American Railroad Labor and the Genesis of the New Deal, 1919-1935

4. Grassroots Political Organization

• 4 • Grassroots Political Organization The election of 1920 was a reversal of traditional political strategy for railroad unions. While they had engaged in lobbying, they had generally remained outside the fray of partisan politics. As recently as 1917, the BLEJ had urged engineers not to discuss politics in division rooms.1 The brotherhoods had broken with tradition in 1916 by endorsing President Wilson. While significant, it was not a harbinger of systemic change. The Democrats counted on labor support in 1918, but the unions, aside from urging members to vote, did little. Railroaders changed their political policy because their wartime gains were in jeopardy. Their goal was to elect enough pro-labor legislators to amend Title III of the Transportation Act, which created the RLB. Warren S. Stone, Grand Chief Engineer of the BLE, reminded members in the spring of 1920 that they were entering the “ . . . most critical time ever for organized labor. The time has arrived when we should reward our friends and defeat our enemies.”2 The AFL endorsed the same policy for years, but gravitated to the Democratic party during the Wilson administration. By the end of the war, the AFL retreated to a less active political stance, opening the way for railroad labor unions to assume the leadership role. Union Criticism of the Transportation Act The BLEJ claimed that the RLB had three critical weaknesses. First, it was not impartial. Second, the railroads would enlist the help of the courts if labor did not obey rulings. Finally, subordinate officials and union members were represented by the same men.3 Subordinate officials held low-level management positions. Some were union members who had been promoted, and Grassroots Political Organization 35 others were hired directly to their positions. The board’s greatest weakness, however, proved to be its lack of enforcement authority. Eventually, both sides ignored its rulings with no fear of negative consequences. Another weakness was that the law did not require that the three National Boards of Adjustment that had functioned under the USRA be maintained. It made the boards voluntary, and labor was eager to reestablish them. Executives were keen to reestablish local control, while unions wanted to maintain the uniformity and standardization that they had gained during the war.4 E. E. Loomis, president of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, summed up the opinion of management: “I do not think I need to burden you with discussion of the evils of standardization . . . centralization . . . may have been necessary when our country was at war. It is not necessary today.”5 Because few voluntary boards were established, the RLB heard numerous minor cases, which could have been solved locally.6 In 1920, with the Esch-Cummins Bill about to become law, union executives decided to keep the Plumb Plan League and Labor operating.7 Although Labor had been published less than a year, its wide circulation and growing influence were readily apparent. One illustration of Labor’s impact occurred when representatives John Cooper and Israel Foster, both of Ohio, complained in a letter to the editor about its cartoons and editorials. Cooper wrote that Labor “poisoned the minds of men.” His complaint stemmed from letters to the paper written by several of his constituents, blasting his voting record. Both representatives suggested that fellow congressman J. M. Baer (R-ND), who drew many of the newspaper’s cartoons, should resign from the House.8 Although he did not resign, he did not win reelection in 1920. The Elections of 1920 Unions were under siege by the summer of 1920. Strikes in Seattle, by Boston police, and against the giant U.S. Steel Corporation, all in 1919, made national headlines, and in each case labor lost. These strikes were just the tip of the iceberg, as thousands of workers struck in the months after the war. Prompted by their precarious position and the wartime rhetoric of democracy , labor organizations turned to the ballot box. The best way for workers to show their strength and frustration was to vote en masse. The railroad unions used the six hundred branches of the Plumb Plan League to get their message to members. As the election neared, 36 Chapter 4 union publications urged men to discuss candidates and issues at union meetings, to register themselves and their families to vote, and to become active in primary campaigns. Additionally, the AFL sent requests to forty thousand locals asking them to appoint an...