August 29 - September 4, 2022 Vol. 31 No. 35 $1.85 + Tips go to $3Vendoryour
Our Vendors
The cost of living has gone up 34% since 2008. A dollar's worth of goods in 2008 would cost $1.34 today. Our vendors deserve more money in their pockets to offset the rising costs of food, transportation and housing.
The new price of $3, with vendors paying $1.15 for their papers, means each paper sold nets the vendor a solid $1.85. It raises the floor so that our vendors earn a wage that is worth their while. It’s time for this to happen. We talked with our vendors and received feedback from some of our customers and supporters. We have nearly unanimous support for the price increase. Now is the time.
We Are Giving Our Vendors a Raise!
The price increase, by expanding one of the most reliable income sources we have, will give StreetWise vendors an income they need to thrive, and not just survive. Deserve a Raise!
$3JuneStarting27Streetwisewillcost+Tips
Post-COVID inflation has hit us hard. Our production costs have increased 25% over last year. Selling StreetWise is a Job Selling StreetWise isn’t begging, and it isn’t asking for charity. It’s a job. Our vendors are self-employed micro entrepreneurs who build relationships and create connections between and across communities that change perceptions about homeless and low-income individuals.
Beginning June 27, StreetWise costs $3.00 + tips. Vendors will now earn $1.85 per issue instead of $1.10 for every magazine sold.
StreetWise has not increased the price of our magazine to the vendors or customers since 2008! It was only the second increase in the 30-year history of StreetWise.
StreetWise magazine is an award-winning weekly publication that also serves as a platform for people with lived experience to share their stories and their views as writers and more.
Why now?
The Playground
ON THE COVER: The Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building (National Park Ser vice photo). THIS PAGE: An exhibit photo at the Pullman National Monument of a porter making a bed on the upper berth of a Pullman car on a transcontinental train (Suzanne Hanney DISCLAIMER:photo).The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opin ions, or positions of StreetWise.
The SportsWise team attends a Chicago Sky game. StreetWise participant Lisa Getches visits Tempo Cafe in the heart of the Gold Coast.
DONATE To make a donation to StreetWise, visit our website at www.streetwise.org/donate/ or cut out this form and mail it with your donation to StreetWise, Inc., 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60616. We appreciate your support! My donation is for the amount of $________________________________Billing Information: Check #_________________Credit Card Type:______________________Name:_______ We accept: Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express ExpirationAccount#:_____________________________________________________City:___________________________________State:_________________ZiAddress:_____p:_______________________Date:________________________________________________Phone#:_________________________________Email: StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI LEARN MORE AT streetwise.org Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher dhamilton@streetwise.org Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com Amanda Jones, Director of programs ajones@streetwise.org Julie Youngquist, Executive director jyoungquist@streetwise.org Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616 4 6 7 8 15 Arts & (Home) Entertainment More and more events are happening in Chicago, and we want you to know about the best of the best! SportsWise
Cover Story: Pullman national monument StreetWise celebrates Labor Day with a look at the Pullman National Monument, where an 1894 labor strike at a sleeping car factory for transcontinental railroads inspired the holiday. African Americans also made labor history at Pullman for forming a union of sleeping car porters that worked on the trains and won a collective bargaining arrangement with the Pullman Company, a major U.S. corporation. When President Obama proclaimed Pullman part of the National Park Service in 2015, he called attention also to the former company town's history in terms of urban planning, immigration, and people trying to attain a better life.
EatWise
Bulls Fest
Fiesta Boricua
Chicago Jazz Festival
Puerto Rican Fest!
Noël Coward’s masterpiece is playing at City Lit Theater Company, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. The four members of the eccentric Bliss family have each, without the other three knowing it, invited a guest to spend the weekend at their country estate. But the Blisses couldn’t be successful hosts to one visitor; confronted with four, they put their guests through their self-absorbed version of hospitality, utterly oblivious to the train wreck they’ve engineered. An irresistibly heartless comedy. Ticket are $34, seniors $29, students and military $12 (all plus applicable fees) at citylit.org. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. through October 9.
Celebrate all forms of jazz with the Chicago Jazz Festival! This Labor Day weekend tradition features free, high-quality music programming from local Chicago talent alongside national and international artists. Head to Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St., on September 1 - 4 for one of the city’s most beloved art forms. And as you look forward to the Labor Day performances, get your fix of jazz at local venues across the city through August 31. Participating venues include The South Side Jazz Coalition, Hungry Brain, Constellation, Sleeping Village, The Birdhouse Inc., Live the Spirit Residency, 51st Street Business Association, Museum of Contemporary Art, Elastic Arts Foundation and The Whistler. For the full schedule, visit jazzinchicago.org. This event is supported by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
All That Jazz!
