TCUnion6760 BlogSpace

2006-11-05T10:27:00.003-05:00

Welcome To TCU's
First World Wide Web Union Site
Celebrating Our 16th Year Online1996 - 2011
Serving Over 4.1 Million Visitors

Our Brotherhood Railway Carmen Division of TCU was founded at Cedar Rapids, Iowa on October 27, 1888. The first By-Laws were adopted at Joint Convention in Topeka, Kansas, September 1890. Our union has merged with other railway unions four times, the most recent being August 6, 1986. In July 1987, Convention action re-named the union Transportation Communications International Union (TCU) effective October 1, 1987. The Brotherhood Railway Carmen is a division of the TCU.

The Union we call TCU today took root back in 1899 when, on a cold winter's evening shortly after Christmas, 33 railroad clerks gathered in the back room of Behrens' cigar shop in Sedalia, Missouri. That night, December 29, they formed Local Lodge Number 1 of a union they named the Order of Railroad Clerks of America. Today our range is extensive and complex, on and off the railroads throughout the transportation industry. But the union still runs on those same simple principles of democracy and full membership participation.

Fort Wayne Lodge is a now a stand alone lodge, not affiliated with any Joint Protective Board. Lodge 6760 was originally formed as Brotherhood Railway Carmen of America Lodge 67 in Fort Wayne, Indiana about 1891 or 1892. The lodge became inactive after the devastating 1922 shopmen's rail strike. In December 1934 the lodge received a new charter as Fort Wayne Lodge 760 under the leadership of Henry R. Martin. The lodge number and name were changed again in 1986 as a result of the formation of TCU under the terms of the BRC-BRAC merger. Today, Lodge 6760 represents members in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Regular meetings are held monthly, excluding July, at one of the various cities of the lodge.

Internet access to the World Wide Web was conceived in 1993. The World Wide Web era of information technology has grown so much in such a short period of time, it has completely changed the way people obtain information. Lodge 6760 was first in the union to foresee the importance of Internet exposure. In 1996, Lodge President Gene Carter and Local Chairman Steve Pequignot collaborated on building a Lodge Web site that featured a small black & white home page, several pages about membership benefits, health & welfare issues and contract information. On July 4, 1996, Lodge 6760 posted its first page on the Internet. From that day on, union members have enjoyed access to union information from their home computers.

Nationwide our union has about 46,000 active members. During the first 16 years of Internet exposure the Lodge Web site has received over 4.1 million visitors. The purpose of this site is to present current union related news and information to our members and friends. Our goal is to promote union solidarity by keeping members informed, provide members with a pro-active convenient tool effectively to share ideas and participate in union matters. To that end, and as a result of input from our readers we have decided to incorporate this blog area into the Web site so that our members can share input online.

In doing so, if you choose to express your comments on this blog we request that you do so in a respectful manner.

To enter a comment on TCUnion6760 BlogSpace click the Comment link below, type your comment in the box then select either the Other or Anonymous button, then click the blue Publish Your Comment button.

Thank you for your continued support of our online presence.

Return to the Brotherhood Railway Carmen Website