Railroad Unions Research Articles

‘Our Strike’: Equality, Anticolonial Politics and the 1947–48 Railway Strike in French West Africa

This essay is both a reinterpretation of the place of the French West African railway strike in labor history and part of an exploration of its effects on politics and political memory. This vast strike needs to be studied in railway depots from Senegal to the Ivory Coast. Historians need both to engage the fictional version of the strike in Ousmanne Sembene'sGod's Bits of Woodand avoid being caught up in it. Interviews in the key railway and union town of Thiès, Senegal, suggest that strike veterans want to distinguish an experience they regard as their own from the novelist's portrayal. They accept the heroic vision of the strike, but offer different interpretations of its relationship to family and community and suggest that its political implications include co-optation and betrayal as much as anticolonial solidarity. Interviews complement the reports of police spies as sources for the historian. The central irony of the strike is that it was sustained on the basis of railwaymen's integration into local communities but that its central demand took railwaymen into a professionally defined, nonracial category of railwayman. The strike thus needs to be situated in relation to French efforts to define a new imperialism for the post-war era and the government's inability to control the implications of its own actions and rhetoric. Negotiating with a new, young, politically aware railway union leadership in 1946 and 1947, officials were unwilling to defend the old racial wage scales, accepted in principle thecadre uniquedemanded by the union, but fought over the question of power – who was to decide the details that would give such a cadre meaning? The article analyzes the tension between the principles of nonracial equality and African community among the railwaymen and that between colonial power and notions of assimilation and development within the government. It examines the extent to which the strike remained a railway strike or spilled over into a wider and longer term question of proletarian solidarity and anticolonial mobilization.

History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad by John F. Stover

1054 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE many in color, are very good, and footnotes provide additional reading suggestions. Betsy Fahlman Dr. Fahlman, who teaches at Arizona State University, has long been interested in the relations between American art, technology, and industry, editing a thematic issue of IA: TheJournal of the Society for Industrial Archeology (1986), as well as writing a regular column for the SIA Newsletter. She has also authored works on two artists who painted industrial themes, John Ferguson Weir and Charles Demuth. History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. By John F. Stover. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press, 1987. Pp. xiv + 419; illustrations, maps, tables, notes, appendixes, bibliography, index. $29.50. The Baltimore & Ohio, one of the first American railroads, has been referred to as the “Railroad University of the United States.” Its early history was marked with construction challenges, financial difficulties, and pioneer operations that served as a valuable lesson for many other railroads. Like the Erie Canal, the Baltimore & Ohio trained many civil and mechanical engineers for making diverse contributions to the American railroad scene. The B&O was chartered in 1827 by Baltimore community leaders in an effort to compete with the northern cities of Philadelphia and New York for western trade. It was the first railroad projected over the Allegheny Mountains. Although three other railroads in New York and Pennsylvania reached the “west” before the B&O, its gradual expansion resulted in substantial growth for the city of Baltimore. The railroad also provided a western connection for the growing city of Washington. The Civil War wreaked havoc on the B&O, which operated through territory that frequently changed hands between Union and Confed­ erate forces. Careful and resourceful management by the first of the two most influential presidents of the B&O, John Work Garrett, pulled the company through this difficult period. But Garrett’s enthusiastic modernization and rapid expansion of the company saddled the B&O with a substantial debt. During a time of growth the company could sustain this debt, but the depressions of the 1870s and the 1890s finally drove the B&O into receivership midway through the latter decade. A rapid and successful reorganization put the company in a position to enter the 20th century in a reasonably strong financial and operational position. In 1910 Daniel Willard became president, a position he held for thirty-one years. Certainly the best known of the B&O presidents, Willard gained a national reputation and served in significant leadership roles beyond the B&O. His positive relations TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 1055 with the railroad unions and his friendship with politicians and presidents (especially Franklin Delano Roosevelt) assisted the B&O in surviving the difficult years of World War I and the Great Depression. The B&O, along with most American railroads, moved a tremen­ dous amount of freight tonnage and passengers during World War II. In the postwar era, aggressive modernization efforts, such as dieselization , streamlined passenger trains, computerization, and im­ proved communication systems, were unable to keep the cost of operation from increasing more rapidly than revenues. By the early 1960s, the B&O had been weakened to the point where the Chesapeake & Ohio and the New York Central vied for control of the line. The C&O won out in 1962, and, although both lines were operated separately for some years, during the 1970s the expanding CSX System absorbed the “Mother of Railroads.” John F. Stover, professor emeritus at Purdue University and one of the best-known American railroad historians, has skillfully woven the history of the B&O around the major events of this nation’s history from the 1820s to the present. The author’s extensive knowledge of railroad history is evident as he relates events in the B&O’s history with the American railroad scene in general. The result is a book that is easy to understand and gives the reader a strong sense of the relationship of the B&O to the larger nation. The book’s “boardroom” perspective emphasizes the presidential leadership of the B&O, giving scant attention to the contribution or perspective of its thousands of employees. Clearly, the strongest sections are those that deal with the more than fifty years of the presidencies of Garrett and Willard. Although Stover is careful to present technological subjects, the reader will have to look elsewhere for an in-depth study of such topics...

