During the formative years of railway construction, railway employees frequently worked in poor conditions for insufficient pay. In 1883, the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen was formed in Oneonta, New York to represent railway brakemen in their contract dealings with management. Their goal was to obtain fair contracts for the workers, which included benefits in the case of injury or death on the job. The Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen became the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen in 1889 in order to include all kinds of railway employees. They represented workers in 14 different trade classifications. In 1885 the first Canadian lodge was founded in Moncton, New Brunswick and in 1889 the first Ladies' Auxiliary was organized in Fort Gratiot, Michigan. The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen merged with three other railway labour unions in 1969 to form the United Transportation Union. It was the largest of the four unions at the time of the merger. The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen was present in Saskatchewan and the Moose Jaw assembly was Lodge #34.