Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Lodge 1179 (Cadosia, NY ) Records

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes [BMWE] was organized by workers responsible for the physical condition of operational railway rights of way. The BMWE membership consisted of workers who built and maintained the tracks, bridges, buildings, and other railroad structures. It was founded in Alabama in 1887 as the Order of Railroad Trackmen by John T. Wilson.



In 1892, the Order merged with the Brotherhood of Railway Section Foremen of North America, a related organization, to form the Brotherhood of Railway Track Foremen of America. In 1896, the membership of the union was opened to white track laborers as well as foremen, and the organization became known as the Brotherhood of Railway Trackmen of America. In 1918, the Trackmen reintegrated a secessionist faction that had existed as a separate group since 1914 and became known as the United Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and Railway Shop Laborers. The union adopted its current name in 1925 as part of an effort to settle jurisdictional problems with other American Federation of Labor unions.



In 2004, the BMWE merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and renamed themselves the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters [BMWED] to reflect the change in their organizational affiliation.