Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Additional Railroad Booklets

Collection Number: 5894

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 Railroad Trainmen Additional Railroad Booklets, 1926-1973

Collection Number:

5894

Creator:

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT)

Quantity:

0.5 linear ft.

Forms of Material:

Records (documents).

Repository:

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

Abstract:

These are the papers of Carl N. Smith, a brakeman and conductor on the New York Central Railroad, Grand Central Terminal Division. Mr. Smith was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen [BRT], and served as a legislative representative, vice-president, and president of the BRT Metropolitan Lodge, Local 598.

Language:

Collection material in English

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen was founded in 1883 in Oneonta, N.Y. as a protective and insurance organization. By the time of its merger with three other railroad labor unions to form the United Transportation Union in 1969, it had the greatest membership of any of the operating railroad brotherhoods.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen [BRT] was established to represent members' interests in obtaining a satisfactory contract with management. The first Canadian lodge was established in Moncton, New Brunswick in 1885, and the first Ladies' Auxiliary was organized in Fort Gratiot, Mich. in 1889. These records reflect the union's political and fraternal activities as well as its actions in the areas of collective bargaining, grievances, and railroad and labor legislation. As the largest of the unions which merged to form the United Transportation Union in 1969, the bulk of its then current files formed the basis for the files now held in the merged union's headquarters.

The rail service members of the BRT included conductors and their assistants, dining car stewards, ticket collectors, train baggagemen, brakemen, and train flagmen. The yard service members of the BRT included yardmasters, yard conductors, switchtenders, foremen, flagmen, brakemen, switchmen, car tenders, operators, hump riders, and car operators. In 1933, the BRT organized interstate bus operators, and included them under BRT contracts held with U.S. bus companies.

BRT officers were elected at the Grand Lodge Convention of the Brotherhood, held every 4 years. The principal officers included a president, an assistant to the president, a general secretary-treasurer, Canadian and national legislative representatives, a senior vice-president, BRT representative, and National Railroad Board of Adjustment representative. The BRT had four governing boards: the Board of Directors, Board of Trustees and Insurance, Board of Appeals, and Executive Board.

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Inclusive date range: 1926-1973

Bulk dates: 1954-1973

This collection consists of materials collected by Carl N. Smith, an employee of the New York Central Railroad [NYCRR], Grand Central Terminal Division and member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen [BRT]. He collected pamphlets from the BRT, including the BRT's constitution, agreements between the BRT and NYCRR, the By-Laws for Local 598, and general information on the union. He also collected rulebooks and timetables from the NYCRR's Grand Central Terminal Division. He also collected materials on first aid for railroad workers and on the Railroad Retirement System.

Of particular note is the correspondence file, which documents the various actions taken by rank and file members of the BRT in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Specific concerns that the rank and file members were concerned with include sanitation concerns at Grand central Station, the abandonment of lines, the repeal of the full crew consist in New York State and the subsequent loss of jobs, the perceived disinterest of the higher ranked union members for the concerns of the rank and file, and the state of the Railroad Retirement Fund. This collection also contains a pamphlet advocating for a union that served all railroad operating employees, and in correspondence Mr. Smith and his fellow rank and file members expressed similar desires.

SUBJECTS

Names:

Smith, Carl N.

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. Metropolitan (NYC) Lodge 598.

New York Central Railroad

United States. Railroad Retirement Board.

Subjects:

Railroads -- Employees -- Labor unions

Railroads -- Employees -- Pensions -- United States.

Railroad -- New York (City).

Grand Central Terminal

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 Railroad Trainmen Additional Railroad Booklets #5894. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

RELATED MATERIALS

CONTAINER LIST

Container		Description	Date
Box 1	Folder 1	Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen pamphlets	1954-1962
Box 1	Folder 1	Item 1: State and Federal Laws: Commission Rulings and Regulations on Buses	1952
		Format: Pamphlet
		To Member of the Brotherhood of railroad Trainmen in the State of New York. C.H. Sullivan, New York State representative, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 1	Item 2: Proposed Changes in By-Laws, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Metropolitan Lodge No. 598	1954
		Format: Pamphlet
		(Typed copy of pamphlet)
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 1	Item 3: Your Labor Union: A brief sketch of its history, functions and accomplishments	1959
		Format: Pamphlet
		Published by the brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Cleveland, Ohio
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 1	Item 4: Manual of Information and Instructions (formerly negotiating manual)	1962
		Format: Pamphlet
		Part I: Protective Department; Part II: Legislative Department.
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 1	Item 5: Constitution	1954
		Format: Pamphlet
		Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Insurance Department. Amended at the Thirtieth Convention held at Miami Beach, Florida
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 2	Report of the Legislative Board, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, State of New York	1963
		Format: Pamphlet
		by E.A. martin, legislative representative
Box 1	Folder 3	Agreements between New York Central Railroad Company and the BRT	1926-1955
Box 1	Folder 3	Item 1: Schedule of Rules and Rates of Pay: Conductors, Trainmen, and Yardmen	1926
		Format: Pamphlet
		New York Central Railroad (Buffalo and East)
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 3	Item 2: Agreement Governing Rules of Pay of Assistant Conductors, Ticket Collectors, Baggagemen, and Brakemen	1936
		Format: Pamphlet
		Between the New York Central Railroad Company, Eastern District (except Boston and Albany Division) and New York District, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 3	Item 3: Agreement Governing Rules and Rates of Pay of Yardmen	1953
		Format: Pamphlet
		Between the New York Railroad Company (Buffalo and East) Including Troy, Union, and Catskill Mountain Branch, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 3	Item 4: Agreement Governing Rules and Rates of Pay of Yardmen	1955
		Format: Pamphlet
		Between the New York Railroad Company (Buffalo and East) Including Troy, Union, and Catskill Mountain Branch, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 4	New York Central Railroad, Rule Books	1926-1965
Box 1	Folder 5	New York Central Railroad (New York District) G.C. Terminal Division, Hudson Division: Timetable No. 22	1967
		Format: Pamphlet
		For employees only
Box 1	Folder 6	General railroad pamphlets	1945-1972
Box 1	Folder 6	Item 1: First Aid Instructions for Railroad Employees	1951
		Format: Pamphlet
		As revised January 1951 by Medical and Surgical Section, Operating-Transportation Division; Association of American Railroads
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 6	Item 2: You and UROC: A brochure of information for the railroad crafts	1952
		Format: Pamphlet
		Published by the United Railroad Operating Crafts
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 6	Item 3: Questions and Answers on Proposed Amendments to the Railroad Retirement, Railroad Unemployment Insurance, and Carriers Taxing Acts	1945
		Format: Pamphlet
		Prepared by the Railway Labor Executives' Association
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 6	Item 4: The Railroad Retirement System: Its Coming Crisis	1972
		Format: Pamphlet
		Excerpts from the Report of the Commission on Railroad Retirement. U.S. Government Printing Office.
		Format: Pamphlet.
Box 1	Folder 7	Correspondence re BRT and concerns of rank and file members; BRT dues receipt for Carl N. Smith	1958-1973

Contents

Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Additional Railroad Booklets

Collection Number: 5894

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