The Phoenix index., 1941-11-15
Organizing To
Keep Grip On
Rail Industry
Planning Drive
To Win Measure
Of Justice

NEW YORK -(NNS)-The ra-
tons Negro firemen are organiz-
ing to prevent their elimination
from the railroad industry, ard are
preparing campaign to win a
measure Of justice and equitable
treatment.
This was clearly emphasized
when plans of the recently-f forced
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Por-
tiers Provisional Committee for
Colored Locomotive Ffremen were
made known here this week. The
committee was set up on the initi-
alive of the Sleeping Car Porters
Brotherhood and is the clumina-
ton of that organizations inter-
est in the problems of the unor-
ganized Negro firemen.
It represents some 1000 Negro
firemen whose jobs are seriously
nenaced by the present trend III
the railroad industry toward dis
placement of Negro stokers.
The irn.neditate program Of the
CCIllIIIlGUEC
of series of court actions di-
rected toward the invalidation OF
certain agreements negotiated with
the rail carriers by the Brother
hood of Locomotives Ffremen and
Enginemen. The latter union does
not admit Negroes to its member
ship and has consistently refus-
ed to deal with grievances Of Ne
gro firemen.
The situation was explained to
an NNS representative by Harold
A. Stevens, attorney for the COM
nlittee, who described other plans
Of the firemen's group to present
their case to the publishing.
DETERIORATED
Before the last war practically
all firemen stoking Southern loco
motives were Negroes, severely ex-
plotted and ill-paid. Sporadic at
tempts had been made to organize
the men without definite result
When during the World War, the
government took over operation Of
railroads, wages were increased and
many improvements brought about.
However, with the return to private
management following the war,
the contracts made by the govern
ment with the employees were
abrogated, and form that time on
the position of the Negro firemen
began to deteriorate.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive
F'iremen and Enginemen began TO
organize the white firemen and to
follow policy of reducig the
number of Negroes employed in the
industry. Negro firemen now had
no say in regard to the contracts
the Brotherhood negotiated with
the carriers since they were out
side of the organization.
$3.50 CLAUSES
A series of contracts signed by
the Brotherhood with the most
important carriers contained $50
so" clauses. These stated that the
roads would replace Negroes with
whites until both groups had equal
representation, This was the first
steps taken to actually force the
companies to remove Negro fire
men from employment.
In the most recent agreement,
that signed with the Southern
Carriers Conference Committee
representing 25 railroads. the lily
white Brotherhood introduced a
modification Of the $3.50 ruling
which will, unless revoked, have
disastrous consequences for the
Negroes.
"On each railroad party hereto"
the agreement states, "the proper
ton Of non- -promotable firemen
and helpers on ether than steam
power shall not exceed so per cent
IN each class of service established
as such on each individual car
riers." Further it was agreed that
no new employees would be hired
before the so per cent proportion
we're reached unless they had
"promotable" status. No Negro
firemen are "promotable,' for, to
have that status, a firemen must
be eligible to become an engineer,
an occupation from which Negroes
are rigidly excluded.
The words other than steam
power" are vital, since under a
ruling of the Interstate Commerce
(C0ufinuad an Rack PaOal