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 - Activity
6:
- Get
Organized
Bud found that sometimes it's hard to
tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys." Are the labor
organizers good or bad? It depends on your perspective.
Task
Take the role of a person that is in
favor of or opposed to labor unions for railroad workers in
the 1930s. Debate issues related to unions.
Process and Resources
- Read about labor
unions in Flint
Michigan.
- There were very few jobs for African
American working on the railroad. Read about
Segregation
in Railroad Jobs.
- The police stopped Lefty Lewis's car
looking for labor organizers coming from Detroit. Reread
the labor union flyer on page 138-139 that Lefty was
handing out. Read Striving
for Justice. Look at the union
poster at A
Message to the Slacker Porter.
Print out the worksheet
and complete the activity. Compare Lefty's poster to the
Slacker Porter poster.
- Lefty was involved with creating a
union for Pullman Porters working for the railroad.
What's a Pullman Porter? Look at a photo of a
Pullman
Porter. Learn more about the
job of a Pullman Porter at The
Life of the Pullman Porter
website. Create a list of things that Pullman Porters do
in their jobs. What duties would you like or
dislike?
- Philip Randolph was the chief
organizer of the Pullman Porters. Find out about his
life. Then, learn about his labor organizing activities.
Take the role of a person that is in favor of or opposed
to labor unions for railroad workers in the 1930s. Create
a list of reasons that support your perspective. Use the
following websites to help:
Project Guidelines
Use the following guidelines for holding
a debate:
- List the main reasons that a person
would be in favor or opposed to the union
- Provide examples to support each
reason
- List the main reasons on the opposite
side of your argument and provide examples of why your
position would disagree
Conclusion
Take your debate online. Have an online
debate about unions with another class. Try it using chat
software, live.
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Developed by Annette
Lamb, 3/00.
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