Transportation--History--20th century

William Beckham Jr. Papers

drice — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:03:12 -0400

William J. Beckham (1940-2000) was originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was educated at the Detroit Institute of Technology (1959-1960), Wayne State University (1960-1962), American University (1962-1964), and the University of Maryland (1965-1966). During these years he took courses in political science. Beckham went on to pursue a career in politics at both the local and national level. In 1964, Beckham worked on Senator Phillip Hart’s campaign and then joined his staff from 1965-1973. Later in his career he would serve as Deputy Mayor to Coleman A. Young, Assistant Secretary of Treasury, and then Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation under President Jimmy Carter. In the private sector, Beckham was Vice President of Unisys Corporation, COO of Envirotest Systems Corp., and President of New Detroit (1995-1999). Towards the end of his life, he became heavily involved in Detroit Public School system reform, leaving New Detroit in 1999 to become President of the Skillman Foundation. Beckham died suddenly in 2000 on the way home from a family vacation.

The Beckham Papers include clippings and programs from meetings, conferences, and award ceremonies that span the length of his career, but focus mainly on his time in the U.S. Department of Transportation and his efforts to reform the Detroit Public School system. During his time in the Department of Transportation, Beckham frequently spoke publicly and at conferences, and the collection includes some of the speeches and remarks he gave during the year 1980. Also included are photographs from his service at the national and local level.

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Records

drice — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:45:20 -0400

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE) was founded at Demopolis, Alabama, in July, 1887 under the name of the Order of Railroad Trackmen, and eventually came to include all workers who build and maintain the tracks, bridges, buildings and other structures of the railroads. Its Grand Lodge headquarters was permanently established in Detroit, Michigan in 1913, and is comprised of System Divisions or Federations, each of which has under its jurisdiction one or more railroad systems and the Subordinate Lodges located on those systems. In 2004, the BMWE merged with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to become the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Part 1 of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Collection consists primarily of outgoing presidential correspondence for the years 1899-1900 and 1912-1914, preserved in letterpress copybooks, Grand Executive Committee meeting minutes and proceedings for the years 1918-1920, and BMWE Ladies' Auxiliary convention proceedings as well as minutes and correspondence of the Denver and Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Auxiliaries.

Part 2 of the records are a comprehensive documentation of the organization’s activities related to the growth and decline of railroad systems on an international, national and divisional scale. Organizational documentation includes governing documents, correspondence to and from Presidents and union members, and agreements from 1906-2004, which give insight into a union that at one time had more than 350,000 members. Records specifically document the organization’s founding and history, its administration, and the evolving activities of its members.

(6562) Strikes, San Francisco Street Car Strike, 1907

eclemens — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:33:50 -0500

A unidentified man assists an injured strikebreaker in a tram during the San Francisco Street Car Strike.

A caption on the back of the photograph reads: “Riots during the street car strike in San Francisco resulted in the injury of 40 strike breakers, of whom four were shot and one was killed. What casualties the strikers suffered are not known. The photo shows an injured strike-breaking motor man being removed from his car by fellow strike breakers. Ten strike breakers were injured in this car’s dash through the rioters. Bricks, pieces of gas pipe, bottles and missiles of all sorts used by the strikers as ammunition can be seen.”

Photograph courtesy of the Edward Levinson Collection

(6563) Strikes, Indianapolis Street Car Strike, Violence, 1912

eclemens — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:40:27 -0500

Onlookers remove an injured strikebreaker from inside of a tram destroyed in the Indianapolis Street Car Strike. Six men were seriously injured and one man was killed during this particular incident.

(6570) Strikes, New Orleans Street Car Strike, Violence, 1929

eclemens — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 10:27:12 -0500

The scene along Canal street during the New Orleans Street Car Strike.

Caption on the back of the photograph reads: “A series of tumultuous riots in which two striking carmen were seriously wounded by bullets and scores of other persons were less seriously hurt, marked the attempt of the New Orleans Public Service to resume street car service and stirred all New Orleans to a pitch of tense excitement. The riot reached a climax when strikers and their sympathizers wrecked several of the public service buildings and set fire to a trolley.”

Photograoph courtesy of the Edward Levinson Collection

(6578) Strikes, Transportation, Truck Drivers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1934

eclemens — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 15:10:42 -0500

Caption on the back of the photograph reads: “Police and pickets of the striking truck drivers union battling in the market district of Minneapolis on May 21 when strikers attempted to halt trucks engaged in delivering perishable food stuffs.”

Photograph courtesy of the Edward Levinson Collection

(6579) Strikes, Violence, Truck Drivers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1934

eclemens — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 10:05:16 -0500

Crowds gather around the wounded after a clash between strikers and police officers during the Minneapolis truck drivers strike.

Caption on the back of the photograph reads: “Policemen and strikers alike were clubbed down as riots continued in connection with the walkout of Minneapolis, MN truck drivers. The toll of wounded in two days’ battling stood at 56, with 36 of these injured during the renewal of fighting May 21. Most of those injured were strikers. In photo strikers and police are shown in one of their sanguine clashes. One policeman was slashed with a knife.”

Photo Courtesy of the Edward Levinson Collection

(6589) Strikes, Violence, Street Car Strike, South Omaha, Nebraska, 1935

eclemens — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 13:33:11 -0500

A view of a smoking and charred street car, destroyed during the South Omaha street car strike.

Caption on the back of the photograph reads: “South Omaha, NE street car union strikers and sympathizers burned five cars, and one man was killed and at least 16 wounded resisting police orders to disperse. As a result of the rioting, the National Guard was called out. Photo shows two of the street cars going up in flames.”

Photograph courtesy of the Edward Levinson Collection

(6597) Strikes, Violence, Street Car Workers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1910

eclemens — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 09:20:29 -0500

A police officer escorts an injured man out of an unidentified building during the Philadelphia street car strike.

Photograph courtesy of the Edward Levinson Collection

(6598) Strikes, AFL, William Green, Railroad Workers, New York, 1930s

eclemens — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 09:42:03 -0500

Caption from the back of the photograph reads: “Testifying with gestures, William Green, President of the American Federation of Labor, is pictured before the Emergency Board appointed by President Roosevelt to investigate the underlying causes of the threatened strike of 25,000 railroad employees here. The dispute involves the brotherhood of railroad men; 11 railroads and a longshore men’s union.”

(6599) Strikes, Transportation Workers, New York, 1927

eclemens — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 09:47:03 -0500

A group of men, possibly hire strikebreakers, enjoy a meal in a makeshift restaurant during the New York transportation dispute of 1927.

Caption from the back of the photograph reads: “All plans have been laid by the I.R.T. [Inter-borough Rapid Transit company] for handling the threatened transit tie-up in the event that the company’s men walkout. Subway officials and leaders of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees hastened preparations for a determined fight. Strikebreakers are being held in readiness to fill the places left vacant by the strikers.”

Photograph courtesy of the William Levinson Collection