A Century of Labor History for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters  

This summer marks 100 years since the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was founded, the first African American labor union in the United States. As a tribute to Black History Month, celebrated each February, we would like to share their story. 

In 1925, the Pullman Palace Car Company was the largest employer of blacks in America. Pullman found them easy to exploit.  

Sleeping car porters worked long hours, as did everyone in the railroad industry, but they were paid much less than the conductors and other employees. They had to pay for their own accommodation on overnight trips and buy their own uniforms and meals.  They used tips to make ends meet and had no opportunities for promotion.  

Preparing and serving meals, making beds, providing wake up calls, and shining shoes for passengers who never knew their names was as high as their careers were going to take them.  

By 1925, the Porters at the Pullman Palace Car Company had endured enough and organized the BSCP to stand up for themselves.  

Led by their first Union President, Philip Randolph, they fought back. The Pullman Company mocked their effort, and the rest of the labor community was not quick to rally around them. With grit and indominable human spirit, they stuck to their mission.  

By 1937, the BSCP signed its first Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Pullman Company. This CBA meant that Pullman formally recognized them as an organization. This began a long list of BSCP accomplishments, including shorter runs, decreased work-related expenses, a living wage, and much more. They won the right to be called by name, which was posted in each car. They also established what was referred to as pay for preparatory time and delays, which we now know as Initial Terminal Delay. 

 A century later, this determined group of black rail labor activists has been largely credited with forging a path to the middle class for African Americans across the country.  

BSCP members went on to play key roles in the civil rights movement, bringing the fire of the rail labor movement with them. These men played important roles in our nation’s history and the history of Organized Labor. SMART-TD and every one of our members are indebted to their perseverance and strength.  

As we celebrate and remember Black History in America, let us salute the legacy of the BSCP. Through a series of union mergers, the BSCP is now part of the TCU/IAM union. SMART-TD is proud to work with TCU day in and day out, confronting problems new and old that impact transportation labor. The movement started by these men in 1925 is with us in the fight today and will continue to be in the future.