The remarkable journey of TWU began, ironically, in undramatic fashion 60 years ago this month when a small group of beaten yet unbowed New York City transit worker--most the them exiles from Ireland's civil wars--met secretly on Manhattan's West Side to plot the formation of a union that could take on the robber barons of the transportation industry.
Numerous previous attempts to unionize New York's vast population of abused transit workers had failed. Strikes in 1905, 1910, 1916 and 1919 had been brutally put down by the all powerful transit companies which utilized an army of plain clothes hired goons and spies, known as beakies, to do their dirty work.
The year of TWU's formation, 1934, marked a very dangerous but opportune time for unionization. The transit companies were taking full advantage of the nation's deep depression which had spawned unemployment rates as high as 25 percent. For every transit job available, there were upwards of 20,000 applicants.
The transit companies used these hard times to hire and fire at will, slash wages and impose even harsher terms of employment on the employees. Yet by the same token, the workers were sick and tired of paltry wages, aggressive, Neanderthal bosses and medieval working conditions.
But for this union to succeed where others had failed, a special kind of leader was needed. That leader was the legendary Michael J. Quill, a change maker on the IRT subway line. Quill, an Irish-born militant, who came to the U.S. to escape British rule in his homeland, was a unique blend of guts and charisma. He was a dynamic public speaker and a public relations genius, who utilized the media of the day perhaps better than any labor leader in history.
Quill was aided by an incredibly able group of lieutenants led by Douglas McMahon, who later served as TWU's International Secretary Treasurer. In fact Quill and McMahon were TWU's first full-time organizers. It would take Quill and his supporters a number of years to solidify TWU's presence in New York. But there were a few incidents, which can best be described as 'defining moments' in the union's history, that brought TWU attention and credibility.
The first occurred on July 9, 1935. It was known as the "Squeegee" strike. Management at the Jerome Avenue Barn in the Bronx tried to speed up workers by forcing them to use a 14-inch squeegee instead of the customary 10-inch tool. This "straw that broke the camel's back" resulted in a two-day TWU inspired walkout after six Car Cleaners were fired for insubordination. Management caved in and reinstated the men.
Another important incident happened a month later when Quill and numerous cohorts were jumped by company goons at Grand Central Station, which incredibly led to Quill and four other union activists, including Herbert C. Holmstrom, Thomas H. O'Shea, Patrick McHugh and Serafino Machado, being arrested. A court later threw out the charges. But the incident gained much attention in the press and at the job sites, where it symbolized all the harassments the workers were subjected to by the bosses year after year.
Probably the most important event of the early years occurred On January 3, 1937 when nearly 600 workers at the BMT Kent Avenue Powerhouse staged a sitdown strike over the firing of three engineers for union activity. The sit-in lasted three days and ended in the reinstatement of the fired workers. After this incident, thousands of New York transit workers flocked to the union. It marked the beginning of TWU as the most important force in New York City transit, and it marked the beginning of the end of harsh management dominance of transit workers in the nation's largest city.
In the years since, the union has continued to move forward, often in very exciting fashion. TWU's citywide bus and subway strikes in 1966 and 1980 remain the most memorable labor management confrontations in the history of New York City.
Beyond New York
TWU's growing number of victories in New York City served a springboard to expansion for the union to other cities, and to other industries. Transit workers on Long Island, New York, in Akron, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Omaha, Nebraska, and Hackensack, New Jersey all signed up around 1941. Philadelphia's transit workers came into TWU in 1944 after a seven year battle to organize. Houston's workers joined in 1947, and San Francisco's in 1950. Other transit workers, including Miami and Ann Arbor came in much later.
Brooklyn Union Gas employees affiliated with TWU in 1941, and blue collar employees at Columbia University joined up two years later.
Airline Victories
Another crucial move for TWU began in 1942 when employees at Pan American World Airways began a three-year effort to come into TWU. the union reached its first collective bargaining agreement with Pan Am in 1945 gaining the 40-hour workweek with 48 hours pay and overtime after 40 hours. It was a first in the rapidly growing airline industry and it paved the way for another dramatic win in 1946 at American Airlines. Today, TWU represents more than 40,000 airline employees at numerous major and commuter carriers -- this despite the tragic loss of thousands of TWU members at the liquidated Eastern Airlines and Pan Am.
Railroad Beginnings
TWU's Railroad Division was formed in 1954 when the locals of the United Railroad Workers Organizing Committee, which had been formed in 1943 by the old CIO, voted overwhelmingly to join with TWU. The union was immediately involved in a critical dispute with the huge Pennsylvania Railroad that culminated in, at that time, the largest wage package increase in railroad history. The union has continued to protect its members throughout the turbulent years of railroad breakups and government takeovers, and despite the tragic loss of employment throughout the American railroad industry, TWU today remains a strong force for progress for its members at Conrail, Amtrak, SEPTA, Metro North, PATH and other carriers.
Leadership Stability
One important reason for the growth and stability of TWU has been political stability at the International Union level. In the union's six decades, there has been only six international presidents to lead the union including: Michael J. Quill, 1934 to 1966; Matthew Guinan, 1966-1979; William G. Lindner, 1979-1985; John E. Lawe, 1985-1989; George E. Leitz, 1989-1993, and the union's present top leader Sonny Hall, who was elected International President at TWU 19th Constitutional Convention in October 1993.
Organizing Continues
Throughout TWU's history, the union has never lost its energy to organize new workers. The union's leadership has readily recognized that a union must, at the very least, attempt to expand its protection to new groups of employees, or the organization will become stagnant and begin to decline. The union has been very successful in very recent years bringing TWU representation to new groups, including several thousand airline workers employed at the American Eagle commuter carriers, as well as workers of smaller private and public bus companies and public service employees.
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