Porters were still discriminated against when applying for the position of sleeping car conductor – a senior and better‐paid role that was reserved for white people. However, the struggle for racial equality and respect on the job was not over with unionization. Some of the gains made included a monthly salary increase, two weeks of paid vacation after one year of service, overtime pay, and better working conditions – including a reserved berth on each car that provided porters with a place to sleep. In 1942, porters voted to unionize, but a collective bargaining agreement was not finalized until May 1945. 14įor the next few years, porters across the country organized in secret so they would not lose their jobs. 13 This mass firing put a chill on sleeping car porter unionization efforts for over 10 years, until porters began organizing with the support of the US‐based Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) in 1939. In the early 1920s, the CPR dismissed 36 porters, some with as many as 12 years on the job, because of union activities. This company was even more resistant to unionization than the CNR: it forced employees to sign contracts that prohibited union activity and did not hesitate to fire employees involved in organizing. 12Īfter its hard‐fought successes with CNR porters, the OSCP focused on organizing porters working for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The union also called out the hypocrisy of white unionists who talked about class solidarity while excluding Black workers. The contracts improved wages and job protections for all porters regardless of whether they were Black or white. ![]() 11ĭespite these challenges, by 1919 – only two years after being formed – the OSCP had already negotiated two contracts with the CNR. ![]() The OSCP had to overcome the racism of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) management, which viewed Black people as a cheap and disposable pool of labour who did not deserve job protections. They operated without support from the CBRE, which continued to negotiate contracts with employers on behalf of white union members but did nothing to improve the working conditions of Black porters. The OSCP faced many difficult challenges. The OSCP was established in Winnipeg by porters John Arthur Robinson, J.W. This union, known as the Order of Sleeping Car Porters (OSCP), was the first Black labour union in North America. And so, in April 1917, the sleeping car porters began to organize their own union. The porters wanted to improve their working conditions, but unions, such as the Canadian Brotherhood of Railroad Employees (CBRE), would not allow Black people to become members. Grizzle, a sleeping car porter and an organizer with the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, who lived in Toronto. It was very unhealthy, because men were smoking in there all day,” said Stanley G. There was a mattress underneath to put on the seat, with some sheets as well. “When I first started working for the CPR, there was no berth reserved for the porter to sleep in and we spent those precious three hours on a seat in the smoking room. Instead they had to take naps when and where they could. The typical run lasted 72 hours but porters were not provided with sleeping quarters aboard the train. ![]() However, if early‐rising passengers were eating breakfast at the same time as porters, a curtain would be pulled to separate the porters from the passengers. Porters were allowed to eat in the dining car only outside the regular hours of operation, such as early in the morning. They were supplied with one small and uncomfortable folding seat where they could rest when not attending to guests. Porters were not allowed to sit with passengers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |