Washington Job Protection Agreement, Atlanta Terminal Company, 1948

The Washington Job Protection Agreement (WJPA), also known as the Agreement of 1936, was a collective bargaining agreement entered into by the carriers and the railroad labor organizations. Its creation was in reaction to the ICC's determination in 1935 that it could approve or deny railroad mergers based on how the consolidation of two carriers might adversely affect protected employees. The WJPA ensured that financial compensation would be offered to railroad employees who lost their jobs or saw a reduction in earning as the result of a carrier merger, or as the result of the coordination of railroad facilities, operations, or services. The WJPA also created procedures to protect seniority rights, place of work, moving expenses, and compensation for loss in the sale of property.

The records in this series contain the conferences and committee proceedings between carriers and various railroad labor organizations that occurred when conditions outlined in the WJPA's Section 13 were met. It is worth noting that a large number of these proceeding occurred as a direct result of the numerous railroad mergers that are documented in Series XII.

This series also contains records of various amendments made to the WJPA and of the negotiations that created those amendments.

Of particular interest are the minutes of the conferences held by the carriers conferences and the RLEA in February 1936. These minutes document the final steps of negotiations between labor and management prior to the signing of the Agreement in May 1936. An annotated penultimate draft of the WJPA is also found in this series.