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 The
History of TWU
The remarkable
journey of TWU began, ironically, in undramatic
fashion 70 years ago this month when a small
group of beaten yet unbowed New York City
transit worker--most the them exiles from
Ireland's civil wars--met secretly on
Manhattan's West Side to plot the formation of a
union that could take on the robber barons of
the transportation industry.
Numerous previous attempts to unionize New
York's vast population of abused transit workers
had failed. Strikes in 1905, 1910, 1916 and 1919
had been brutally put down by the all powerful
transit companies which utilized an army of
plain clothes hired goons and spies, known as
beakies, to do their dirty work.
The year of TWU's formation, 1934, marked a very
dangerous but opportune time for unionization.
The transit companies were taking full advantage
of the nation's deep depression which had
spawned unemployment rates as high as 25
percent. For every transit job available, there
were upwards of 20,000 applicants.
The transit companies used these hard times to
hire and fire at will, slash wages and impose
even harsher terms of employment on the
employees. Yet by the same token, the workers
were sick and tired of paltry wages, aggressive,
Neanderthal bosses and medieval working
conditions.
But for this union to succeed where others had
failed, a special kind of leader was needed.
That leader was the legendary Michael J.
Quill, a change maker on the IRT subway
line. Quill, an Irish-born militant, who came to
the U.S. to escape British rule in his homeland,
was a unique blend of guts and charisma. He was
a dynamic public speaker and a public relations
genius, who utilized the media of the day
perhaps better than any labor leader in history.
Quill was aided by an incredibly able group of
lieutenants led by Douglas McMahon, who later
served as TWU's International Secretary
Treasurer. In fact Quill and McMahon were TWU's
first full-time organizers. It would take Quill
and his supporters a number of years to solidify
TWU's presence in New York. But there were a few
incidents, which can best be described as
'defining moments' in the union's history, that
brought TWU attention and credibility.
The first occurred on July 9, 1935. It was known
as the "Squeegee" strike. Management at the
Jerome Avenue Barn in the Bronx tried to speed
up workers by forcing them to use a 14-inch
squeegee instead of the customary 10-inch tool.
This "straw that broke the camel's back"
resulted in a two-day TWU inspired walkout after
six Car Cleaners were fired for insubordination.
Management caved in and reinstated the men.
Another important incident happened a month
later when Quill and numerous cohorts were
jumped by company goons at Grand Central
Station, which incredibly led to Quill and four
other union activists, including Herbert C.
Holmstrom, Thomas H. O'Shea, Patrick McHugh and
Serafino Machado, being arrested. A court later
threw out the charges. But the incident gained
much attention in the press and at the job
sites, where it symbolized all the harassments
the workers were subjected to by the bosses year
after year.
Probably the most important event of the early
years occurred On January 3, 1937 when nearly
600 workers at the BMT Kent Avenue Powerhouse
staged a sitdown strike over the firing of three
engineers for union activity. The sit-in lasted
three days and ended in the reinstatement of the
fired workers. After this incident, thousands of
New York transit workers flocked to the union.
It marked the beginning of TWU as the most
important force in New York City transit, and it
marked the beginning of the end of harsh
management dominance of transit workers in the
nation's largest city.
In the years since, the union has continued to
move forward, often in very exciting fashion.
TWU's citywide bus and subway strikes in 1966
and 1980 remain the most memorable labor
management confrontations in the history of New
York City.
Beyond New York
TWU's growing number of victories in New York
City served a springboard to expansion for the
union to other cities, and to other industries.
Transit workers on Long Island, New York, in
Akron, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Omaha, Nebraska,
and Hackensack, New Jersey all signed up around
1941. Philadelphia's transit workers came into
TWU in 1944 after a seven year battle to
organize. Houston's workers joined in 1947, and
San Francisco's in 1950. Other transit workers,
including Miami and Ann Arbor came in much
later.
Brooklyn Union Gas employees affiliated with TWU
in 1941, and blue collar employees at Columbia
University joined up two years later.
Airline Victories
Another crucial move for TWU began in 1942 when
employees at Pan American World Airways began a
three-year effort to come into TWU. the union
reached its first collective bargaining
agreement with Pan Am in 1945 gaining the
40-hour workweek with 48 hours pay and overtime
after 40 hours. It was a first in the rapidly
growing airline industry and it paved the way
for another dramatic win in 1946 at American
Airlines. Today, TWU represents more than 40,000
airline employees at numerous major and commuter
carriers -- this despite the tragic loss of
thousands of TWU members at the liquidated
Eastern Airlines and Pan Am.
Railroad Beginnings
TWU's Railroad Division was formed in 1954 when
the locals of the United Railroad Workers
Organizing Committee, which had been formed in
1943 by the old CIO, voted overwhelmingly to
join with TWU. The union was immediately
involved in a critical dispute with the huge
Pennsylvania Railroad that culminated in, at
that time, the largest wage package increase in
railroad history. The union has continued to
protect its members throughout the turbulent
years of railroad breakups and government
takeovers, and despite the tragic loss of
employment throughout the American railroad
industry, TWU today remains a strong force for
progress for its members at Conrail, Amtrak,
SEPTA, Metro North, PATH and other carriers.
Leadership Stability
One important reason for the growth and
stability of TWU has been political stability at
the International Union level. In the union's
six decades, there has been only six
international presidents to lead the union
including: Michael J. Quill, 1934 to 1966;
Matthew Guinan, 1966-1979; William G. Lindner,
1979-1985; John E. Lawe, 1985-1989; George E.
Leitz, 1989-1993, and the union's present top
leader Sonny Hall, who was elected International
President at TWU 19th Constitutional Convention
in October 1993.
Organizing Continues
Throughout TWU's history, the union has never
lost its energy to organize new workers. The
union's leadership has readily recognized that a
union must, at the very least, attempt to expand
its protection to new groups of employees, or
the organization will become stagnant and begin
to decline. The union has been very successful
in very recent years bringing TWU representation
to new groups, including several thousand
airline workers employed at the American Eagle
commuter carriers, as well as workers of smaller
private and public bus companies and public
service employees.
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