Founded in Philadelphia in 1869, the Knights of Labor (KOL) was the largest, most important labor union in the 19th century United States. Unlike most unions (and predominantly white institutions) then, the KOL opened its membership to African Americans and women workers. Prior to the … Read MoreAfrican Americans and the Knights of Labor (1869-1949)
The Virden, Illinois Race Riot was an example of the combination of labor and racial violence in the late 19th and early 20th century United States. Following a United Mine Workers (UMW) national coal strike in 1897, a new 40-cents-per-ton rate was agreed on by … Read MoreVirden, Illinois Race Riot (1898)
The American League of Colored Laborers (ALCL) was the first black American labor union. It was formed in New York City in 1850 as a collective for skilled free craftsmen, and sought to develop agricultural and industrial arts skills among its members, and to encourage … Read MoreAmerican League of Colored Laborers (1850-?)
The United Construction Workers Association (UCWA) was founded in 1970 by Tyree Scott, an electrician who had become a Seattle civil rights activist. At the request of the American Friends Service Committee, Tyree Scott left the Central Contractors Association which he had created in 1968, … Read MoreUnited Construction Workers Association
In February 2008, the Las Vegas Hotel and Culinary Workers Union Local 226 emerged on the national political scene with their high profile endorsement of presidential candidate Barack Obama. The union itself has a much older history that goes back to the late 1940s and … Read MoreOrganized Labor in the 21st Century: The Las Vegas Hotel and Culinary Workers Union Local 226
The Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU) was founded in Tyronza, Arkansas in July 1934 by black and white tenant farmers and Socialist Party members. The STFU is part of a rich tradition of labor organizing in the Depression-era South amongst mostly Black agricultural laborers. Since … Read MoreSouthern Tenant Farmers Union
Born into poverty and racial segregation in Meridian, Mississippi in 1912, Ted Watkins became a civil rights and union activist and led an anti-poverty agency in Los Angeles, the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC). Watkins left Mississippi as a young man to avoid a … Read MoreTed Watkins (1912-1993)
Local 8 was an interracial, multiethnic local that was part of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a militant, left-wing labor union. From its inception, the IWW has been committed to racial equality, though African Americans played a relatively small role in the organization. … Read MoreIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW) Local 8 (1913-ca. 1928)
The Colored Marines Employment Benevolent Association (CMEBA) was organization that united black maritime cooks and stewards who were seeking employment in Seattle. In the process it challenged the racism of the all-white, Maritime Cooks and Stewards Association of the Pacific (MCSAP). The CMEBA was founded … Read MoreColored Marine Employment Benevolent Association (1921-1934)
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was a labor union organized by African American employees of the Pullman Company in August 1925 and led by A. Philip Randolph and Milton P. Webster. Over the next twelve years, the BSCP fought a three-front battle against … Read MoreBrotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (1925-1978)
