Transportation Communications International Union
Encyclopedia
The Transportation Communications International Union or 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 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
that have merged with it since 1969.
, who formed an organization named the "Order of Railroad Clerks of America". The organization renamed itself the "Brotherhood of Railway Clerks", in line with other railway "brotherhoods" of the time. In 1919, it renamed itself the "Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes" to reflect its broadened jurisdiction. In 1967, it changed names again to the "Brotherhood of Railway, Airline, Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes", commonly known as BRAC. Finally, in 1987, after absorbing members from a half dozen other unions that merged with BRAC, the organization adopted its current name.
was founded in June 1886 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa
. In 1965, the ORT changed its name to the Transportation Communications Employees Union. It merged with BRAC in 1969.
The Railway Patrolmen's International Union represented rail police officers on a number of railroads. RPIU merged with BRAC in 1969 and is now incorporated in its Allied Services Division.
The United Transport Services Employees Union was founded in 1937 as the International Brotherhood of Red Caps, representing baggage handlers at railroad stations. A largely African-American union, it was founded with the support of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It changed its name to UTSE in 1940 and joined the Congress of Industrial Organizations
in 1942. The Red Cap and Sky Cap members of UTSE merged with BRAC in 1972 and are also part of its Allied Services Division.
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters became a part of BRAC in 1978. Founded in 1925 by A. Philip Randolph
, the Porters organized for twelve years—largely in secret and in the hostile racial climate of those years—before winning a collective bargaining agreement with the anti-union Pullman Company
. BSCP members, including Edgar Nixon
, played a significant role in the U.S. civil rights movement in the decades that followed. When the Porters merged with BRAC, they formed the Sleeping Car Porters System Division. Today, these and other on-board Amtrak workers are represented by System Division 250.
The American Railway Supervisors Association, later renamed the American Railway and Airway Supervisors Association, was founded on November 14, 1934, by a group of supervisors on the Chicago and North Western Railway
. ARASA merged with BRAC in 1980 and continues as a separate Supervisors' Division, operating under its own by-laws, within TCU.
The Western Railway Supervisors Association was founded by a group of Southern Pacific
yardmasters who originally organized in 1938, then after joining and splitting from several other yardmasters unions, merged with BRAC in 1983. Its members now constitute System Board 555 and, like other groups within the union, operate under their own by-laws.
The Brotherhood of Railway Carmen was founded on September 9, 1890, in Topeka, Kansas
, by railroad employees engaged in the repair and inspection of railroad cars. The Brotherhood merged with BRAC in 1986 and is now part of TCU's Carmen Division, which operates under its own by-laws with a vice-president who holds a seat on TCU's Executive Council.
.
In July 2005, TCU members voted to merge the union with the International Association of Machinists. The merger will be concluded no later than 2012.
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was, in 1925, the first labor organization led by blacks to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor . It merged in 1978 with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks , now known as the Transportation Communications International Union.The...
that have merged with it since 1969.
Renaming itself
The union was founded in 1899 by 33 railroad clerks meeting in Sedalia, MissouriSedalia, Missouri
Sedalia is a city located about south of the Missouri River in Pettis County, Missouri. U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 intersect in the city. As of 2006, the city had a total population of 20,669. It is the county seat of Pettis County. The Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of...
, who formed an organization named the "Order of Railroad Clerks of America". The organization renamed itself the "Brotherhood of Railway Clerks", in line with other railway "brotherhoods" of the time. In 1919, it renamed itself the "Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes" to reflect its broadened jurisdiction. In 1967, it changed names again to the "Brotherhood of Railway, Airline, Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes", commonly known as BRAC. Finally, in 1987, after absorbing members from a half dozen other unions that merged with BRAC, the organization adopted its current name.
Its merger partners
The Order of Railroad TelegraphersOrder of Railroad Telegraphers
The Order of Railroad Telegraphers was a United States labor union established in the late nineteenth century to promote the interests of telegraph operators working for the railroads.-Background and Early History:...
was founded in June 1886 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
. In 1965, the ORT changed its name to the Transportation Communications Employees Union. It merged with BRAC in 1969.
The Railway Patrolmen's International Union represented rail police officers on a number of railroads. RPIU merged with BRAC in 1969 and is now incorporated in its Allied Services Division.
The United Transport Services Employees Union was founded in 1937 as the International Brotherhood of Red Caps, representing baggage handlers at railroad stations. A largely African-American union, it was founded with the support of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It changed its name to UTSE in 1940 and joined the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
in 1942. The Red Cap and Sky Cap members of UTSE merged with BRAC in 1972 and are also part of its Allied Services Division.
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters became a part of BRAC in 1978. Founded in 1925 by A. Philip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph
Asa Philip Randolph was a leader in the African American civil-rights movement and the American labor movement. He organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly Negro labor union. In the early civil-rights movement, Randolph led the March on Washington...
, the Porters organized for twelve years—largely in secret and in the hostile racial climate of those years—before winning a collective bargaining agreement with the anti-union Pullman Company
Pullman Company
The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
. BSCP members, including Edgar Nixon
Edgar Nixon
Edgar Daniel Nixon was an African American civil rights leader and union organizer who played a crucial role in organizing the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Nixon also led the Montgomery branch of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union, known as the Pullman Porters...
, played a significant role in the U.S. civil rights movement in the decades that followed. When the Porters merged with BRAC, they formed the Sleeping Car Porters System Division. Today, these and other on-board Amtrak workers are represented by System Division 250.
The American Railway Supervisors Association, later renamed the American Railway and Airway Supervisors Association, was founded on November 14, 1934, by a group of supervisors on the Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
. ARASA merged with BRAC in 1980 and continues as a separate Supervisors' Division, operating under its own by-laws, within TCU.
The Western Railway Supervisors Association was founded by a group of Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
yardmasters who originally organized in 1938, then after joining and splitting from several other yardmasters unions, merged with BRAC in 1983. Its members now constitute System Board 555 and, like other groups within the union, operate under their own by-laws.
The Brotherhood of Railway Carmen was founded on September 9, 1890, in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, by railroad employees engaged in the repair and inspection of railroad cars. The Brotherhood merged with BRAC in 1986 and is now part of TCU's Carmen Division, which operates under its own by-laws with a vice-president who holds a seat on TCU's Executive Council.
TCU today
Robert A. Scardelletti is the International President of TCU. First elected at the 1991 Convention, he was the first leader in more than 75 years to successfully challenge an incumbent. TCU's headquarters are in Rockville, MarylandRockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
.
In July 2005, TCU members voted to merge the union with the International Association of Machinists. The merger will be concluded no later than 2012.
Past executives
- Fred J. Kroll – former International President of BRAC and a vice president of the AFL-CIO, d. July 1981 of leukemia at age 45
- Richard I. Kilroy – VP under Kroll, and took over after Kroll's death in 1981 as international president of TCU (1981–1991), and was also a vice president of the AFL-CIO; d. February 2007 of heart failure