Pennsylvania Railroad Voluntary Relief Dept.

The Voluntary Relief Dept. was created on February 1, 1886, in the Lines East organization to function as a sick and death benefits plan. As the name indicates, membership was voluntary, but by the 1930s and 40s about 90% of all employees were enrolled. With the reorganization of 1920, the Voluntary Relief Departments that had existed in the Lines West organization (since July 1, 1889) and on several other semi-independent subsidiaries were consolidated into a single system-wide department between October 1920 and March 1921. The Voluntary Relief Dept. was phased out after the reorganization of November 1955 and was replaced by the Manager-Employee Benefits in the Personnel Dept., although the plan continued to function for those already enrolled.

The Relief Dept. grew out of the company's experience with the 1877 strike, although it was not implemented for nearly a decade because of poor financial conditions. It was one of the first plans of its type in the railroad industry and was soon copied by many other lines. The plan was created because of the high rates of injury in the industry and the difficulty employees experienced in securing coverage from commercial insurance companies. Prior to the institution of the plan, benefits were awarded on a case-by-case basis by the Board of Managers in cases of extreme destitution.

Membership was graded into five classes based on salary level, with monthly membership deductions and awards being in proportion. The company assumed all the costs of administering the fund, which was invested in securities, and agreed to make up any shortfall. The department was administered by a Superintendent, reporting to the General Manager until March 1, 1920, and to the head of the new Personnel Dept. thereafter. He was assisted by a board composed of 8 company officers and 8 employees (later increased to 17 each) and supervised a staff of Medical Examiners. Benefits were initially limited to one year, after which a recipient was obliged to apply to the Board of Managers for so-called "company relief", as had been the case prior to 1886. Company relief was discontinued in 1900, and VRD benefits were extended at 50% of the normal rate in cases where disability exceeded one year.