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Article: American Railway Union
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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AMERICAN RAILWAY UNION
AMERICAN RAILWAY UNION.
In June 1893, Eugene V. Debs, secretary-treasurer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, joined other brotherhood officers to found the American Railway Union (ARU), dedicated to uniting all rail workers "into one, compact working force for legislative as well as industrial action" (Salvatore,
Eugene V. Debs,
p. 115).
Prior to the formation of the ARU, labor organizing in the railroad industry had primarily been limited to craft unions, each admitting only workers belonging to a specific trade. The most powerful of these were brotherhoods of engineers, firemen, brakemen, and conductors, which strived to win decent wages and working ...