- Creator
- Webster, Milton P., 1887-1965
- Call number
- Sc MG 570
- Physical description
- .2 linear feet (1 archival box)
- Preferred Citation
- [Item], Milton P. Webster collection, Sc MG 570, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
- Access to materials
- Some collections held by the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. To request access to materials in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, please visit: http://archives.nypl.org/divisions/scm/request_access Request access to this collection.
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. Material includes correspondence, memoranda of agreement, and lists.
Administrative information
Source of acquisition
Gift, Rebecca Webster Kingslow, Dec. 18, 1989
Using the collection
Location
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor