	Folder 8	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.20: At the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Convention	1968
Box 1	Folder 9	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.21: At St. Louis, MO Seminar	1969
		Seminar to train union officers and members for service in UTU
Box 1	Folder 10	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.22: At the Eugene V. Debs Awards Banquet	1969
		Acceptance speech by Mr. Gilbert for winning the Debs' Award
Box 1	Folder 11	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.23: What Is Right With the UTU	1970
Box 1	Folder 12	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.24: Resolution of the Manning Issue	1970
		Given at a collective bargaining seminar, New York City, on the crew consist of diesel engines.
Box 1	Folder 13a	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.25: What Are Our Standards?	1970
		Given at Dixie Boosters Meeting of the UTU
Box 1	Folder 13b	H. E. Gilbert Speech no.26: Unification - What Was Our Purpose?	1971
		Given at Lexington, Kentucky.

Contents

Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Additional Records

Collection Number: 5646

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library