Inventory of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees

Processed by Blaine Lamb; machine-readable finding aid created by Xiuzhi Zhou

California State Railroad Museum Library

111 "I" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 323-8073

Fax: (916) 327-5655

Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org

URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html

Inventory of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees

Collection number: MS 4

California State Railroad Museum Library

Sacramento, California

Contact Information:

California State Railroad Museum Library
111 "I" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 323-8073
Fax: (916) 327-5655
Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org
URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html

Processed by:: Blaine Lamb
Encoded by:: Xiuzhi Zhou

Descriptive Summary

Title: Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees

Collection number: MS 4

Creator: Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees

Extent: 11 document boxes

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library

Sacramento, California 95814

Shelf location: Big Four Building or off-site storage. Please contact the Library in advance of your visit.

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Provenance

Raymond Hillman

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 Senior Curator. 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

[Identification of item], Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees, MS 4, California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.

Collection Description

The collection consists of business records and correspondence pertaining to the Brotherhood and the Western Pacific Railway during the mid-twentieth century.

Documents in the collection contain information on the railroad's hiring and job bidding procedures, as well as hours worked and wages paid for various positions. In addition, the collection has material on union/management disputes arising form violations of labor agreements, and on the business operations of the Brotherhood's General Chairman's office.

Historical Background

In December 1899, the Order of Railway Clerks was organized in Sedalia, Missouri. Initially the Order affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The Order's first convention, however, severed this connection in 1901 and it was not resumed for many years. The name of the organization was changed to the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks in 1904, and two years later it became involved in its first strike against the Southern Pacific.

The Brotherhood expanded in 1908 to include freight handlers, and over the next ten years other classes of workers joined as well. The 1919 convention adopted the name Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees. Airline clerks and employees were added in 1945, although the word "airline" did not appear in the official union name until 1967.

Series 1 Citation Files, 1953-1956

Scope and Content Note

Containing correspondence between the Western Pacific Railroad and the Brotherhood's General Chairman regarding the failure of employees subject to union shop rules to join the union.

Series 2 Employment Bulletins/Circulars, Western Pacific Railroad, 1926-1960

Scope and Content Note

Containing job announcements, locations, hours to be worked, duties, wage rates, names of persons hired, and some correspondence for the railroad's Accounting Department (1926-1945), Western Division (1934-1960), Store Department (1941-1952), Perishable Freight Department (1937- 1956), General Office, Passenger and Freight Departments (1947-1956), and Motive Power Department (1933-1951).

Series 3 Case Files, 1939-1947

Scope and Content Note

Containing correspondence and other documents relating to dispute with the Western Pacific Railroad over violations of union agreements. Files contain information on the disposition of the cases.

Series 4 Miscellaneous documents

Scope and Content Note

Containing notices and instructions from the 1960s, miscellaneous bulletins/circulars and correspondence, and a Perishable Freight Department labor agreement, 1930.

Series 5 System Board Expense Files, 1946-1961

Scope and Content Note

Containing correspondence, invoices and vouchers pertaining to expenditures of the System Board of Adjustment (Western Pacific Railroad) of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees.

Series 1: Citation Files

Box 1, Folder 1

May-December 1953

Folder 2

January-August 1954

Folder 3

September 1954-July 1955

Folder 4

August-December 1955

Series 2: Bulletins/Circulars

Subseries i: Accounting Department

Box 1, Folder 5

June 1926-November 1927

Folder 6

January 1928-June 1931

Folder 7

December 1932-April 1936

Folder 8

May 1936-July 1937

Box 2, Folder 1

August-December 1937

Folder 2

January 1938-March 1939

Folder 3

April 1939-January 1940

Folder 4

February-December 1940

Folder 5

January-December 1941

Folder 6

January-June 1942

Folder 7

July-December 1942

Folder 8

January-June 1943

Folder 9

July-September 1943

Folder 10

October-December 1943

Box 3, Folder 1

January-March 1945

Folder 2

April-June 1945

Folder 3

July-September 1945

Folder 4

October-December 1945

Subseries ii: Western Division

Box 3, Folder 5

January-December 1934

Folder 6

January-December 1935

Folder 7

January-December 1936

Folder 8

January-December 1937

Folder 9

January-December 1938

Folder 10

January-December 1939

Box 4, Folder 1

January-December 1940

Folder 2

January-December 1941

Folder 3

January-December 1942

Folder 4

January-December 1943

Folder 5

January-December 1944

Folder 6

January-December 1945

Folder 7

January-May 1946

Folder 8

June-December 1946

Box 5, Folder 1

January-December 1947

Folder 2

January-December 1948

Folder 3

January-June 1949

Folder 4

July-December 1949

Folder 5

January-December 1950

Folder 6

January-December 1953

Folder 7

January-December 1954

Folder 8

January-December 1955

Box 6, Folder 1

January-December 1956

Folder 2

January-July 1957

Folder 3

August-December 1957

Folder 4

January-June 1958

Folder 5

July-December 1958

Folder 6

January-December 1959

Folder 7

January-December 1960

Subseries iii: Store Department

Box 6, Folder 8

December 1941-June 1942

Folder 9

July-December 1942

Folder 10

January-December 1943

Box 7, Folder 1

January-December 1944

Folder 2

January-December 1945

Folder 3

January 1946-December 1947

Folder 4

January 1948-December 1949

Folder 5

January-December 1950

Folder 6

January-December 1951

Folder 7

January-December 1952

Subseries iv: Perishable Freight Department

Box 7, Folder 8

February 1937-November 1940

Folder 9

January 1947-December 1948

Folder 10

January 1949-September 1951

Subseries v: General Office- Passenger and Freight Departments

Box 8, Folder 1

January-August 1947

Folder 2

September 1947-May 1948

Folder 3

June-December 1948

Folder 4

January-May 1949

Folder 5

June-December 1949

Folder 6

January-June 1950

Folder 7

July-December 1950

Folder 8

January-June 1951

Folder 9

July 1951-February 1952

Folder 10

March-July 1952

Folder 11

August-December 1952

Folder 12

January-June 1953

Box 9, Folder 1

July-December 1953

Folder 2

January-June 1954

Folder 3

July-December 1954

Folder 4

January-December 1955

Folder 5

January-December 1956

Subseries vi: Motive Power Department

Box 9, Folder 6

April 1933-December 1940

Folder 7

January-December 1941

Folder 8

January 1942-December 1943

Folder 9

January 1944-December 1945

Folder 10

January 1946-December 1947

Box 10, Folder 1

January 1949-December 1948

Folder 2

January-December 1950

Folder 3

January-December 1951

Series 3: Case Files

Box 10, Folder 4

1939

Folder 5

1939

Folder 6

1940

Folder 7

1942, 1947

Series 4: Miscellaneous Documents

Box 10, Folder 8

Notices and instructions, 1960s

Folder 9

Miscellaneous bulletins/circulars and correspondence

Folder 10

Perishable Freight Department Labor Agreement, 1930

Series 5: System Board Expense Files

Box 10, Folder 11

October 1946-December 1961 (2-hole punched and fastened into 5 groups)