Unionization of The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
The fight to form a union can be done. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was founded after workers for the Pullman railroad felt they were being treated unfairly by their employer. The discrimination and prejudice African American railroad workers faced on the job were harsh. They worked a lot and were underpaid for the jobs that they performed. They knew that things had to change within their work place for everyone to be successful in America’s labor market. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters formed a union that would protect them as workers, the union was a huge factor in the success of the Pullman Porters in United States. American Negroes were joining the labor market …show more content…
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters needed change within their jobs and they were not getting it from their employer. In the book review wrote by Thomas E. Posey, he wrote that, “. . . is also significant because it brings out how one group of Negroes, against almost insurmountable odds, selected the trade union approach as a means of solving their problems” (Posey,1947, p.62). The porters knew that they had to do something to gain equity within the workforce. They were willing to work but needed protection from the conditions they were forced to work in. He also wrote that “the brotherhood, in order to secure from the Pullman company better wages, better hours, better working conditions and union recognition had to resort to political action rather than economic action as a means of obtaining their objectives” (Posey, 1947 p.63). The BSCP sought out the government entities into forming a union that they could be a resource in getting them recognized. The railroads were part of the federal government and they felt they could use that in a way to push their agenda in forming a union. The porters knew they had to overcome the harsh realities of society. They had to entice the American Federation of Labor to change their practices. The practices of the American Federation of Labor barred certain people, minorities, and classes of workers to be a part of the AFL (Ohio). It was a long and tough fight becoming a part of the American Federation of Labor. While the fight took a long time the unionization of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was
The fight to form a union can be done. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was founded after workers for the Pullman railroad felt they were being treated unfairly by their employer. The discrimination and prejudice African American railroad workers faced on the job were harsh. They worked a lot and were underpaid for the jobs that they performed. They knew that things had to change within their work place for everyone to be successful in America’s labor market. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters formed a union that would protect them as workers, the union was a huge factor in the success of the Pullman Porters in United States. American Negroes were joining the labor market …show more content…
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters needed change within their jobs and they were not getting it from their employer. In the book review wrote by Thomas E. Posey, he wrote that, “. . . is also significant because it brings out how one group of Negroes, against almost insurmountable odds, selected the trade union approach as a means of solving their problems” (Posey,1947, p.62). The porters knew that they had to do something to gain equity within the workforce. They were willing to work but needed protection from the conditions they were forced to work in. He also wrote that “the brotherhood, in order to secure from the Pullman company better wages, better hours, better working conditions and union recognition had to resort to political action rather than economic action as a means of obtaining their objectives” (Posey, 1947 p.63). The BSCP sought out the government entities into forming a union that they could be a resource in getting them recognized. The railroads were part of the federal government and they felt they could use that in a way to push their agenda in forming a union. The porters knew they had to overcome the harsh realities of society. They had to entice the American Federation of Labor to change their practices. The practices of the American Federation of Labor barred certain people, minorities, and classes of workers to be a part of the AFL (Ohio). It was a long and tough fight becoming a part of the American Federation of Labor. While the fight took a long time the unionization of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was