(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT
The two-day festival on September 3 and 4, from 8 a.m. - 10 p.m., will feature a 3v3 basket ball tournament, live music, art exhibitions, kid-friendly activities, and food and drink. A nod to Chicago’s iconic street festival culture, Bulls Fest will offer free admission to all fans and a new opportunity to build excitement as the Bulls get ready for the start of the 2022-2023 regular season. The festival’s 3v3 basketball tournament welcomes participants ages 8 and older across all skill levels up to an elite division, including a bracket for wheelchair basketball teams. Fans can also expect live music and entertainment from well-known and local per formers, and appearances from the Bucket Boys, Bulls DJs, Incredibulls, Luvabulls, Da Brat, G Herbo, and of course, Benny the Bull at the United Center parking lot, 1901 W. Madison St.
Hay Fever: A Comedy of Bad Manners
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
A Choo!
Run with the Chicago Bulls!
Compiled by Dave Hamilton
The 29th annual Fiesta Boricua Festival will be from Noon - 8 p.m. September 3 and 4, at Paseo Boricua, Division street and Cali fornia avenue. Fiesta Boricua hosts performances, artisans and food vendors and showcases a different Puerto Rican municipality each year (Lo Mejor de Nuestros Pueblos/The Best of Our Towns). Every year the Mayor of the chosen Puerto Rican municipality comes to Chicago with a delegation that includes artists, musicians, and poets who participate in the festival's programming. This year, Fiesta Boricua will be honoring the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico! FREE.
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West Loop Arts Fest
Downtown Up North!
A Time Capsule of Art: Recollections of Tokyo: 1923-1945 After the destruction by the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, Tokyo artists document their impressions of the city’s ruin and rebirth. Enjoy the time capsules from Oda Kazuma, Kawase Hasuri, Asakusa Kannon Hall, and more, as they depict the remnants of de stroyed buildings, new developments and rebirthed communities before being subjected to firebombs during World War II. “Taken together, such representations of forgotten or lost places and buildings remind us of time’s passage and the ever-changing nature of a dynamic urban metropolis.” This exhibition runs through September 25 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Exhibitions are included in general admission tickets. The museum is open Thursday-Monday. More information at artic.edu.
Sunday Funday!
www.streetwise.org
A Taste of Poland(& More)!
Join an exciting mix of artists, makers and vendors at Fountain Square, 1601 Sherman Ave., Evanston, for the Downtown Evanston Thursday Night Market from 4 - 8 p.m. on September 1. Music will be provided by DJ Johnny Price and craft beer from local brewery Smylie Brothers Brewing Co. FREE.
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The hugely successful West Loop Art Fest returns for its fourth year in the heart of Chicago’s vibrant West Loop / Fulton Market, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. September 3 and 4, centered at 1340 W. Washington Blvd. Featuring four blocks of amazing art, the West Loop Art Fest is the perfect destination for a late summer shopping ex perience or ambient evening stroll. A diverse range of art media will be on display and available for purchase at a variety of price points. This free event is perfect way to enjoy a summer weekend in Chicago.
The Copernicus Foundation presents the 40th Anniversary of the Taste of Polonia Festi val! For four days, September 2 - 5, you can enjoy a true cultural experience that includes nonstop live music, dance performances, authentic Polish food and beer, exhibitions, local merchants, a casino, beer garden, a Kids Stage and an area filled with great activities and much, much more! Featuring 4 stages and over 30 bands at the Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave. $15 admission. To pre-purchase tickets, and see a full line up, visit topchicago.org.
Taste of Polonia Festival 2022
Downtown Evanston Thursday Night Market
Stay In the (West) Loop!
A Moment in Time!
Sundays on State Stop by the last Sundays on State of the year on September 4 from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Active recreation, shopping, outdoor dining, art, entertainment, and unexpected surprises will once again fill the iconic street, from Lake to Monroe, while simultaneously accelerating the economic recovery, uniting the community and creating joy. Make sure to say hi to our friends at GiveAShi*t, selling hand-screened T-shirts, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting StreetWise!
Donald: Well, the good thing is that, this week, they lost one game and won two, so, basi cally, they’re still on their same schedule of two-to-one victo ries to losses.
Russ: Especially with Candace Parker out dang near the entire second half, it felt like.
Russ: Me first. Hello, fans. So, this was my very first WNBA game. Man, what an experi ence! Even though the Sky didn’t pull out a victory, let me say them women can play… and they look good doing it.
Patrickout.:
Patrick: Welcome to this week’s SportsWise. Fellas, let’s talk about our outing to Win trust Arena to check out the women of the #1 team in the WNBA: the Chicago Sky.
Donald: Yes, please, Mr. JohnHagan.:Well, I thought there were several breakdowns de fensively in the loss to the Dal las Wings. They only lost 8478, but it has me wondering if they have enough in them to overcome their defensive issues to win this season, making it back-to-back championships. They could find themselves an early exit if they don’t figure it
Donald: Agreed, my man. Now, I did see a couple of their championship games last year, and they still have what it takes. I’m confident in us. Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org
SPORTS WISE
John: Well, the combination of the women on the team is awe some to see. To me, the com bination of Candace Parker and Courtney Vandersloot has helped make the Sky a more dynamic team. Much more so than when they won the cham pionship last season.
Russ: I won’t lie, even down in the middle of the 4th quarter, I still thought they would pull it Patrickoff.: Russ, man, I like you, brotha. I know I was glad to have you there sitting to my left, both of us still filled with belief that the Sky had a shot at making that magic happen out there. I mean, can you imag ine how exciting it would have been had our Sky won?