A Great and Shining Road: The Epic Story of the Transcontinental Railroad by John Hoyt Williams

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 1055 with the railroad unions and his friendship with politicians and presidents (especially Franklin Delano Roosevelt) assisted the B&O in surviving the difficult years of World War I and the Great Depression. The B&O, along with most American railroads, moved a tremen­ dous amount of freight tonnage and passengers during World War II. In the postwar era, aggressive modernization efforts, such as dieselization , streamlined passenger trains, computerization, and im­ proved communication systems, were unable to keep the cost of operation from increasing more rapidly than revenues. By the early 1960s, the B&O had been weakened to the point where the Chesapeake & Ohio and the New York Central vied for control of the line. The C&O won out in 1962, and, although both lines were operated separately for some years, during the 1970s the expanding CSX System absorbed the “Mother of Railroads.” John F. Stover, professor emeritus at Purdue University and one of the best-known American railroad historians, has skillfully woven the history of the B&O around the major events of this nation’s history from the 1820s to the present. The author’s extensive knowledge of railroad history is evident as he relates events in the B&O’s history with the American railroad scene in general. The result is a book that is easy to understand and gives the reader a strong sense of the relationship of the B&O to the larger nation. The book’s “boardroom” perspective emphasizes the presidential leadership of the B&O, giving scant attention to the contribution or perspective of its thousands of employees. Clearly, the strongest sections are those that deal with the more than fifty years of the presidencies of Garrett and Willard. Although Stover is careful to present technological subjects, the reader will have to look elsewhere for an in-depth study of such topics as structures and locomotives. Fortunately, books on these topics are readily available. Stover, how­ ever, has written a concise and readable history of a most important American corporation. Robert L. Frey Dr. Frey is professor of history and dean of the college at Wilmington College in Ohio. He coauthored two volumes of the history and locomotives of the Northern Pacific Railway, and recently edited Railroads in the Nineteenth Century, a volume of the Encyclopedia ofBusiness History and Biography. A Great and Shining Road: The Epic Story ofthe Transcontinental Railroad. By John Hoyt Williams. New York: Times Books, 1988. Pp. 341; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $22.50. In many respects, railroads were the ultimate technology and the ultimate symbol of 19th-century America. No single project embodied both those roles in the public mind more strikingly than the first 1056 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE transcontinental road. John Hoyt Williams offers another account of the race to the Golden Spike by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific roads. After a brief introductory chapter on the origins of the project, Williams recounts the construction of the two roads through their meeting at Promontory, then concludes with a cursory review of the later investigations of both enterprises. Readers seeking a fresh interpretation or thematic overview that places the story in some broader context will come away disappointed. What the book lacks most is a point of view to give it shape or direction. Williams provides a wealth of detail, most of it accurate and much of it interesting, on the construction saga and the technology (or lack thereof) utilized by both companies, but he does not organize or analyze it in any meaningful way. The first chapter offers a nice summary of rail technology before 1860, and later Williams alludes occasionally to the broader cultural context, but he seldom integrates these references into his narrative or shows their larger significance. Everything swims on its own power, leaving the reader to wonder where it is going and why. Williams seems less interested in analysis than in telling a good story, but he fares little better at that level. His account is curiously flat; it has not been framed or shaped in a way to make it flow. The story does not so much end as simply stop. The drama of the race is surprisingly underplayed, and even the legendary Golden Spike ceremony arrives and departs almost as an afterthought, when...

