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Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Records

 Collection
Identifier: 5141

Scope and Contents

Bulletins, correspondence, convention proceedings, arbitration, grievance, and subject files, meeting minutes, union publications, and ephemera relating to the BLFE, labor relations in the railroad industry in the United States, and railroad labor issues from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries.



Among the most significant topics covered in the collection are labor disputes, working conditions, and strikes in the railroad industry; railroad law and legislation, particularly at the state level; and black employees in the railroad industry.

Dates

  • 1875-1975

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

Conditions Governing Access

Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

Biographical / Historical

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen was founded on December 1, 1873, at Port Jervis, New York, to provide mutual support for railroad firemen. The Brotherhood initially emphasized insurance, but by the late nineteenth century had branched out into labor-management relations.



At the turn of the century, the organization changed its name to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLFE) after permitting engineers to join its ranks. In 1969, the union merged with the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, and the Switchmen's Union of North America to form the United Transportation Union.

Extent

201.22 cubic feet

Abstract

Bulletins, correspondence, convention proceedings, arbitration, grievance, and subject files, meeting minutes, union publications, and ephemera relating to the BLFE, labor relations in the railroad industry in the United States, and railroad labor issues from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries.

Quantity:

201.2 linear ft.

Forms of Material:

Newsletters, correspondence, proceedings, case files, minutes (administrative records).

General

Contact Information:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives Martin P. Catherwood Library 227 Ives Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3183 kheel_center@cornell.edu http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/kheel-center
Compiled by:
CE & CB, January 28, 2012
EAD encoding:
Kheel Staff, March 07, 2019
Title
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen Records
Status
Completed
Author
Compiled by CE & CB
Date
March 07, 2019
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Revision Statements

  • 02/23/2024: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)

Repository Details

Part of the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives Repository

Contact:
227 Ives Hall
Ithaca NY 14853