Over a Century of Unity: a Brief History of the Smart-Td

OVER A CENTURY OF UNITY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SMART-TD Provided by the SMART-TD Ohio State Legislative Board By: Ryan J. Fitzpatrick First Vice Chairman – SMART OSLB Legislative Representative – Local 1397 OVER A CENTURY OF UNITY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SMART-TD THE HISTORY OF YOUR UNION So, you’re a member of SMART-TD, just what does that mean? Being a member means a number of things – you belong to a union that has a long and proud history of service to its members, a union that has played an important role in the development of the United States and Canada, and a union that has influence in what goes on in great world bodies. As a member, you will want to know many things about your union: its history and what it stands for; the services that it can perform for you from the negotiating of collective bargaining agreements to the procession of your claims and grievances; the role that it plays both at home and abroad in helping and keeping our countries strong and prosperous. The Transportation Division of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union has its roots deep in the history of railroading and unionism in North America. In a very real sense, a pioneer in the labor movement. Let’s look at where we started. The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen In September of 1883 – and there are only a handful of American unions that can boast of going back that far – eight brakemen founded Lodge Number 1 in Oneonta, New York, and named it Eugene V. Debs Lodge as a token of appreciation for the guidance and assistance given by Debs in the formation of the BRT. The idealistic principles upon which the pioneers laid the foundation may seem rather eccentric now, but the society in which they lived forced them to meet in secret and carry on the work of cooperating with their fellow workers under conditions which are hardly believable today. Discovery by management of any effort to organize meant the loss of jobs. This was the terrific sacrifice made by many of the early workers in the railroad industry. It also resulted in the creation of a class of early railroaders known as the “boomers,” men who migrated from one railroad property to another in order to follow their chosen employment. Some even adopted aliases in order to escape discovery because they were blacklisted for attempting to band together with their fellow workers. It was an uphill battle all the way to reach the heights in the realm of organized labor which has finally been obtained by SMART- TD. Today, to honor the ideals which founded this organization is a shrine of the caboose in Neahwa Park in Oneonta, New York. Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen In the spring of 1868, T. J. “Tommie” Wright and a small band of Illinois Central Gulf conductors formed the first conductors’ union, known as “Division Number 1 Conductors’ Brotherhood” at Amboy, Illinois. Word spread quickly, and by November 1868, the union’s first convention was held in Columbus, Ohio, where conductors from the U.S. and Canada adopted the name “Order of Railway Conductors of America.” In 1885, the ORC directed its leaders to aid in negotiating agreements with 1 OVER A CENTURY OF UNITY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SMART-TD carriers, a revolutionary idea for the time. In 1890, the ORC adopted a strike clause and began a militant policy of fighting for the welfare of conductors. In 1942, the Order of Sleeping Car Conductors amalgamated with the ORC, and in 1954 the organization was renamed the Order of Railroad Conductors and Brakemen to reflect its diverse membership. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Lodge No. 1 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen was organized by Joshua Leach and 10 Erie Railroad firemen at Port Jervis, N.Y., in 1873. The following year, delegates from 12 lodges met and formed the “BLF Insurance Association” to provide sickness and funeral benefits for locomotive firemen. In 1906, BLF changed its name to Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and joined in bargaining with the three other major railway unions. In 1919, with 116,990 members, the BLF&E led the fight for an eight-hour day for rail workers, and in 1926 pressed successfully for passage of the Railway Labor Act. Switchmen’s Union of North America In the year 1870, switchmen employed on the railroads around the city of Chicago worked 12 hours a day every day in the month for $50. Realizing their helplessness in bargaining with their railroad employers on an individual basis, switchmen began to band together in an organization of their own in the Chicago yards. In August 1877 these Chicago switchmen formed a Switchmen’s Association. As the need for a national organization became evident, a large number of representative switchmen met in Chicago in February 1886, and formed the Switchmen’s Mutual Aid Association of the United States of America. The lockout on the Chicago North Western Railroad, and the disastrous strike of 1888 on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, brought about an untimely death of the Switchmen’s Mutual Aid Association in July 1894. On October 23, 1894, a meeting of various locals of switchmen in Kansas City led to the establishment of the Switchmen’s Union of North America. In October 1968, SUNA celebrated its 74th year of serving the interest of railroad switchmen and their families. The Switchmen’s Union affiliated with the DIM American Federation of Labor on July 12, 1906, and for almost 50 years was the only railroad operating union affiliated with the AFL. SUNA was a charter member of the Railway Labor Executives’ Association, having joined this group in 1926. It is one of the founders and owners of “Labor” newspaper as well as the Union Labor Life Insurance Company. SUNA has also been affiliated with the Canadian Labor Congress since the year 1935. Officers of the union throughout its long history have actively participated in every concerted effort by labor to advance the welfare of the workers of this country. The Switchmen’s Union is justly proud of the historical role it has played in developing a better America for all to live and work in. 2 OVER A CENTURY OF UNITY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SMART-TD Historically, the Switchmen’s Union has taken pride in the fact that it is organized along craft lines to improve the wages and working conditions of switchmen, that it has a long history of militant action against the excesses of railroad management and a tradition of joining with others to protect and advance the economic and political rights of all workers and, thirdly, that it is a democratic organization in which each member has a voice in the policies and operations of his union. SUNA’s watchword for more than 70 years was, “The injury of one is the concern of all.” It remains today as the “warp and woof” of the Switchmen’s Union. The United Transportation Union – Progress Through Unity In 1968 exploratory talks among the four brotherhoods’ interested in forming one transportation union proved fruitful and plans were formulated for merging of the four operation unions into a single organization to represent all four operating crafts. The four unions were the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen and the Switchmen’s Union of North America. The first three of these were considered fraternal orders, as well as labor unions. In August 1968, the union presidents announced that after nine months of planning, a tentative agreement had been reached on all phases of unity. It was further announced that the name of the new organization would be the United Transportation Union and the target date for establishing the UTU was January 1, 1969. In Chicago on December 10, 1968, the tabulation of the voting revealed an overwhelming desire by the members of the four crafts to merge into a single union, and the United Transportation Union came into existence on January 1, 1969. The new union had 230,000 members. The first president was Charles Luna, formerly president of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. By 1978 the Union had 240,000 members in 1,000 branches. In 1970, the International Association of Railway Employees joined the UTU. In 1971 the UTU Insurance Association assumed the insurance and welfare plans of the brotherhoods who had formed the UTU. The UTU held its first national convention in August 1971 in Miami Beach, Florida. Al Chesser, National Legislative Director of the UTU, was elected to succeed Luna, who was retiring. In 1985, the Railroad Yardmasters of America joined. 3 OVER A CENTURY OF UNITY: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SMART-TD 2nd Triennial Convention of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Columbus, Ohio – May 1919 (Ryan Fitzpatrick Collection) HOW YOUR UNION GREW The life of a railroader today isn’t always great. Sometimes, it can be downright difficult, but it was extremely worse a century ago. Hours were brutally long – from sun-up to sun-down was common. Wages were bitterly low. The dread of being fired with no recourse was always constant. There were no safety laws nor workmen’s compensation nor was there unemployment insurance to help when layoffs struck. Even worse, railroaders had nothing, literally nothing to say about the conditions under which they worked. They could accept whatever conditions pleased management, or they could starve. And sometimes they did just that.

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