Arbitration and Bureaucracy: The New South Wales Railway Commissioners, 1892-1914

There is growing interest in the early impact of arbitration on Australian employers' labour practices. While the main focus of interest has been the private sector, this paper examines the New South Wales Railways, a state enterprise and Australia's largest employer by 1913. Before arbitration, the Railway Commissioners developed bureau cratic labour policies and were able to minimize the unions' role in determining wages and conditions. However, state arbitration weakened the commissioners' position. It forced the commissioners to recognize railway unions' deputations and correspondence. The arbitration tribunals codified railway wages and conditions beyond what management desired. The commissioners found it necessary to meet the challenge of arbitration by centralizing labour administration and experimenting with new labour strategies.

Occupational Community and the Creation of a Self-Styled Elite: Railroad Workers in Argentina

During the 1930s Argentina's two railroad unions were the dominant labor organizations in the country. Their members considered themselves the elite of the working class. Through collective contracts and the efforts of the unions, the workers had gained favorable conditions for themselves, so that they were in many ways an elite, despite the harsh reality that the industry in which they worked was in decay.Why were they able to do this? Not because they all possessed special skills. Groups of skilled workers have often been able to secure for themselves a strong position, as have the engineers and firemen who make up La Fraternidad. In countries in which the position of labor unions is not protected by law the ability of widely differentiated groups to organize successfully is unusual. Therefore, this paper will concentrate on the members of the Unión Ferroviaria. Membership in the Unión Ferroviaria was extended all along the far-flung railroad network and ranged from craftsmen in the repair shops to poorly paid and unskilled crews that maintained the tracks.

The Impact of United States Railroad Unions on Organized Labor and Government Policy in Mexico (1880-1911)

EFORE the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1g9o, over half of all railroad workers participated in labor unions, making the railroads the most highly organized industry in Mexico. An examination of this development provides a vital insight into the growth of labor associations and the complexities of government labor policy in dependent countries. In Mexico, as in other Latin American nations, foreign companies and managers controlled the railroads by the turn of the century. In the early stages of operation, these companies, along with those in the mining and smelting industries, brought in foreign skilled workers who soon monopolized the betterpaying positions. What appears to distinguish the railroad industry is the presence of United States labor unions that came to Mexico, not to organize Mexican workers, but to protect United States workers who were in Mexico in sufficient numbers to warrant opening local chapters there.' These railroad brotherhoods affected not only the development of Mexican labor associations in the industry but also the government's labor policy under Porfirio Diaz. The nature of the Mexican labor associations during the Porfiriato

The Impact of United States Railroad Unions on Organized Labor and Government Policy in Mexico (1880-1911)

The Impact of United States Railroad Unions on Organized Labor and Government Policy in Mexico (1880-1911)

Competition and Monopoly in Interest Representation: A Comparative Analysis of Trade Union Structure in the Railway Industries of Great Britain and West Germany

This article analyses some of the causes of the emergence and the stability of monopolies of representation of industrial unions in competition with sectional interest associations of specific occupational groups. As its empirical point of reference, the article takes the trade union systems in the railway industries of Great Britain and West Germany. In both countries, there are three railway unions whose areas of jurisdiction largely correspond to each other cross-nationally: one industrial union, one union of loco motive engine drivers, and one union for administrative staff. However, while in West Germany the proportion of the industrial union (GdED) in the total number of unionized railway workers increases at the expense of the sectional competitors, in Great Britain it has for a long time been declining. This divergent development of two otherwise similar trade union systems — a development which in Great Britain has led to the establishment of three sectional monopolies of representation, while in West Germany it is leading to the formation of one inclusive monopoly — is explained by three factors: — the presence in West Germany, and the absence in Great Britain, of a formally union-independent, statutory system of interest representation at the workplace with distinct, legally guaranteed rights of codetermination (Works Constitution); — the fact that in West Germany the workers represented by the two sectional unions are Beamte and thus do not have the right to take industrial action; and — the occupational structure which in West Germany permits higher interoccupational mobility, thus rendering the establishment of sectional interest associations more difficult.

