By Patricia and Frederick McKissack.
Walker and Co., 1989.
$17.95. $9.95 (paperback).
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The struggle of Black Pullman porters to
organize under the leadership of A. Philip
Randolph is a classic labor story with a
David vs. Goliath ending. In this retelling for
young adult audiences and adults seeking
an introduction to the subject, the McKissacks
blend their text with many archival photos.
This is not just the story of the Pullman
porters' union - the Brotherhood of Sleep
ing Car Porters - or of Randolph, but of the
porters themselves. Beginning after the Civil
War, when George Pullman started the
company, the book talks about the early days
when the job was looked on as an opportunity by recently freed slaves.
It talks about the camaraderie, folklore
and early leaders who tried to work with the
company to improve conditions. By the next
generation, more dissatisfaction surfaced as
porters complained of working twice as long
as white conductors for half the pay, of being called "George" (after George Pullman)
whatever their name, and of the company
rule to keep on smling no matter what.
At first, the Pullman Co. was an equal
opportunity union buster, but due to govemment pressures during World War I and the
Railway Labor Act in the 1920s, it was
forced to deal with white railway unions.
However, the company continued its hard
line against Black porters, who began to organize in the 1920s. The porters approached
Randolph - the editor of a radical magazine in Harlem called The Messenger - to
lead them because any porter openly identified with the union was immediately fired.
Thus began a decade-long organizing
drive with the porters pitted against one of
the most powerful companies in America.
While at first porters flocked to the new
union, the Pullman Co. mounted a vigorous
counterattack. Through intimidation and
stalling, Pullman was able to keep the brotherhood out, and the union's fortunes reached
a low ebb in the early 1930s.
But the climate was changing, with the
Roosevelt administration encouraging limited civil rights and union initiatives. When
new labor legislation was passed in the mid '30s, Pullman was forced to recognize the
brotherhood. This catapulted Randolph into
a leadership position for Black labor that he
used in later years to fight discrimination by
employers and unions.
- Ken Nash, Rifkin Solidarity Library