Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Engineers and OTW Lapel Badge

The Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Engineers and OTW Lapel Badge is a historical artifact reflecting the heritage of Canadian railway labor organizations. This badge represents membership in the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Engineers, a prominent union for locomotive engineers, and is marked with “OTW,” which commonly refers to the Order of Trainmen and Wipers, another significant railway workers’ group. The badge is crafted in metal and typically features distinctive insignia associated with the organizations, such as initials or symbolic imagery relevant to the railway industry. Lapel badges like this were worn by members to signify association, status, or participation in union activities. Items of this kind are of interest to collectors of trade union ephemera and those researching the history of labor movements in Canada. The badge provides material evidence of early twentieth-century effort to organize labor in the railway sector, a critical component in the country’s economic development.