The making of a political machine: The railroad unions enter politics

The making of a political machine: The railroad unions enter politics

Sex Role Equality, Wet Rice Cultivation, and the State in Southeast Asia

Japanese, however, is yet to be seen. There are indications in the growing citizens' movements to curb industrial destruction of the environment, disenchantment with the social irresponsibility of the oligarchic interests, increasing governmental supports for the aged, and, more recently, violent riots by the public at the work-to-rule action of a major railway workers' union that the attitudes of the Japanese, especially those in large urban centers, are indeed gradually moving toward what seem to be Western parallels. By pointing to these indications, I do not imply that Japan will eventually transform into another Western type society. I do insist, however, that modem industrialism, aimed at the control of an ever expanding world market, cannot but effect certain profound social conflicts and subsequent changes in people's outlook that characterize many Western societies. This outlook may be neither totally Western nor purely Japanese, however they are to be reconstructed, but some mixture, amalgam, or synthesis of the two. In short, I argue, in contrast to Professor Hsu, for the importance of economy in the analysis of sociocultural development. The relationship between values and industrialization may appear more complicated elsewhere in the non-Western world, however. The complication arises chiefly from the indisputable fact that today the non-Western societies are confronted with the task of industrialization in the presence of and competition with highly developed industrial economies, mainly of the West. Industrialization is no longer an isolated or autonomous process, and powerful Western (and Japanese!) capital is establishing industries all over the world. The non-Western societies that are yet to shake off the colonial past are therefore faced with the increasing danger of deepening underdevelopment and satellite status. In these conditions, we may very well be presented with a case in which all the major industries of a society are of foreign origin, while the people who work for them draw little benefits to alter and improve their life. We must arm ourselves against the possibility of using a case of this sort as evidence for the coexistence of industrialism and a nonWestern value system. To conclude, the economic viewpoint must be holistic enough to uncover the intricate web of interaction

The A.R.U. in Queensland: Some Oral History

The railway construction era began in Queensland in 1865 and within twenty years unions of employees had been established within the industry. While some, like the Engine Drivers, Firemen and Cleaners, followed the familiar craft organisation pattern, a determined and conscious effort was directed towards the organising of all railway employees, from top to bottom of the department, into an 'all grades' industrial union. By 1886 such a union was functioning under the name of the 'Queensland Railway Employees' Association'. The Q.R.E.A. attempted to embrace a complex range of occupation and status, but a variety of factors, then and later, prevented the com plete realisation of all-grades unionism within the railway service. The policy of victimisation of the leaders of the Q.R.E.A. which was fol lowed by the early railway commissioners, together with the effect of the great strikes of 1890-94 on trade unionism generally, put the Q.R.E.A. out of existence; nevertheless by 1896 it had been reconstituted on the basis of branches at Ipswich and Brisbane. Thereafter, for some years, the union had an up-and-down exis tence, but by 1910 three separate and independent Q.R.E.A.s were in operation, corresponding to the three divisions of the railway system southern, central and northern. Some degree of consolidation was achieved in 1911, with the amalgamation of the central and southern divisional organisations, under the name of the Queensland United Railway Employees' Association, to be followed, in the aftermath of the 1912 general strike, by the inclusion of the northern railway men into a union which, in 1913, underwent a further change of name to Queens land Railway Union. Two years later, trouble between the Council of the Q.R.U. and the Townsville Branch led to the latter's breaking away and forming another all-grades union?the Amalgamated Railway Union ?but by 1916 the errant branch had returned to the fold and organisa tional unity was at last achieved. In September 1920, five State all-grades unions federated into the Australian Railways Union (with Western Australia eventually affiliating with the national body) and from that date, the Q.R.U. became the A.R.U. (Queensland Branch) ,1 It would be no exaggeration to claim that with the obvious excep tion of the A.W.U., from 1920 until the mid-1950s, at least, the A.R.U. in Queensland was the largest (in membership) and most powerful union in the labour movement. Its reputation as a left-wing militant organisation stemmed in part from the philosophical beliefs of its leaders in industrial unionism and workers' control of industry. The views quoted in this paper were recorded on tape during August 1967 and April 1969, when I was fortunate enough to be able to arrange interviews with three former officials of the A.R.U., all of whom had played significant roles in the union's formative years, during its early industrial struggles, and in the labour movement generally.2

The Railway Labor Act: A Critical Reappraisal

Examines the Railway Labor Act in the United States. Historical background and summary of the railway labor policy; Criticisms against the 1926 Act by railway unions; Amendments to the law implemented in 1934; Provisions of the amended act. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)

