Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) founded

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Pullman Company was one of the largest single employers of black people as sleeping car porters. It had also created an image for itself of enlightened benevolence via financial support for black churches, newspapers, and other organizations. However working for the Pullman Company was ridden with hardships and low pay (long hours often exceeding 400 hours per month, no promotions to the higher white-only jobs, unfair deductions in pay, low base pay, heavy reliance on tips, a large chunk of the wages going towards their basic needs). The company prevented any effort to organize a union for the first decade. 500 porters met in Harlem, choosing Randolph, not employed by Pullman and thus beyond retaliation, to lead the effort. Their main aim was to win a collective bargaining agreement with the Pullman Company.