Positive observations?
John: And their record, which was 3-2 in those games, proved to carry over to this one against the Wings on the 2nd. Even though I didn’t make the out ing, I did check it out in the news and there were a couple of things to take away from it: both positive and negative. Patrick: Can we hear the nega tive first?
Patrick: I’ll say this for that game. Kahleah Copper came to play. It seemed as if it took her a moment to come alive and catch fire, but when she did, it was a beautiful thing to see and experience—as it is ev ery time I watch the Sky. I also love their guard play: Vander sloot, Allie Quigley, and Re bekah Gardner. Gardner gets overshadowed a bit—at least to me—with all of these other stars on the Sky, but she’s pretty good. A definite asset for the Russplayoffs.:All of them are going to have to come to play, too, for us to have a really good shot at repeating. The team did look tired, so a few days off should do them good.
Donald: Right. Now, she did play more than I realized in that second half, but I didn’t truly realize it until checking the stats. I talked with some body else about it, and he said that Candace hadn’t played a ton in the few games prior. Maybe it was fatigue, or gen eral rest to keep her somewhat fresh for the playoffs. With them playing 5 games in the last 11 days prior to this one, it would make sense.
Vendors Russell Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.
Rashanah Baldwin
“The people around me seemed like regulars, like they knew the staff and were used to din ing here. A lot of them chatted over break Itfast.”was the staff that truly brought the cozy at mosphere into the restaurant. All of the serv ers were very friendly, or “young and ener getic” as Lisa puts it. The busboys offered her coffee and were very prompt about cleaning tables. The server taking her order even let her in on the secret pot roast on the menu. Lisa definitely ordered the pot roast special, which came with a tossed salad and soft drink. She noted that the prices on the menu were decent, ranging from $4 for sides or drinks to $20 for entrees like the steak stir-fry. Once Lisa received her pot roast, she could see that the beef was prepared well. The dish was hot and pleasant, but if there was anything Lisa would critique, it was the taste. If she hadn’t added more pepper, she felt that the beef roast would have tasted a bit bland. The generous size of the dish certainly made up for that, Overall,however.Lisa would recommend other people to visit this restaurant; she plans to return, too. She also suggests bringing your own beverage or booze, which is something they allow. This restaurant is open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., so whether you’re in the mood for lovely break fast food or hot and filling entrees, the cozy Tempo Cafe is right there for you! Jamie Lee
From CaféSalad;exterior:TempoTop:CaféTempointerior.
EAT WISE 7 StreetWise’s expert restaurant critic, Lisa Getches, tackles Tempo Cafe this time. Sit ting proudly at the intersection of Chestnut and State streets is this sleek white building with arched wooden windows that gently beckon you to take a closer look. There was an outdoor dining area with striped window awnings, bringing a comfortable shade to the people enjoying a meal in the fresh summer air. Bright chandeliers greeted Lisa upon step ping through the door, and the wooden inte rior was so warm, Lisa felt right at home when she took a seat in one of the chairs.
Tempo Cafe Lisa Getches by
Tempo Cafe 6 E. Chesnut St. 6:30Hours:am - 9 pm daily $11 - $30 per person Takeout and Delivery available www.tempochicago.comat
The Pullman National Monument is “a milestone on our jour ney to a more perfect Union,” said President Barack Obama, because of its role in 19th century labor struggles, and also the 20th century journey of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) toward the Civil Rights movement.
The Far South Side Pullman neighborhood began in the early 1880s as a company town planned by George M. Pullman for workers in his factory, which built luxury railroad sleeping cars for transcontinental trav Architectel.
The Hotel Florence, named for Pullman’s oldest daughter, provided luxe accommodations for rail road CEOs on buying trips to the town. Prices in its bar – the only one allowed in Pullman – were high enough so that no workingman could afford to drink there.
“The beauty, sanitation and order George Pullman provided his workers and their families were not without cost,” Obama said in pro claiming Pullman part of the National Park Service in Febru ary 2015. “The Pullman Company owned every building and charged rents that would ensure a return on the company’s investment in building the town.”
“I have seen men with families of eight or nine children to support crying because they got only three or four cents af ter paying their rent,” Thomas W. Heathcoate, a skilled em ployee, said in an exhibit at the National Monument.
The majority of Pullman workers were not represented by a union because the American Federation of Labor (AFL), formed in 1886, favored a “labor aristocracy” of skilled craft union members: “We’re the only ones who should be in unions because we have the skills. We don’t really care about the other workers.” The AFL held this policy until the death of its leader, Samuel Gompers, in 1924. Meanwhile, craft union members were basically white, na tive-born, English-speaking, and male.
When a contingent of workers went to Pullman Company officials to complain in May 1894 about low wages, high prices, and 16-hour days, several of them were fired.
