Atlanta Daily World

Labor
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Ripples
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Convention

The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, nurtured by that colorful personality, A. P. Randolph and his sidekick, Milton Webster, for nearly 20 years, is holding its fifth biennial convention in Chicago this week.

The brotherhood began with six members in 1925. It survived some pretty lean years during which no well-kept, boss-respecting porter would have anything to do with it. Today the brotherhood is credited with some 10 to 12 thousand members. It has a good reputation with the general public and the courage, vigor, and expansiveness of its leadership is second to none.

One of the ripples on the surface of their usual calm is the rather very considerable dissatisfaction among the rank and file porters over an extra assessment of $25 per member. It seems that every time the brotherhood wins a wage increase, it takes on obligations, debts or costs (take your choice) which can be met only by a special tax.

DON'T UNDERSTAND
Some of the boys, in fact some whole locals, don't exactly understand how come the extra taxes. This much is certain, there will be no more doubt about it after the convention.

Somewhat larger than the ripple over the extra taxes, is the difficulty the union is having getting respect of its bargaining rights from the new owners of the Pullman cars. Seems that some of the white railroad brotherhoods with long anti-Negro records are asserting some sort of prior right to jobs claimed by the porters. A thing like this, if not handled properly, could really mess up the place.

What is really just a ripple on the anatomy of the brotherhood is the announced intention of C. F. Kendricks, formerly of the executive board of the Consolidated Unions of America, to lead a march of sleeping car porters into the CIO through Bill Townsend's United Transport Service Employes union. Of course it would be a very neat trick if Kendricks could do it, but nobody believes he can.

FOUGHT MANY BATTLES
As for Townsend and the UTSEA crowd, they have fought many tough battles since they crashed into the national labor picture through Townsend's seemingly inexhaustible energy. Most of their fights they have won, but don't put your money on a bet the UTSEA will lock horns with Randolph and the brotherhood over the domain of the pullman porter. There is just no profit or percentage in it.

The UTSEA still has to harvest that juicy plum, the Pullman car shops, and the brotherhood is putting its extra money and labor into an almost impossible campaign to organize coach cleaners and service men in scores of railroad yards all over the country.

Not much love is lost between the porters and the UTSEA, but for a long time to come their fighting will be limited to letters to friends, press hand-outs, and off-side remarks during speeches and conversations with friends. These things express nothing more than purely personal peeves, irritations and just plain heckling.