AFSCME Council 36 Honors Black Labor Giants

Anyone familiar with the labor movement today knows that labor rights and civil rights – have deep historical roots in the United States. Black people’s contributions to the Labor Movement began far earlier than most people realize. The Labor Movement began in the 19th and 20th centuries due to dreadful working conditions, long hours, and insufficient wages. Black leaders such as A. Phillip Randolph, Isaac Myers, Bayard Rustin, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were paramount in bringing the Labor Movement and Civil Rights movements together.

Isaac Myers, a prominent labor figure in the 1800s, was president of the Colored Caulker’s Trades Union Society of Baltimore.  In 1868, he began reaching out to black unionists in other trades and other cities to press for inclusion in the National Labor Union. In 1869, the NLU invited Myers to make their case for inclusion at its national convention in Philadelphia. Myers made his plea for inclusion but was ultimately rejected. He went on to help form the Colored National Labor Union Colored Men’s Progressive and Cooperative Union.

Bayard Rustin was heavily involved with the labor movement and civil rights movements as a theorist, tactician and organizer. In 1942, Rustin co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), an interracial civil rights organization. A few years later, Rustin worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to organize the successful boycott of the segregated bus system in Montgomery, Alabama, and in 1963, he assisted A. Philip Randolph with organizing the massive March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

In 1965, with a grant from the AFL-CIO, Rustin launched the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) to create an interracial coalition to promote racial justice and economic justice. He served as APRI's executive director from 1965 until 1972 and as its honorary president until his death in 1987.

A. Phillip Randolph is one of the most prominent leaders in the labor and civil rights movement. In 1925, Randolph began a 10-year campaign for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) to organize Pullman porters. BSCP was recognized as the exclusive collective bargaining agent of the Pullman porters in 1935, and Randolph called it the "first victory of Negro workers over a great industrial corporation."

Randolph was a leading force behind banning discrimination against black workers in the defense industry and integrating the armed forces. He pushed for desegregation and respect for civil rights inside the labor movement after he was elected vice president of the AFL-CIO. He served as chair of the 1963 March on Washington and was one of the founders of the Negro American Labor Council and served as its president from 1960 to 1966.

Probably the most recognizable Black leader in the civil rights and labor movement is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout all his teachings, Dr. King emphasized that the labor movement and the fight for racial justice are infinitely linked. Dr. King’s final campaign before his passing was picketing alongside striking AFSCME Local 1733 members, who were sanitation workers, in Memphis, Tennessee. His activism and leadership was vital in Local 1733 members reaching a deal with the City of Memphis.

These labor leaders (and many more!) are the foundation of the modern-day labor movement. Current labor leaders such as Frederick D. Redmond, Chris Smalls, Erica Smiley, Lee Saunders, and Tanya Wallace-Gobern are continuing the legacy of their predecessors. Relentless attacks on civil rights could further economic inequality, which means that labor unions must continue to be at the forefront of the fight for racial justice. Unions will continue to reduce racial and ethnic pay gaps and protect workers from discriminatory and retaliatory firings. Unions will continue to push for legislation that restores voting rights, defends affirmative action, defends diversity, equity, and inclusion, and strengthens current racial justice laws and policies.

The next generation’s fight for social and racial justice will continue to be linked with strong unions. Unions are one of the few forces that can help counterbalance attacks against our rights. Growing unions nationwide will ensure that we can continue to build on the civil rights past Black labor leaders like A. Phillip Randolph, Isaac Myers, Bayard Rustin, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for.