The Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express, and Station Employees was founded on December 29, 1899 in Sedalia, Missouri. J. F. Riley and R. E. Fisher, both working for the Missouri Pacific Railway, were the organizers of the parent body, known as the “Order of Railroad Clerks of America.” Under their direction the organization turned into a national body, by recruiting members from other cities to form local lodges. The order affiliated with the American Federation of Labor in 1900, only to withdraw in 1901 to avoid the burden of the Federation's per capita tax.
A convention held in 1904, brought objections to the organization's name by members from Canada and Mexico, and the name was changed to the "Brotherhood of Railway Clerks." At the convention held in 1919 the name was later changed to its present designation to reflect its enlarged jurisdictional claims.
The Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express, and Station Employees, Lodge No. 139, La Crosse, Wisconsin held its organizational meeting on April 24, 1907 at the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Freight Office in La Crosse. On June 11, 1907 it received a charter from the Grand Lodge in Kansas City, Missouri. At the time the charter was granted there were 48 members of Local No. 139. The first president of the local was F. 0. Chamberlain.
For additional background information see: Harry Henig, The Brotherhood of Railway Clerks (New York, 1937); and Denton Nixson, History of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees (Cincinnati, Ohio, 1965).
