This publication, “SIGNAL 23”, came with a collection of paper I acquired recently. It’s “the official monthly publication of the Canadian Trainmen’s Union”.
The what, now?
I had never heard of the Canadian Trainmen’s Union.
This is interesting reading.
A group of Canadian railway men* were determined to form a Canadian-only railway union, independent from the big multinational unions like the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) or the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE).
* I say “men” not to be sexist, but to be accurate. The reality of railroading in the late 1950s and early 1960s was that the “working trades”, the people operating the trains, were almost entirely men. That has been changing over the years, though not fast enough.
“The Canadian Trainmen’s Union believes all labour in Canada should be exclusively controlled by Canadians in Canada. The Canadian Trainmen’s Union is opposed to foreign controlled executive direction of both Canadian Labour and Canadian Capital. Such foreign controls can only result in serious disadvantage to both Labour and Capital in Canada”.
Prescient words, given the current state of relations between Canada and the USA!
Information on the CTU is scarce on the web. As far as I can tell, they attempted to organize in the late 1950s and very early 1960s. The edition of SIGNAL 23 I have is dated April 15, 1959. I found a mention of the CTU in the Moncton Times-Transcript, June 15, 1960, where J. Earl White, national secretary, was exhorting members of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen to break away from the “dictatorship” of the American unions and join a purely Canadian one.
My edition of SIGNAL 23 contains a lot of information on the CTU’s attempt to organize at the British Columbia Electric Railway. A delegation from the BCER met with the CTU in Vancouver on September 10, 1958 to strategize, and soon a membership drive was initiated.
An application for certification of the union was submitted to the British Columbia Labour Relations Board on October 22, 1958. It is included on page 4 and shows 36 people joined the union and they were attempting to represent 70 people, who were currently members of the BLE and the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen.
A hearing was held on November 25 and the application was rejected the next day. There were some appeals lasting into the spring of 1959 to no avail.
Incidentally, the publication includes an explanation of the title, SIGNAL 23. It is a reference to rule 223 in the Uniform Code of Operating Rules (UCOR)… a little obscure, but sure! Why not!
The Cranbrook Archives has a copy of their constitution, and so does the Central BC Railway & Forestry Museum.
I don’t know what happened to the CTU – other than the obvious “it’s not here today”. I searched for the names of some of the officers:
- Daniel Free, President
- John F. Inkman, National Vice-President (obituary?)
- Vernon H. MacLellan, Vice-President, CNR Lines West (obituary)
- Joris C. Daem, Vice-President, CP Western Lines
- There’s an interview with Joris here about Wigwam, BC.
- Joris’ wife, Mary, was a prolific writer and artist.
- J. Earl White, National Secretary-Treasurer
It was a noble effort, to be sure.
I would love to hear more about the Canadian Trainmen’s Union.