The firing of people coming to the com pany with a “grievance” was huge, said Victor Devinatz, PhD. “Pullman’s goal was to develop a utopian town that would take care of workers’ needs, but there was no democracy in the town. He owned the employment, the buildings they rented. That’s how you control dissidents. You fire them. And they have to leave the company town because they are not able to find em Afterployment.”Pullman’s refusal to collectively bargain with them, 3,000 workers walked off the job May 11, 1894, in what is known as a “wildcat strike,” where workers are unofficially on their own, i.e., unrepresented by a union, Devinatz said. A frequent StreetWise contribu tor, Devinatz teaches labor relations/ union management in the department of management and quantitative meth ods at the college of business at Illinois State University (ISU). His class is re quired for ISU students who plan ca reers in Human Resources management – formerly known as personnel.
“The strength of a craft union is that it controls the labor market,” Devinatz said. “It is able to keep wages up because in order to get into the union, you have to go through an ap prenticeship program, working under a journeyman mem ber. How do you get in? Especially back then, it was through family connections: your father, your grandfather was in the union.” Suzanne Hanney have seen men familieswithof8 or 9 children to support gotbecausecryingtheyonlythreeorfourcentsafterpayingtheirrent.”
low bids on contracts for his railroad sleeping cars, George Pullman cut wages by 25 percent –but he did not lower rents, or prices in the town’s stores. He wanted a continued 6 percent profit to shareholders on the homes, according to Pullman National Monument materials.
Solon Spencer Beman de signed Queen Anne-style homes and Romanesque public buildings, such as the arcade that included shops, offices, a library, theater, general-pur pose rooms, and a bank. Company officers lived in ornate houses; junior skilled workers lived in smaller, simpler row houses; single, unskilled work ers lived in tenement blocks farther from public view.
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PULLMAN AND THE LABOR 8 COVER STORY by
Business was good for the Pullman Palace Car Company leading up to the World’s Fair of 1893, which drew 20 million visitors to Chicago. However, a worldwide banking crisis led to the Panic of 1893, the most severe economic depres sion until the 1930s: 12 out of every 100 U.S. workers were Inunemployed.ordertomaintain
About 35 percent of Pullman workers were members of the American Railway Union (ARU). Its leader, Eugene V. Debs, a locomotive fireman, held a view opposite the AFL’s. He be lieved that all workers in an industry – skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled – should be organized into a union, because there was strength in numbers, Devinatz said.
However, Devinatz and Larry Spivack, president of the Illinois Labor History Society, say that the September holiday was actually a more conservative commemoration than the May 1, “International Workers’ Day” first marked in 1889 by the In ternational Socialist Conference. The AFL particularly disliked the May 1 holiday, because it was associated with anarchy and the Haymarket Affair, which happened May 1-4, 1886, in Chicago.
www.streetwise.org 9 LABOR MOVEMENT
Workers at the McCormick Reaper farm implement manufac turing plant had been among 200,000 people across the U.S. demonstrating for an eight-hour day on May 1, 1886. The strike turned violent May 3 and on May 4, a rally in Haymar ket Square (Randolph and Desplaines Streets) ended when 180 police came to disperse the 3,000 people, according to time.com. An unknown person threw a bomb at police; 67 of them were wounded and seven died. The police response wounded 200 and killed several men.
Collage by Ben Baxter
Pullman members didn’t work on trains, however; they built them. Still, when George Pullman refused arbitration with the strikers, i.e., settlement by a neutral party, the ARU agreed on June 26 to boycott all trains carrying a Pullman car. The boycott involved all ARU brotherhoods necessary to run a train: locomotive firemen (who stoked coal into the engine’s firebox and managed its steam), brakemen, engineers and Theswitchmen.AFLopposed this boycott because its leaders felt that being an industrial union, the ARU would take its member ship, Devinatz said. The boycott was highly effective. Within four days, it involved 125,000 workers, and at its peak, more than 250,000 work ers in 27 states: most railroads west of Detroit. But also on June 26, trying to placate the strikers, Congress passed a bill designating the first Monday in September as Labor Day, a federal holiday; President Grover Cleveland signed it the next day. Thirty-one states had already agreed to the Labor Day holiday, but the Pullman strike provided the final impetus.
Left: Mr. Obama signing the establishment of Pullman National Monument in 2015 (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza). Above: A display in the museum shows a worker painting a car's exterior (Suzanne Hanney photo).
Although Debs had been preaching nonviolence, a crowd became so riled after one of his peaceful rallies, June 29 in Blue Island, IL, that it derailed a locomotive carrying a U.S. Mail car. This action angered U.S. President Grover Cleve land, because the strike had now interfered with federal gov ernment business. Cleveland’s Cabinet, led by his attorney general (a former railroad attorney), urged him to send 10,000 federal troops to Pullman, over the objections of Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld, who had held back state militia.
In Chicago alone, an estimated 30 people were killed, Devi natz said. Fifty years later, a historian estimated another 40 died across the United States. Property damage exceeded $80 million. The U.S. attorney general went to federal court in Chicago and received an injunction that forbade Debs from communicating with the strikers. The attorney general cited the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which said that the federal gov ernment had the right to prevent combinations or unreason able restraint over interstate commerce. It was the first time the government had used an injunction to break a strike.
