The Railroad Yardmasters of America (RYA) was a union that represented

yardmaster The yardmaster is the railroad employee in charge of the rail yard. They manage and coordinate all activities in combining rolling stocks into trains, and breaking down trains into individual railroad cars, and switching trains from track-to-trac ...

s in the United States from 1912 until its merger with the

United Transportation Union The United Transportation Union (UTU) was a broad-based, transportation labor union that represented about 70,000 active and retired railroad, bus, mass transit, and airline workers in the United States. The UTU was headquartered in Cleveland, Oh ...

in 1985 which later became the

SMART Union The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) is a North American labor union headquartered in Washington, D. C., was chartered by the AFL–CIO in 2013. The product of a merger between the Sheet M ...

in 2014.

Foundation

The Railroad Yardmasters of America was organized on 2 December 1918 to handle abuses by railroad management. Membership was open to "any male white person of good moral character actually employed as general yardmaster, assistant general yardmaster, yardmaster, assistant yardmaster, and station masters." The first national convention was held in December 1918. The union had its headquarters in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. The union was independent, not affiliated with the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...

. The union aimed for a universal eight-hour work day with two days of rest each month and an annual two-week vacation. It also sought improved wages and working conditions. The union's bylaws gave it the power to levy assessments for unspecified purposes, saying the Executive Board could "levy assessments upon all the members affected when in its opinion such assessments are necessary."

History

By 1921 the union had about 8,500 members, about three quarters of all yardmasters in the United States. A general railway strike was called for 1 November 1921. The grand president of the Railroad Yardmasters of America, J.L. Cone said the members of his union would stay on the job. Yardmasters on the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

organized in 1938 and joined the Railroad Yardmasters of America in 1941. Twelve years later they withdrew and formed the independent Western Railway Supervisors Association, which merged with the

Transportation-Communications Union The Transportation Communications Union (TCU) is the successor to the union formerly known as the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks and includes within it many other organizations, including the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America and the Brother ...

in 1983. The union was one of 26 in the United States that limited its membership to white men through its constitution or rituals. In 1950 there were a series of disputes between the railroads and yard employees in connection with the 40-hour week. That year the government seized the railroads. The government's Railway Labor Act Emergency Board ruled on 15 June 1950 in favor of the 40-hour basic work week, overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours, and other improvements. When the railroad owners rejected this

John R. Steelman John Roy Steelman (June 23, 1900 – July 14, 1999) was the first person to serve as "The Assistant to the President of the United States", in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1946 to 1953. The office later became the White ...

, the President's representative, defined a proposed settlement that included wage increases and cost of living adjustments. The Railroad Yardmasters of America,

Railroad Yardmasters of North America Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

and the

Switchmen's Union of America The Switchmen's Union of North America (SUNA) was a labor union formed in October 1894 that represented the track switch operators and people who coupled railway cars in railway yards in the United States and Canada. It became part of the United T ...

agreed to settle with some railroads based on the Steelman formula effective 1 October 1950, but other operating unions held out. In ''Railroad Yardmasters of America v Robert O. Harris'' (1983) the union challenged the authority of the

National Mediation Board The National Mediation Board (NMB) is an independent agency of the United States government that coordinates labor-management relations within the U.S. railroads and airlines industries. History The board was established by the 1934 amendments to ...

on the basis that it had no quorum, establishing the "Yardmasters exception", which came to be used in other labor relations cases.

Dissolution

In 1985 the RYA voted to affiliate with the United Transportation Union. The merger took effect on 1 October 1985.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Railroad Yardmasters of America Railway unions in the United States United Transportation Union Rail yards Trade unions established in 1918