Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America
Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a labor organization in the United States and Canada that represents employees in the public transit industry. Established in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, the union was centered primarily in the Eastern United States; today, ATU has over 200,000 members throughout the United States and Canada.
History
The union was founded in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America. The union has its origins in a meeting of the American Federation of Labor in 1891 at which president Samuel Gompers was asked to invite the local street railway associations to form an international union. Gompers sent a letter to the local street railway unions in April 1892, and based on the positive response arranged for a convention of street railway workers.[2] The convention began on September 12, 1892, in Indianapolis, Indiana, attended by fifty delegates from twenty-two locals. Many of the smaller unions were affiliated with the AFL, while four larger locals were affiliated with the Knights of Labor and two were independent.[3]
The first president was William J. Law from the AFL-affiliated local in Detroit.[3] Detroit was chosen as the headquarters, using the same facilities as the Detroit local.[4] Because the number of members affiliated with the Knights of Labor was greater than the numbers affiliated with the AFL, according to the claims of the delegates, the new international remained unaffiliated despite pleas by Gompers.[4] The objectives included education, settlement of disputes with management, and securing good pay and working conditions. The international was given considerable authority over the locals.[5]
The second convention was held in Cleveland in October 1893, with just fifteen divisions represented by about twenty delegates.[6] At this meeting William D. Mahon was named president, and he still held this position in 1937. By then the union had been renamed the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America.[2] The union struggled in the early years as the transit companies followed the practice of firing union activists. In the 1897 meeting in Dayton, Ohio, there were twenty delegates. The treasury of the union now had $4,008.[7] An early achievement was to have laws passed in a dozen states by 1899 that mandated enclosed vestibules for the motormen. Wages were close to $2 a day where the union was established, and in Detroit and Worcester the nine-hour day had been achieved, although in most cities ten- or eleven-hour days were common.[8]
At the start of the 20th century the Amalgamated Association launched a militant organizing program. Although the union was always willing to arbitrate in disputes, there were many strikes against the streetcar companies. Often these turned violent, as in St. Louis in 1900 or Denver in 1920. The public and small businesses sympathized with the strikers, and passengers and other unions often became involved in the street actions.[9] When buses began to replace streetcars, the association began to be challenged by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers. It was agreed that the Amalgamated Association would have jurisdiction over buses operated by street railway companies, while the Teamsters would have jurisdiction over independent bus lines and over road transportation of goods.[10]
Political and legislative activities
In 2008, the ATU endorsed Hillary Clinton in her unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination; after she conceded defeat, the ATU endorsed Barack Obama in his bid to become president.[11]
The ATU was named the "Most Valuable National Union" in The Nation magazine's Progressive Honor Roll of 2012 for its support of the Occupy movement, the National Day of Action for Public Transportation, and other social justice issues.[12]
Timeline
Year
Location
1892
Indianapolis
Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America is founded in September 1892
As electrically powered streetcars became more common, the name was changed to the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America.[10]
1908
Chicago
Chicago Tunnel Company refuses to recognize the Amalgamated Association. On May 9 all workers go on strike. Company uses strikebreakers to break the strike.[13]
The streetcar union launches a strike in February 1910. Violence erupts, and the strike escalates into a general strike of unions in all industries on March 4, involving about 100,000 workers. After three weeks the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company agrees to negotiate.[15]
1912
Boston
Boston streetcar workers go on strike. After two months they gain the right to form a trade union, and a system of arbitration for future disputes is agreed upon.[16] President Mahon cedes jurisdiction over carpenters, painters, electricians, and other skilled trades to the AFL. The union's membership is divided into 34 distinct labor units, each with a separate agreement negotiated with the company's representative Cyrus S. Ching.[17]
1913
Indianapolis
Indianapolis Streetcar Strike of 1913 starts on October 31. After rioting, the Indiana National Guard is brought in and the city placed under martial law on November 5. As a result, Indiana enacts laws that set minimum wages, regular hours and workplace improvements.[18]
1916
Washington, D.C.
Workers on streetcars in Washington, D.C. are organized when local 689 of the Amalgamated Association wins recognition after a three-day strike.[19]
1917
Bloomington, Illinois
1917 Bloomington Streetcar Strike: A general strike in Bloomington occurred, by both the ATU local 752 transit workers and sympathy strikers that made up the vast majority of the town's workers.
Amalgamated workers at the Los Angeles Railway strike in response to a refusal to raise wages. Approximately 1/8th of the railway employees joined the strike and were subsequently fired.[20]
1935
Omaha
On April 20, 1935, a long and violent strike begins in Omaha, but is not successful.[21]
1936
New York City
Negotiations for the Transport Workers Union to join the Amalgamated Association break down.
1944
Philadelphia
Despite opposition from the union, white workers walk out from August 1–8 in the Philadelphia transit strike of 1944 in an attempt to block giving non-menial jobs to black workers. Troops are brought in and the workers return to work having failed to achieve their goal.[22]
In the 1966 New York City transit strike, the TWU and the ATU both strike against the New York City Transit Authority. The ATU represents 1,750 bus employees in Queens and Staten Island, while the TWU represents 33,000 transit employees.[23] The 12-day strike leads to passage of the Taylor Law, redefining the rights and limitations of unions for public employees in New York.[24]
1983
Greyhound faces growing competition and is forced to drop its fares. To survive, it requests a 9.5% wage cut, which the union rejects. In November 1983 the ATU calls a strike of Greyhound employees, with 12,700 members walking off the job. The union accepts a 7.8% wage cut on December 19, 1983, just before Christmas.[25]
1990
A second Greyhound strike begins in March 1990. Over 9,000 union members lost their jobs when Greyhound hired an army of replacements. One striker was killed when struck by a bus driven by a strikebreaker. The strike drags on and many drivers return to work. The ATU let its members return in 1993.[25]
The 2008 Toronto Transit Commission strike is called at 90 minutes notice at midnight on Friday, August 2. Emergency legislation is passed over the weekend to force the strikers back to work.[26]
Oestreich, Herbert H.; Whaley, George L. (September 2001). "The Great Greyhound Strikes". Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
