The Japan Railway Workers' Union (, Tetsuro) was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing workers on the

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR). The union was founded on 20 October 1968, with the merger of the various affiliates of the Japanese Federation of National Railway Workers' Unions. Like that federation, it affiliated to the Japanese Confederation of Labour, and by 1970, it had 73,064 members. The union was considered to be on the right wing of the movement, opposing political activism and working closely with management. Initially, managers at JNR tried to pressurise members of rival unions to join the more compliant Tetsuro, but this was largely unsuccessful and led the other unions to become more militant. In response to the privatisation of JNR, on 2 February 1987, Tetsuro merged with the

National Railway Locomotive Engineers' Union The was a Japanese trade union, which was usually referred to as Dōrō (動労) in Japanese. History Foundation to 1980 Dōrō (National Railway Locomotive Engineers' Union) split from the National Railway Workers' Union (Kokuro) in 1951. It w ...

(Doro), to form the

Japan Confederation of Railway Workers' Unions The is a Japanese trade union, which is usually referred to as in Japanese. History The union was founded on 2 February 1987, with the merger of the National Railway Locomotive Engineers' Union (Doro) and the Japan Railway Workers' Union (Tetsu ...

. Many former members of Tetsuro split away in 1992, to form the Japan Railway Trade Unions Confederation.

References

{{Authority control Railway labor unions Trade unions established in 1968 Trade unions disestablished in 1987 Trade unions in Japan