The Formation of ATU Local 689

History of formation of DC Metro's labor union.

Note to video: Preston Williams, the last surviving original founding member of ATU Local 689, died in 2001 at the age of 107. He always claimed to have driven the old horse cars before they were converted to electricity and his obituary reflects his claim. However, the last horse drawn streetcar plied the Washington, D.C streets in April 1900. He would have been six years old at that time. It is likely that Williams repeated the stories of his early co-workers who were veterans of that eras and simply adopted those stories as his own.

The video can lead to the belief that transit workers in Washington were not organized prior to 1916. The Knights of Labor organized DC horse cars in 1883 but were defeated after a city-wide strike the same year.

Transit workers in the city began organizing in earnest again in 1893 and by 1894 had formed a city wide chapter of the Knights of Labor that had early success. This union was eventually defeated after several strikes and by 1897 was virtually defunct.

The Amalgamated Association of Street & Electric Railway Employees organized Division 161 in Washington DC in 1900. Once again the union enjoyed initial success but was defeated in 1901.

There were other less successful attempts prior to the establishment of ATU Local 689 in 1916.

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