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History of TWU's Railroad Division
TWU's Railroad
Division was originally set up in 1943 as an
organizing committee by the national
Congress of Industrial Organizations under
CIO President Philip Murray. It built a
beachhead for industrial unionism among the
n on-operating personnel of the Pennsylvania
Railroad and then spread out among the
workers of 18 other railroads from New York
to Los Angeles and from Grand Rapids to
Nashville. It connected more than 10,000
miles of rail operation and was spread out
in 72 locals.
Because of its long lines of communication
and because the officers and members
realized the need for association with an
established, strong leadership organization,
members of what was then known as the United
Railroad Workers Organizing Committee voted
overwhelmingly to merge with TWU in
September of 1954.
The most immediate and pressing problem they
faced in the beginning was that of
layoffs--or furloughs as the railroads
called them. The Pennsylvania Railroad
management, in particular used a penny-wise,
dollar foolish technique of laying off
maintenance personnel and ignoring proper
repair upkeep of equipment in order to show
higher profit margins.
TWU was on the property only a few months
when on January 22, 1955 it called a
conference in Pittsburgh where a sane,
workable, long-range program was worked out
to secure full employment by combining job
action with plans to mobilize public opinion
behind TWU's campaign to restore jobs,
attain decent livelihoods and ensure
passenger safety.
For its immediate goals, the Union called on
the company to step up its maintenance
program, halt the farming-out or
subcontracting operations, and provide
furloughed workers with reasonable and
compensatory severance pay. To slash the
delay in handling grievances before the
National Railroad Adjustment Board, TWU
advocated the establishment of a System
Board of Adjustment for dealing directly
with the company involved.
The union's first true test came in
September 1960 against the mightiest of the
carriers-- the Pennsylvania Railroad. At
that time, TWU conducted what up to then was
the first effective strike against the
railroad in its then 114 year history. The
dispute was over a scope rule and a job
classification clause in the contract that
had been simmering for more than 3 years.
Picketlines went up at 12.01 A.M. on Sept.
1, 1960. Other railroad labor organizations
honored TWU's lines. The mighty Pennsylvania
Railroad ground to a halt.
This finally set the moguls of management to
work trying to find a genuine solution.
After 12 days, the strikers attained
complete victory. In year since this early
victory, the union has worked tirelessly to
preserve railroad jobs and the crucial
Railroad Retirement and Unemployment System.
The union has further repelled numerous
attacks against the so-called Federal
Employers Liability Act, which provides rail
workers with the ability to sue their
employer for injuries suffered on the job.
Today, TWU represents railroad workers at
Conrail, Amtrak and a number of short line
carriers.
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