In 1905 it was one of the organizations that were merged together to form the I. W. W.
An organization somewhat similar to the S. T. & L. A. was the Western Labor Union, organized in 1898 by the Western Federation of Miners. It was designed to supplant the entire existing labor movement, the railroad organizations included. But it was still-born, and after an anagmic struggle re-named itself the American Labor Union. It later went to make part of the I. W. W. at the latter's foundation. At no time did it become strong in the railroad industry.
A much more militant dual union on the railroads was the United Brotherhood of Railway Employes. This organization was started in 1900. It worked mostly in the West, and succeeded in getting a strong hold on several roads in that section. It had agreements with a few companies. But it finally went the way of all dual industrial railroad unions and collapsed. Just as it was about to expire it was fused with the other unions going to form the I. W. W.
The Canadian Order of Railwaymen was in existence during part of the period covered by the U. B. R. E. It was launched in 1901. It claimed jurisdiction over engineers, firemen, conductors, trainmen and yardmen in Canada. But it was unable to make good its claim in the face of the craft unions. It made no important headway and soon died off.
The next important one in the long list of dual industrial railroad unions was the Industrial Workers of the World. This organization was formed in 1905 in Chicago by an amalgamation of several industrial unions. It was intended to replace the entire trade union movement. Debs, Hall, Estes and many other active railroad militants gave it their hearty support for a time. But it has never been able to make substantial progress on any of the roads, except in the Canadian Northwest, where it organized the railroad construction workers ten years ago and waged
