Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Black porters and the labour movement

Black workers were a pool of cheap and docile labour… or so the Canadian railway companies thought.

At the end of the 19th century, the introduction of sleeping car services on transcontinental trains increased demand for railroad travel, which meant record profits for railway companies. Due to a labour shortage and the fact white workers were unionizing, the companies aggressively recruited African-Canadians, as well as Blacks from the U.S. and the Caribbean.

At a time when racial discrimination barred black workers from most jobs, the railway became one of few places where African-Canadians could find steady work, especially as sleeping car porters. But it meant for low pay and oppressive working conditions. Black porters were often forced to work 24 hours with no overtime pay, and the average monthly pay was $80 a month. There were no vacations, and management acted arbitrarily and fired porters indiscriminately.

Read more about how the porters improved their pay and working conditions at the national website.

BC Human Rights Committee member Katie Kassam has also sent us some links relating to Black History month, click for:

• Black History Month: a Historical Timeline
• In the 400 years that we have lived in Canada, Blacks have been part of many important milestones in Canada’s history and culture. Here is a list of some of these highlights
• Time Line of African American History, 1852-1880