The Pullman Strike paved the way for industrial labor, Spivack said. However, the federal government continued to side with capital until the first 100 days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency in 1933, when the National Recovery Act (NRA) gave workers the right to organize unions, Devinatz said.
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Debs ran unsuccessfully as SPA candidate for president in 1904, 1908, 1912, (when he received 6 percent of the vote) and 1920, when he received 3.8 percent because the larger electorate included women, Devinatz said.
More federal troops arrived July 20 and the Pullman workers went back to work under the same conditions – after signing a pledge that they would never join a union.
Meanwhile, in August 1894, the Illinois attorney general sued the Pullman Company on the grounds that its charter per mitted only the corporation, not the housing. The Illinois Su preme Court agreed, and by 1907, the Pullman Company had sold most of its housing in order to comply.
The federal troops were met with violence, especially when they intervened to protect strikebreakers operating trains in defiance of the boycott. By July 5, Debs offered to call off the strike in return for arbitration, but Pullman refused.
Debs had naturally continued to communicate with strikers – even by telegram – so he spent six months in the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock, IL for violating the injunction. With time on his hands, he read the book, “Das Kapital” by Karl Marx, given to him by Victor Berger, the socialist mayor of DebsMilwaukee.began to ponder socialism as an alternative to capital ism and in 1901, he formed the Social Democracy of Amer ica, which later merged with other factions to form the So cialist Party of America (SPA). The SPA was the first working class socialist party whose majority were English speaking members, a diverse body that ranged from writers Upton Sinclair and Jack London to Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters founder A. Philip Randolph.
The U.S. Supreme Court called the NRA unconstitutional in 1935, which led to passage of the Wagner Act that same year, he added. The Wagner Act covered most workers in industries related to interstate commerce. It also created a National Labor Relations Board comprised of three people appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, who would enforce employee rights rather than mediate dis putes.
Labor and its supporters were stunned that the Sherman Act had been used against them, rather than the corporate monopolies for which the Anti-trust act was intended, Spiv ack said. This showed the public that the government was willing to side with Gilded Age businessmen, instead of the people, he said.
Meanwhile, since 1867, Pullman had been recruiting African American men to work as porters on his railroad sleeper cars. The porters shined shoes, set up and cleaned the pulldown beds, and carried luggage. Pullman was upfront about his reasons for hiring former house slaves; he figured they would know how to cater to the whims of his middle- and up per-class passengers, and that they would work long hours for cheap wages. Working conditions for the porters were horrendous. Pull man porters often worked 400 hours a month, with little time off. They were among the worst paid of all railroad employ ees, with tipping built into their pay structure. As a result, they gained a reputation as grinning “Uncle Toms” who ex aggerated their servitude to increase their tips, according to Thehistory.com.AFLhad refused to organize the porters for the same reason it had disdained unskilled white workers, Devinatz said. The AFL also said that Blacks lacked “trade union con sciousness,” because they had been strikebreakers. This argument is faulty, Devinatz said, because they had never been given a chance to unionize.
Representing an array of different fields, Pullman porter de scendants include Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Mar shall, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, jazz pianist Oscar Peters, Olympic track star Wilma Rudolph – and Michelle Obama.
Randolph and other members of the BSCP used the same skills to organize the civil rights movement, which ultimately led to passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. When Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, AL for refusing to give up her seat in December 1955, Pullman porter Edgar D. Nixon was instrumental in starting the bus boycott there. Nixon, leader of the local BSCP chapter, asked the young minister Martin Luther King Jr. to work in his stead, because Nixon was often out of town working as a porter. The Pullman porters also helped create a Black middle class beyond themselves, starting with the Great Migration dur ing World War I, when European migration was put on hold.
www.streetwise.org 11
From Left: Housing in Pullman (Historic Pullman Foundation Facebook photo) A refurbished Pullman coach sits at the Hildene museum in Manchester, VT; interior (Stephen Hussar photos). A photo of the Pullman strike in 1894 (Newberry Library photo).
Due to strong opposition by the Pullman Company, Ran dolph and the BSCP had to fight for more than a decade before they secured their first collective bargaining agree ment—the first-ever between a union of Black workers and a major U.S. company—in 1937. In addition to a big wage hike for porters, the agreement set a limit of 240 working hours a month.
Led by magazine editor A. Philip Randolph and former Pull man porter Milton P. Webster, the Pullman porters organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) in 1925.
The Chicago Defender published stories detailing opportuni ties for a better life in the North. Pullman porters smuggled bundles of the newspaper onto trains and dropped them off at beauty and barber shops, so that Black southerners could read them, according to chicagodefender.com. Thousands of southern Blacks took heed. Interacting with wealthier, white Americans, Pullman porters gained insight into the dominant culture as well, according to history.com. “Armed with this knowledge, many porters saved up money to send their children and grandchildren through college and graduate school, giving them the edu cation and opportunities they hadn’t had themselves.”
