Brotherhood of sleeping car porters

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) organized railway porters (traditionally an occupation for African-Americans) to bargain with the Pullman Company which held a virtual monopoly on the nation's sleeping car facilities. The BSCP was founded in 1925 in New York City to counteract the poor wages, long hours, and other injustices practiced by the Pullman Car Company. A. Philip Randolph became president of the Brotherhood in 1928. In the mid-1930's the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the New Deal's National Mediation Board recognized the BSCP.

In 1942 Randolph organized the March on Washington Movement in an attempt to force the federal government to end discrimination in war-related employment and to end segregation in the military. The march was aborted when President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 which outlawed discrimination in unions and in companies doing business with the federal government and established the Fair Employment Practices Committee to oversee compliance. Although the Executive Order did not mention the military, Randolph, nonetheless, had forced the national government to admit to the existence of widespread racial discrimination in employment opportunities and to accept responsibility to provide remedies for that situation.

From the guide to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters collection, 1939-1987, (The New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.)

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was founded by African American employees of the Pullman Company in 1925 in an effort to garner fair and equitable treatment from the company. Early leaders chose A. Philip Randolph to head the union, in part because he was not employed by Pullman and was therefore less vulnerable to attacks from the company. For a decade, the union struggled to organize membership, simultaneously fighting reprisals from the Pullman Company and rejection from the National Mediation Board and the American Federation of Labor. Following changes in federal legislation under the New Deal, in 1935 the NMB certified the union as the official representatives of sleeping car porters. Shortly thereafter, the union received a charter from the AFL, becoming the first African American organization to do so. In 1937, the union signed its first labor agreement with the Pullman Company. Randolph remained president of the union until his retirement in 1968. In 1978, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters merged with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks, marking the end of the union as an independent organization.

From the description of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters records, 1925-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 698781700

Biographical Notes

Benjamin F. McLaurin

• 1906, May 26: Born, Jacksonville, Fla.
• 1925: Chicago, Ill. Chicago Moved to Chicago, Ill. Employed by the Pullman Co.
• 1931: Katona, N.Y. Attended Brookwood Labor College,Katona, N.Y. Local organizer, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
• 1935: International field organizer, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
• 1938: Married Margaret L. Frye
• 1945: Labor candidate, city council, New York, N.Y.
• circa 1959: Eastern zone supervisor, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

A. Philip Randolph

• 1889, Apr. 15: Born, Crescent City, Fla.
• 1914: Married Lucille E. Campbell
• 1917: Organized small union of elevator operators, New York, N.Y.
• 1921: Socialist candidate, secretary of state for New York
• 1925: Organized Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
• 1935: Member, Fiorello H. La Guardia's Commission on Race
• 1941: Washington Washington Organized March on Washington Movement Washington, D.C. Washington, D. C. District of Columbia Honorary LL.D., Howard University,Washington, D.C. Member, New York City Housing Authority
• 1957 - 1968 : Vice president, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
• 1963: Participated in organization of March on Washington
• 1964: Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
• 1979, May 16: Died, New York, N.Y.

Ashley L. Totten

• 1884, Oct. 11: Born, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
• 1905: Immigrated to United States
• 1911: Naturalized as United States citizen
• 1927: Married Nellie V. Victoria
• 1932: International secretary-treasurer, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters President, American Virgin Islands Civic Association
• 1937: National reporting officer, Railroad Retirement Board
• 1963: Died, New York, N.Y.

From the guide to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Records, 1920-1968, (bulk 1950-1968), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)