The Railway Employes' Department (RED) was a semi-autonomous department of the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

History

The department was founded in 1908, as the Railroad Employes' Department, and was chartered by 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 mutual ...

in February 1909. In 1915, it became the "Railway Employes' Department", and it continued to use the old spelling of

employee Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

s throughout its existence. By 1925, the department had nine affiliates: * Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees *

Brotherhood of Railway Carmen The Brotherhood Railway Carmen of America, commonly known as the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC), was a fraternal benefit society and trade union established in the United States of America. The BRC united railroad employees involved in the re ...

International Association of Machinists The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing over 600,000 workers as of 2024 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Origi ...

* International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers * International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders, and Helpers *

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 820,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, an ...

* International Brotherhood of Stationery Firemen and Oilers *

Sheet Metal Workers' International Association The Sheet Metal Workers' International Association (SMWIA) was a trade union of skilled sheet metal workers. Such workers perform architectural sheet metal work, fabricate and install heating and air conditioning work, shipbuilding, appliance cons ...

Switchmen's Union of North 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 ...

In 1926, the

Railway Labor Executives' Association Railway Labor Executives' Association (RLEA) was a federation of rail transport labor unions in the United States and Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territor ...

was founded, a broader organization within which the president of the RED had a single vote.Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1972, p. 4. In 1955, the department became part of the new

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

.{{cite book , title=Directory of National and International Labor Unions in the United States , date=1957 , publisher=United States Department of Labor , location=Washington, D.C. , url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/bls/bls_1222_1957.pdf , access-date=18 April 2022 It was dissolved in 1980. In 1990, a new Transportation Trades Department was founded.Abramson, Howard S. "AFL-CIO Creates Transport Trades Unit." ''Journal of Commerce.'' November 17, 1989.

Presidents

:1908: Henry B. Perham :1912:

Arthur O. Wharton Arthur Orlando Wharton (November 9, 1873 – December 21, 1944) was an American labor union leader. Biography Wharton was born in Kansas, near Topeka. When he was six years old, his father died in a blizzard. Arthur began working at the ag ...

:1922: Bert M. Jewell :1946: Fred N. Aten :1961: Michael Fox :1969: James E. Yost

References

Railway labor unions Trade unions established in 1908 Trade unions disestablished in 1980