Independent Unions and the Merger

Examines the independent unions in the U.S., or the unions unaffiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Types of independent unions; Effect of AFL-CIO merger on railroad unions; Role of the United Mine Workers and John L. Lewis in the expansion of the labor movement. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)

East Bengal: Pakistan's Troubled Province

ened splits within various Sohyo affiliates, particularly the miners, teachers, electrical and auto workers. Encouraged by employers, rival unions were set up in a number of enterprises. The peace force theory also shook the Left Socialists. Some Sohyo unions, such as the synthetic chemical workers, criticized it as a departure from strict neutralism, and a splintering of the party was narrowly averted at its January convention, when an attempt by Sohyo to capture the party ma? chinery was thwarted. The fail of 1953 saw a lessening of union political pressure, with economic issues coming to the fore, as unions regrouped their forces. However, a spring offensive in 1954 fed not only on wage demands but on other issues, many of them political: the MSA agree? ment, rearmament, restrictions on political activities of public school teachers, revision of labor relations ma? chinery in government enterprises, dismissals of govern? ment railway union officials, reductions in government personnel, relaxation of the Labor Standards Law, re-

Get It and Get Out!

The job the newly-packed National Labor Relations Board is doing to narrow labor's rights under the Taft-Hartley Act has aroused all sections of the labor movement. Even the railroad unions may be brought into the struggle, which will manifest itself chiefly in the 1954 Congressional elections.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

A Management View of Collective Bargaining

sumers, workers, and employers. Prior to the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act and the National Labor Relations Act and the great surge of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, collective bargaining and labor-management contracts as we know them today were largely confined to the skilled crafts in the American Federation of Labor, the coal miners, and the railway unions. The railroad industry has one of the longest records of labor-management relations, the first written contract of record having been made on the New York Central in 1875. It also has the longest record of attempts to deal with the problems of labor-management relations through legislation, the first act dealing with railroad labor relations having been passed by the Congress in 1888, just one year after the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act.

The Negro in the Railway Unions

The Negro in the Railway Unions

Seniority in Mass-Production Industries

ENIORITY is preference in available employment opporS ttunities based upon length of service. Seniority systems It grew up on the railroads over fifty years ago in an atmosphere of precarious tenure of employment marked by various forms of favoritism, nepotism, and job-selling. As long as the carriers were free to make layoffs and promotions according to merit or ability, they thereby retained the power to play favorites and to discriminate against union members. Consequently, the railroad unions sought to limit discretionary control by the carriers by forcing them to make layoffs and promotions in accordance with a clear-cut and definite formula based on length of service. By thus limiting management's power to differentiate between employees on the grounds of merit the unions were in a stronger position to control employment policies. The desire for protection of older workers, as such, appears to have been secondary. The depression years of the I930's turned the attention of industrial workers from a search for opportunity to a quest for security. In the face of widespread unemployment, brought about by curtailed production and intensified by technological changes, employees in the mass-production industries desired above all job protection. Consequently, the leaders of the new unions pressed for the acceptance of seniority rules as a means of demonstrating to the workers that organization would provide job protection and security of employment. The appeal was well timed, for many employers in the manufacturing industries that were

Railroad Wage Conditions

THE object of this article is to present the results of a study of certain statistics bearing upon wage conditions for railroad labor in the spring of I934. It is hoped that some light may be thrown on the situation which nearly resulted in a national strike of all railroad unions. It is also hoped to make rough comparisons of hours and wage rates paid the employees in this service and those in industries which have signed codes under the National Recovery Administration. For the most part the article will be confined to the presentation of the analysis and interpretation of statistical data, and will not attempt to build up a case for either side in the recent wage dispute.'

Labor

All labor activities were influenced by the depression. Strikes increased and were mostly participated in by the poorly organized and unorganized. Most of the strikes were lost. The weakened condition of the old unions has brought rival unions into prominence. The order of the day is wage reductions. Even the relatively strong railroad unions accepted a wage reduction. The weakened unions are unsuccessful in maintaining national agreements and in securing conferences with employers. Some unions have taken drastic wage reductions as a means of ultimately strengthening their position. Will this new strategy bring the desired results? As the year progessed, organized labor developed a keener interest in positive legislation and political action. The talk of a "third" party is more persistent. A growing interest in independent political action is evident from the results of the elections. The hunger marches also indicate serious unrest. A "third" party venture seems to be in the offing.