BenFranklin1902
Tom in Exton, PA
28 Nov 2016
12:00:27pm
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I was digging through some of my stuff and found this union dues book. What makes it significant to me was that this was my grandfather, Luke Raymond Lee.
The book is in very good condition, considering that union members were supposed to carry it with them at all times as proof of membership. It's hard cover, like a small prayer book. The dues stamps were a dollar a month. I can see where he paid several months at a time because some of the stamps are still attached together. This book has five years worth of membership. The stamps are both red and black.
My grandfather worked for Railway Express for over 50 years. He was a dispatcher and worked in Jersey City, NJ as well as New York City. He never had a drivers license and took public transportation. But because of his job, he knew the streets from routing drivers.
As you can see, he joined the union when he was 18, but had been working since he was 16. Typical American story, his father died and he and his brother George quit school and got jobs to support the family.
And some irony. When I met my wife in the late 1970s, my wife's grandmother mentioned to my grandfather that her deceased husband had also worked for Railway Express as a driver for 50 years. And upon hearing his name, my grandfather realized that they had worked together for many years! Imagine that!
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