Brotherhood Of Sleeping Car Porters Research Paper
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters it’s Affect on the Labor and Civil Rights Movement
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was a labor union organized by African American employees of the Pullman Company in August 1925 and led by A. Philip Randolph and Milton P. Webster. This paper will discuss the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) founders, the issues that caused its fight for organization and recognition, the Pullman Company, the American Federation of Labor and the affect on the labor movement and the affect on the civil rights movement.
First let’s examine the beginning of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and its leadership. The beginning there were three Pullman porters, considered exemplary …show more content…
Phillip Randolph in place as the head of the union getting others to join was the next order of business but was not as easy as it sounded. A. Phillip Randolph and Ashley Totten had difficulty persuading union men to work publicly for the union as they would do as organizers for the men feared retaliation from the Pullman Company if they did so. Some were apathetic, skeptical, and simply afraid. Soon they concluded that the company was trying to frighten them away, first by bringing in more blacks from the South who might be their replacement. “This was warning enough for Randolph and Totten to find a strong leader whom the Pullman officials could not intimidate; hence, they located Milton P. Webster, who became the most notable of the district organizers. The Chicago area was the Pullman Company’s most important district, its headquarters were there, and it employed more black porters than any other district. It ran cars in and out of the city to places throughout the country. Likewise, the Chicago area was important to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters for twelve years it would house the brotherhood’s most militant local who agitated against the company’s anti-union stance. The persuasive Randolph was successful in getting Milton P. Webster to take the job.”
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was a labor union organized by African American employees of the Pullman Company in August 1925 and led by A. Philip Randolph and Milton P. Webster. This paper will discuss the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) founders, the issues that caused its fight for organization and recognition, the Pullman Company, the American Federation of Labor and the affect on the labor movement and the affect on the civil rights movement.
First let’s examine the beginning of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and its leadership. The beginning there were three Pullman porters, considered exemplary …show more content…
Phillip Randolph in place as the head of the union getting others to join was the next order of business but was not as easy as it sounded. A. Phillip Randolph and Ashley Totten had difficulty persuading union men to work publicly for the union as they would do as organizers for the men feared retaliation from the Pullman Company if they did so. Some were apathetic, skeptical, and simply afraid. Soon they concluded that the company was trying to frighten them away, first by bringing in more blacks from the South who might be their replacement. “This was warning enough for Randolph and Totten to find a strong leader whom the Pullman officials could not intimidate; hence, they located Milton P. Webster, who became the most notable of the district organizers. The Chicago area was the Pullman Company’s most important district, its headquarters were there, and it employed more black porters than any other district. It ran cars in and out of the city to places throughout the country. Likewise, the Chicago area was important to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters for twelve years it would house the brotherhood’s most militant local who agitated against the company’s anti-union stance. The persuasive Randolph was successful in getting Milton P. Webster to take the job.”