Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- c. 1930-1990 (Creation)
Extent
8.4 linear feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Romauld B. Thibault was born in 1918 in Garden, Michigan. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII. In 1945 he married Rachael V. Kramer, together they had two sons. During his life, he worked for the Great Northern Railroad and then later the Burlington Northern Railroads as a conductor and brakeman. He was an active member of the local labor lodges and the national labor unions who competed vigorously for the right to represent railroad workers in negotiations with the Railroad. He retired in 1980. While working, Thibault served as the local chairman of the O.R.C. & B (Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen) from 1956 to 1980. He also served as the National Vice-president of the O.R.C. & B in 1958. He passed away in 2002.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection of Romauld B. Thibault contains a number of correspondence materials relating to the myriad issues between the labor unions and railroad management. Decisions regarding worker discipline, seniority, labor and management agreements, board rulings, time books (which were to record time worked, pay earned, and arbitraries due to the employee) are included as well as reports covering railroad accidents, grievance committees, rules and regulation procedures, and correspondence initiating from various union personal are presented here in this collection.
The collection also contains a number of correspondences, reports, and books issued from the railroad unions at the national level. These include: constitution booklets, committee and officer reports, convention proceedings, and informational booklets.
Thibualt was a member of the railroad unions in St. Cloud as well as the vice president at the national level. Included in the collection are primarily the papers from three railroad unions and their dealings with the Great Northern Railroad. These are: Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT), the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen (ORCB), and the United Transportation Union (UTU). The BRT and the ORCB merged together with two other unions to form a single union, the UTU in 1969.
The collection also contains a number of correspondences, ledgers, meeting minutes, and booklets from the Ladies Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (the name was changed to the Ladies Auxiliary of the United Transportation Union in 1970), which Thibault's wife was a member.
System of arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Railroad Labor Union Material
The collection contains papers, booklets, time books, and other material are arranged by subject in each folder. Inside each folder the material is arranged into a rough, chronological order.
Series 2: Ladies Auxiliary of the United Transportation Union #719 Material
The collection contains newsletters, papers, meeting minutes, and other material are arranged by subject in each folder. Inside each folder the material is arranged in chronological order.
Records are located at 35C.4e-7f and 35B.1a.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
There are no access restrictions.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Permission to publish, quote, and reproduce must be secured from the copyright holder.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
These records were reprocessed by Sara Olson in October 2014.