Milton P. Webster collection

1956-1969

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.