The 49th Annual Historic Pullman House Tour will be 11 a.m.-5 p.m. October 8 & 9. It is the one weekend each year when Pullman residents open their 140-year-old, landmark homes to the public. Nearly 1,000 of the town’s original rowhouses and several major buildings are still intact and in various stages of restoration. Tickets are $25 adults at the door/$20 in advance, $20 seniors. Co-sponsored by the Pullman Civic Organiza tion and the Historic Pullman Foundation, tour informa tion is available at www.pullmanil.org, 773.785.8901 or pullmanhousetour2022.eventbrite.com
The Historic Pullman Foundation (HPF) was formed in 1973 with the mission of expanding on existing preservation efforts.
The National Park Service maintains historic exhibits on the Pullman company and its workers in just the quarteracre around the Pullman Company clock tower, 11001 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Remaining company structures and workers’ housing are also nationally significant in terms of architecture, urban planning, transportation, labor relations and social history, President Barack Obama said in proclaiming the Pullman National Monument in February 2015. www.nps.gov/pull
12 Visit Pullman
HPF offers first Sunday walking tours, 1:30-3 p.m. from the Pullman Exhibit Hall, 11141 S. Cottage Grove Ave. On display at the Exhibit Hall through December 30 is “Rail roaders: Jack Delano’s Homefront Photography,” about WWII rail infrastruc ture and the people who ran it, TuesdaySunday 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Admission is $10 adults, $5 children under 12. The HPF Speaker Series is 4-5 p.m. every third Sunday at the Greenstone Church, 11211 S. St. Lawrence Ave. On September 18, Don Villar, secretarytreasurer of the Chi cago Federation of Labor, will discuss “Filipinos and Pull man.” As African American Pullman porters unionized in the 1920s, the Pullman Company recruited Filipinos as replacements. (Little did the company know the Filipinos would side with the union.)
A subset of the nonprofit Historic Pullman Foundation, the Pullman House Project is maintained by Bielenberg Historic Pullman House Foundation (BHBHF). BHB HF owns or has an interest in five Pullman residential properties, which show how both executives and work ers lived in the town. The Thomas Dunbar House is a 10-room home where the Scottish immigrant lived from 1898-1906. Honeymoon Row is an apartment from 1890. Visitors will see a worker’s three-room home – all of which would fit into the parlor of One Florence Boule vard. Family stories include that of John Davidson, one of the car painters, who with his wife Georgina raised 13 children in Pullman.
The October 16 HPF speaker will be Lee Bey, author of “Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side,” who will take a closer look at Pullman, the neighborhood, and the factory. More information and registration at www. pullmanil.org
The Hotel Florence, 11111 S. Forestville, was named after George Pullman’s oldest daughter and opened in 1881 as accommodations for railroad CEOs on buying trips to the town and rentals for supply representatives to the company. The Pullman family also maintained a luxurious suite there. The Historic Pullman Foundation (HPF) purchased the hotel in 1975 to save it from demolition and it has been part of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources since 1991. It is closed for renova tions.
Northeast/Pages/Pullman-Site.aspxwww2.illinois.gov/dnrhistoric/Experience/Sites/
Across 111th Street from the former Pullman factory gate, The Pullman House Project (www.PullmanAtHome.org) is developing a Welcome Center at One Florence Bou levard (605 E. 111th St.). One Florence Boulevard was the most significant residential property in Pullman, with 11-foot ceilings and cherrywood trim, the home of H.H. Sessions, general manager of the Pullman Palace Car Company from 1886-1892. From about 1900 to the early 1940s, it was the Pullman Club, a private club for executives and managers of the Pullman Works.
The Welcome Center and its Pullman Club Coffee Shop will be open Labor Day and during the Pullman House Walk, with late fall targeted for the remainder of its worker stories, according to a direct message on Facebook.
“The Pullman Historic District tells rich, layered stories of American opportunity and discrimination, industrial engineering, corporate power and factory workers, new immigrants to this country and formerly enslaved people and their descendants…The events and themes asso ciated with the Pullman Company continue to resonate today as employers and workers still seek opportunities for better lives.”
The A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, 10406 S. Maryland Ave., is named for the original Broth erhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) union president. Founded in 1995, its mission is to “promote, honor and celebrate the legacy of A. Philip Randolph and contributions made by African Americans to America’s labor movement, with a significant focus on the African American Railroad Employee.” Located in an Historic District row house, the mu seum is temporarily closed due to COVID, but is planning expansion in the fall. Its virtual tour is available on the museum’s website: aprpullman “portermuseum.org
Safety issues also led to worker-initiated strikes among nonunion employ ees and protests among unionized workers. For example, during the spring 2020, Amazon warehouse employees, Whole Foods workers, as well as Instacart and Shipt gig workers, among others, engaged in work stoppages due to their companies refusing to implement safety procedures that the workers felt were necessary due to the coronavirus.
Handmaidens for Travelers” at the Newberry Library galleries through September 16, tells the stories of the Pullman Company maids, long over shadowed by the more well-known Pullman Laboringporters.intheinterior of a railroad car was, at times, better than other employment opportunities. But Pullman maids couldn’t escape gender and racial discrimination on the rails. Drawing on extensive research in the Newberry’s Pullman Company archives, visitors can see a range of materials, including several that have never before been presented to the public: applications and em ployee cards, an instruction manual for maids, advertisements, photo graphs, and one maid’s handwritten account of her work history.
