Railroad Retirement Board: Railway Express Agency Strike Benefits [folder 1 of 3], 1951

This series consists of the records of government legislation and policy that pertained to or affected the railroad industry. The RLEA was initially founded in response to the passing of the Railway Labor Act, and throughout its existence, one of its primary missions was to lobby on behalf of railroad labor in the U.S. government and to help shape and guide policy for the railroad industry. The records in this series document that effort as well as the final results of those efforts in the form of laws, regulations, safety standards, employee protections, unemployment insurance, retirement funds, and other social safety nets.

The legislation that was most germane to the RLEA's missions, the Railway Labor Act, is located in this series Also included are amendments to the Act, records of Congressional subcommittees that held hearings in regards to the Act and its implementation, extensive correspondence between the RLEA chiefs and with members of Congress, and extensive documentation of Labor-Management Committees that served in a variety of functions including on the Wage Stabilization Boards established during the Korean War to protect labor's interests in wartime. The RLEA's involvement in negotiating national wage standards is also documented in the records of Emergency Boards that are located in this series.

The Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Acts are also extensively documented in this series, as is the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). The RRB is the federal agency that oversees the implementation of the provisions of the Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Acts. Railroad employees have a separate retirement system from Social Security; this system also administers supplemental pensions, Medicare, disability, and unemployment benefits for railroad employees. This system predates Social Security, and was used as a model for that system. Documentation of the passage of the Social Security Act may also be found in this series.

Of particular note is the correspondence file tracking the passage of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act through both houses of Congress to President Roosevelt's desk where it was signed into law in 1938.

Finally, this series contains the speeches and testimonies of RLEA Chief Executives before various Congressional bodies, legislation concerning railroad safety, legislation concerning ground transportation regulations, and studies on the organization and procedures of the Interstate Commerce Committee (ICC).