Asa Philip Randolph

  &nbps; After the brutal suppression of an earlier Pullman strike, a special commission put together to investigate the strike concluded; "The laborer can work or quit on the terms offered, that is the limit of his rights."
    Clearly, with the aftermath of the 1890's Pullman strike, this company was one that would battle to the end any and all unionizing efforts.
    In 1925, after four previous organizing drives had failed because of intimidation and firings, Philip Randolph, author of The Messenger magazine, agreed to take up the fight to organize the Pullman Sleeping Car Porters.
    Randolph had to battle racism (almost all sleeping car porters were African American) within unions and the public, media attacks, and, as stated before, a very hostile Pullman company.
    Working conditions were horrible for sleeping car porters.   One-hundred hour work weeks, which included only six hours of sleep on four day runs, $67.50 a month in pay, and the porter had to buy all equipment such as uniforms and shoe brushes.   In addition to this, any souvenirs taken by the customers, ashtrays, towels etc., had to be replaced by the porters out of their own pocket.
    African American newspapers such as the "Chicago Defender" (nicknamed by Randolph, the "Chicago Surrender") and the "Chicago Whip" were anti-union all the way.   It was no secret why.
    Right next to editorials condemning Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), were full page advertisements from the Pullman Company.   In fact, the "Chicago Whip" was owned by lawyers for the Pullman Company.   It seems that the Pullman company had bought journalistic "objectivity".
    Along with condemnations from the papers and other Pullman bribed black leaders at the time, Randolph lost fights on the governmental front early on, which would have forced union recognition by Pullman.

Philip Randolph

PDFからJPG     After a strike vote resulted in over 6000 votes for and only 17 against, Randolph hoped that the federal railway board would declare a strike a national emergency, a move that would guarantee negotiation.
    However, the board said that a porter strike wouldn't result in public crisis, thus almost crushing the BCSP because of its lack of funds on hand to support the workers through a strike.   Also, the Pullman Company was readying scabs to take the place of the porters at a moments notice.
    Realizing that defeat was close for the porters, Pullman sent a check for $10,000 to Randolph, at a time when he was in a financial mess, to buy him off.   (He couldn't pay his rent, lost his paper and had almost no money.)
    Randolph sent the check back to Pullman.
    The porters soon heard about this and the solidarity that had been waning after the railway board's decision, began to grow stronger.
    Nevertheless, even with solidarity, a strike at that time would have failed.
    The most important reason against a strike was outlined by AFL President William Green, a colleague of Randolph.   He told Randolph that a strike would fail because the American public probably wouldn't look favorably upon a strike by black workers.
   The AFL was guilty of this as well.
    The AFL had segregated unions that banned minorities from becoming members with full voting rights.   However, Randolph realized the only way to defeat Pullman was to have the backing of the AFL but refused to accept anything less than full membership for the BSCP.
    After a passionate six year battle with the AFL for recognition, Randolph won full membership status for the BSCP in the AFL.   The Brotherhood was the first black union to be given full membership and equal status in the AFL.
The Team Building Project. Signup Form.     Also, Randolph began to push new president Franklin Roosevelt for a change in the labor laws to force Pullman to negotiate with the Brotherhood.   He won here as well and another union vote was held.   Another 6000 plus porters voted for union affiliation, and the Pullman company now had to negotiate.
    It took 12 years of work and sacrifice to get from the first Brotherhood meeting in Harlem to a signed contract with the Pullman company.   It resulted in a 33% raise, 33% reduction in hours and a 40% reduction in miles the porters needed to travel.
    We at CAT don't face near the adversity as the porters and Randolph.   With about a tenth of the effort, we could become as successful.   It all depends on us getting together and not allowing one contract violation from Caterpillar and not one labor-busting bill from Capital Hill.

Read more about it: Mr. Black Labor, Daniel S. Davis; Organized Labor and the Black Worker 1619-1973, Philip S. Foner; A. Philip Randolph; A Biographical Portrait, Jervis Anderson.

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