Descriptive Summary
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Biography/Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Additional collection guides
Descriptive Summary
Title: Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Sutter Lodge No. 340 collection
Dates: 1890-1951
Collection Number: MS 411
Creator/Collector:
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. Sutter Lodge
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. Golden State Lodge
Extent: 10 oversize boxes
Repository:
California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives
Sacramento, California 95814
Abstract: This collection contains ledgers and correspondence from the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Sutter Lodge No. 340 and one
ledger from its women's group, Golden State Lodge.
Language of Material: English
Access
This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives
staff to arrange for access.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the District Collections Manager. Permission for publication is given on
behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright
holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Sutter Lodge No. 340 collection. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives
Acquisition Information
Gift of Gail Cortopassi, 1998. From the collection of Alfred Francis Wollmering, a Southern Pacific employee for 34 years.
Biography/Administrative History
The Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen was a cooperative association founded in the summer of 1883 in Albany, New York for the
main purpose of providing disability benefits to its members. A rival Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen branch was founded
in 1883 by eight brakemen for the Delaware & Hudson Railroad who met secretly in Oneonota, New York. This group became Lodge
No. 1 of the Brotherhood. By 1884, at their first annual convention, they had 39 lodges and 900 members in the United States
and Canada. In January 1889, in Fort Gratiot, Michigan, the Brotherhood created a women's group which they named the Grand
Lodge.
In 1890, the name of the organization was changed to the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. Concerned with practical issues
such as providing pension and disability benefits for its members, the Brotherhood also supported shorter hours, better wages,
education and other improved working conditions for its members. Grievance committees were set up to hear members' grievances
against employers and to try to facilitate a resolution between employees and employers on these issues. The Brotherhood
created an Auxiliary to do charitable works, such as the establishment of a home for indigent and elderly members, and tuberculosis
research.
In 1969, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen merged with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers, the Order of
Railway Conductors and Brakemen, and the Switchmen's Union of North America to form the the United Transportation Union.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection is arranged into 7 series:
1 ATTENDANCE REGISTERS
2 FINANCIAL RECORDS
3 GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE
4 MEMBERSHIP AND POLICY REGISTER
5 MINUTES OF MEETINGS
6 RECORD BOOKS
7 VISITORS' REGISTER
Additional collection guides