 Many transport workers were involved in the 1918 Swiss general strike, and this inspired members of various small unions to found a national union for railway workers.It was established in 1919, as the Swiss Railwaymen's Association, and immediately affiliated to the Swiss Trade Union Federation.While it had a centralised political leadership, under Robert Bratschi, linked with the Social Democratic Party and based in Bern, many of its sectoral groups operated with a high degree of autonomy in industrial matters.