Promotional NationalcommissionedposterbytheParkFoundation and Union Pacific by Chicago artist Joe Nelson.
Not all strikes, however, during the last two years were centered on safety concerns among nonunion workers. Prior to the pandemic, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) registered at 63.3%, which declined to 61.6% in September 2021. This LFPR drop, a decrease in the unemployment rate to 4.7% that month, combined with more employees leaving their jobs during the pandemic, undoubtedly provided employees with more leverage, em boldening US trade unions.
Most essential workers, those employed in the health care, food and agricul ture, and service industries, were concerned with their COVID-19 exposure at work. Unionized workers benefitted from their labor organizations, taking safety concerns seriously. For example, research indicates that unionized nursing homes had COVID-19 infection rates among workers that were 6.8% lower than among nonunion nursing home employees. Moreover, in union ized nursing homes, residents were 10.8% less likely to die of the coronavi rus than those living in their nonunion counterparts. Another study discov ered that unionized nursing homes were more likely to provide employees with N95 masks and that residents’ chances of dying from COVID-19 was reduced by 30% compared to those dwelling in nonunion facilities.
www.streetwise.org 13 Labor Day 2022: Us
The two-year old pandemic also affected trade unions in various ways. On Labor Day 2022, U.S. trade unionism is experiencing a modest revival due to increased employee interest in unions, a revitalization of worker militancy through the occurrence of more strikes, as well as enhanced union orga nizing activity. Another positive sign for union revival is that, according to a September 2021 Gallup poll, 68% of the public currently supports trade unions, the highest approval rating since 1965. With union density register ing 10.3% in 2021 (the same as in 2019), it is far below its 1955 peak of 35%. Nevertheless, any good news for U.S. trade unions is news that should be celebrated on Labor Day 2022.
Since March 2020, the U.S. labor market has been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With shelter-in-place orders issued throughout the U.S. late in March 2020, only those classified as essential businesses often remained open. Many establishments temporarily closed, resulting in the unemployment rate cresting at 14.8% in April 2020, an unseen level since the Great Depression.
“Handmaidens for Travelers: The Pullman Company Maids” has been curated by Miriam Thaggert, associate professor of English at the University of Buffalo. Thaggert is also the author of “Riding Jane Crow: African American Women on the American Railroad.” Located at 60 W. Walton St., the galleries are open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Sat urday. Newberry exhibitions are al ways free; no advance tickets or reg istration required. by Dr. Victor G. Devinatz
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This increase in worker power reduced the risk of engaging in work stoppages, as indicated by a rise in the quantity of strikes and planned walkouts in October 2021: “Striketober.” Upwards of 100,000 workers participated in walkouts or planned strikes that month, including a proposed work stoppage by the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees against Hollywood producers, the Nabisco walkout by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ International Union, the Kel logg strike by the same union, and the United Auto Workers strike against John Deere, among others.
Evencorporation.today, the Underground Railroad continues to survive, and thrive, in one way or another. It may not be smuggling slaves to the North, or news to the South, but it is standing in solidarity, claiming that Black Lives Matter. We’ve come a long way by way of the Underground Railroad. Allen: railroadundergroundandPortersPullmanthe
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The reason I see the Pullman porters as part of the Underground Railroad is they smuggled the Chicago Defender news paper onto trains and left them in barber shops and beauty shops in towns in the South, letting Blacks know about oppor tunities in the North during World War I, which fueled the Great Migration. Then, the porters unionized under A. Philip Ran dolph into the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), which won a collec tive bargaining agreement with the Pull man Company in 1937. The Pullman Company was the largest employer of African Americans at the time and the collective bargaining agreement was the first by an African American union with a major U.S.
On April 1, 2022, despite vigorous company opposition, Amazon warehouse employees in Staten Island (New York) celebrated a historic victory: a margin of 2,654 to 2,131 votes seeking to be represented by the Amazon Labor Union, a grassroots organiza tion that had existed for less than a year, led by Chris Smalls, a fired company warehouse worker. Store employees at a Buffalo (NY) Starbucks, another employer known for strongly combat ting unionism, won an NLRB election in December 2021, which inspired Starbucks workers throughout the nation to organize. By the end of July 2022, employees at some 200 stores had Theunionized.number of strike participants during the COVID-19 pandemic is dwarfed by the two million strikers during the 1945-1946 postWorld War II strike wave. The unionization of new employees in 2021-2022 falls far short of those organized into industrial unions in the auto, steel, and rubber industries during the mid- to late1930s, but these gains still represent a noteworthy achievement for US trade unionism.
Much of the union and nonunion worker strike activity, as well as the recent unionization campaigns, occurred due to the grass roots efforts of workers themselves, who were frustrated with their job situations. Unions must build on this worker initiative through publicizing recent gains while continuing to educate non union workers on trade unionism’s benefits. Labor leader-driven campaigns will not revive US trade unionism. Such a revitaliza tion will only occur if workers actively participate in shaping the trade unions’ future.
