Found 7 collections related to Railroads -- Employees -- Labor unions

Born in 1881 in Washington D.C., Rosina Corrothers Tucker worked as a union organizer for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and served as the first president of the union's Ladies Auxiliary. She assisted in the planning for a March on Washington in 1941 to demand fair employment practices for African Americans, and also helped organize laundry and domestic workers in the District of Columbia. A prominent church, civic, and community activist in Washington D.C., she helped found the Northeast Women's Club, served as the first president of the Public Interest Civic Association, and was the driving force in a campaign for the expansion and construction of better public schools in Washington D.C. She is the author of an autobiographical work, My Life As I Lived It, and was the narrator for the television documentary, Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggles, produced in 1982. This collection consists of correspondence; certificates and awards; speeches; printed matter; and documents marking the celebration of Rosina Tucker's 100th birthday, her contribution to the trade-union movement, and her many achievements as a community and civil rights organizer. Also documented is Tucker's testimony, in 1984, before the Subcommittee on Aging of the Labor and Human Resources Committee of the United States Senate and her participation at the 1982 Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. less

Elijah Shoemaker was the local chairman of the Sante Fe System Local of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and assistant district chairman (Los Angeles). These papers contain original and mimeographed correspondence to and from the national headquarters of the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters including a letter from L. B. Thompson, legislative representative, and W.T. Nickleberry, past president relating to a memorial service for A. Philip Randolph; financial statements; reports of convention proceedings; and miscellaneous handbooks on health benefits, payroll deductions, workers compensation and copies of the General Rules for the Guidance of Employees of the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe Railway System (1950-1966). less

A. Philip Randolph was a civil rights leader and President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The A. Philip Randolph collection consists of speeches, statements, and press releases related to A. Philip Randolph and his work with the labor movement, international and national politics, civil rights, the Brotherhood of Sleeping of Porters, and the Fair Employment Practice Committee. less

Luther S. Thomas was an African American railroad porter employed by the Pullman Company in the 1940s and 1950s, and president of the Asheville North Carolina Division of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The Luther S. Thomas papers cotains correspondence, including a few letters to staff of the Pullman Company, membership records, and printed matter documenting Luther S. Thomas's career as president of the Asheville, North Carolina Division of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union. The collection also contains miscellaneous correspondence and documents relating to the Triennal Convention of the Brotherhood in 1953, including a handwritten report by Thomas to the Asheville division. The bulk of the collection pertains to labor grievances filed by Thomas and several Asheville porters, particularly on issues of discrimination and adequate health safeguards in the transportation of patients with communicable diseases. Also included are Division membership lists and printed material about tourist sites published by various railroad lines. less

Milton Price Webster joined the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) in 1925, and soon became A. Philip Randolph's major ally. He was the first vice-president of the BSCP and chief negotiator of contracts. Together with Randolph, Webster led the BSCP to victory in 1935, following a protracted campaign to make the union the bargaining representative for Black porters and maids. The BSCP was the first African American union to win a national contract as well as the first to have a bargaining agreement with the Pullman Company. Among the main issues Webster addressed as the chief negotiator was the Pullman Company's long-standing practice of low pay, long working hours, and harsh treatment of its porters, most of whom were African American. The Milton P. Webster collection includes a variety of material related to labor negotiations between the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and several national railroad companies. Items concern pay rates and increases, health and welfare benefits, and other labor issues involving porter-brakemen and chair car attendants. Materials include correspondence, memoranda of agreement, rosters of attendants and porters, bulletins, and membership lists. less

Arthur L. Woolfolk was a railroad labor union leader. He was the 1st Vice President of the Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe System Local in 1956 and Local Chairman of Sante Fe System Local in 1967, both of Denver, Colorado. The Arthur L. Woolfolk papers contain original and mimeographed letters between local and national officers, special bulletins containing constitutional changes about membership dues and officer eligibility; report of Train and Chair Car Committee on reducing worker hours, increasing membership, job stability, and employee railroad pass rights; a call to the Fifth Triennial Convention in Chicago, Illinois in September 1965 from A. Philip Randolph, International President; and a copy of the proceedings of the Colorado State Legislature of March 31, 1949 regarding locomotive employee and passenger safety. less

The Jessica B. Davis Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters collection consists of the constitution and history of the BSCP, programs, anniversary and commemorative booklets, speeches and writings by A. Philip Randolph, and news clippings by and about Randolph. There are also tributes to this union leader during his lifetime, and an address and press release for the 1942 planned March on Washington. less