I remember when I first heard of Ms. Tubman and the Underground Railroad, one of the first things that came to my mind was, a Buttrain.the train didn’t come into play until the Pullman porters, in my opinion.
Dr. Victor G. Devinatz is Distinguished Professor of Management, specializing in labor relations, and was the Hobart and Marian Gardner Hinderliter Endowed Professor (2014-2015) at Illinois State University. He can be contacted at vgdevin@ilstu.edu.
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Additionally, likely due to workers perceiving they had more clout, union organizing surged in 2021 and 2022 based on National La bor Relations Board (NLRB) data. The NLRB reported that from October 2021 to March 2022, 57% more union certification elec tion petitions (an increase from 748 to 1174 petitions) were filed compared with the previous year. Moreover, much union organiz ing success occurred in establishments that have been difficult to unionize in the past.
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Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born a slave, she escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue 70 enslaved peo ple, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Under ground Railroad.
Copyright ©2017 PuzzleJunction.com Streetwise Sudoku PuzzleJunction.com Solution To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the Copyright ©2017 PuzzleJunction.com Solution 1 to 9. ©2017 PuzzleJunction.com Solution 33 Dress style 34 Winter hazard 36 Winter hrs. in L.A. 38 Hesitation sound 42 Butterfly catcher 43 Spherical item 44 Romance novel lead 45 Egg cells 50 Golf score 51 City-like 52 Like a beaver 53 exclamationExiter’s 54 Basalt source 55 Oklahoma city 58 Seconds 59 counterpartGreekDiscordia’s 60 Monthly check 62 Kan. neighbor 63 Infomercials, e.g. 64 Blood’s partner 65 Axis of ___ 66 antelopeSpiral-horned 67 Land of leprechaunsthe 68 humoristHoosier 69 Elaine role)(“Seinfeld”___ 70 Relax Down 1 Moonfish 2 See 13 Across 3 Zipped 4 charactersChineseusingJapaneseforSystemwritingadapted 5 Prostate test 6 Encloses a present again 7 Dog tag datum 8 Bovril, e.g. 9 Byrnes of “77 Sunset Strip” 10 Jeopardy 11 Wide-eyed 12 ___ ScotlandFyne, 16 Retired flier inits. 21 Eager to start 23 It got dyed 25 White souvenirHouse 26 breakfastBed-and27 Proposal 28 Felony 29 Its capital is Innsbruck 32 checksEntitlement(Brit.) august 15 - 21, 2022 Puzzle Answers Streetwise 7/31/17 Crossword PuzzleJunction.com ©2017 PuzzleJunction.com 42 Brought up 44 Good earth 47 Rear 50 Frau’s partner 52 SkaterBabilonia 54 “Do as you’re told!” 55 Side dish in India 56 Advanceamount 58 Finger or toe 60 Pigeon’s perch 63 Ethiopian cash 65 Clash of clans 67 Psychoanalysissubject Across 1 ___ carotene 5 Limitlessquantities 9 Bottle topper 12 Drills 13 Warningdevice 14 Spawn 15 Leaseholder 16 ___ (slotbanditmachine) 18 Samovar 19 Exam 21 Con game 22 Cold one 24 Ready to eat 26 Rye beveragebread 29 Storage room 31 Litter members 33 Form of ether 34 Coxcomb 36 Abound 38 Geneticmaterial 39 Cause trouble 43 Environmentalscience 45 Threshold 46 Dessert wine 48 Low card 49 Actor Green of Slayer”the“BuffyVampire 51 Essential part 53 Tel Aviv native 57 Gave it a go 59 Radio feature 61 Bell figurecurve 67 Perk up 70 Argue 72 Pink ingredientlady 73 Steel ingredient 74 Tropical fruit 75 Get off the fence 76 Trampled 77 Advantage Down 1 Chapeau 2 Historicalperiod 3 Camping gear 4 Late bloomer 5 Field event 8 Cookies,maybe 9 Title role for Arnold 10 ___ Maria 11 Hippie’shangout 12 Military wear 15 Big brass 17 Talk wildly 20 Take in slowly 23 Fissure 25 Fencing sword 27 Dance partner? 28 Knock off 30 Masterstroke 32 Splinter group 35 School ball Crossword ©PuzzleJunction.com StreetWise exists to elevate marginal ized voices and provide opportuni ties for individuals to earn an income and gain employ ment. Anyone who wants to work has the opportunity to move themselves out of handout.”“aStreetWisecrisis.provideshandup,nota All vendors go through orientationan focusing on their rights year.picturewithvendorsVendor.StreetWiseresponsibilitiesandasaMagazineAuthorizedhavebadgestheirname,andcurrent Vendors purchase the magazine for $1.15 and sell it for $3 plus tips. The vendor keeps all of their earnings. Buy MagazineTakeMagazine,thethe When you buy the magazine, take the magazine, and read magazine,the you are supporting our dignity.incomeearningentrepreneursmicro-anwith New vendor orientation is every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at 2009 S. State St. Find your nearest vendor at www.streetwise.org How StreetWise Works
