A common bond
Unions were deeply involved in the struggle for civil rights

One of the untold stories of the rich history of organized labor is the primary role the labor movement played during our nation’s civil rights struggle. The slogan “Two Movements, One Goal” has often been used to describe the intimate, longstanding relationship between organized labor and the civil rights movement. In a speech to the 1961 AFL-CIO convention, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., described the bond between labor and the civil rights movement: “Our needs are identical with labor’s needs—decent wages; fair working conditions; livable housing; old-age security; health and welfare measures; conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community.” King was in Memphis aiding striking sanitation workers when he was killed in 1968.

Labor leaders such as A. Philip Randolph and Walter Reuther were major figures in the fight to advance civil and human rights. In addition, several unions, including the AFT, supported efforts to end Jim Crow laws, integrate our public schools, and bring fairness and equity to our nation’s economic and housing policies. And unions have always been able to rely on the consistent support of civil rights organizations and their leaders.

February is Black History Month, and it’s an ideal time to educate students about this link between organized labor and the civil rights movement. Be sure to visit www.aft.org  (click on civil rights). Here are a few additional resources:

• The American Labor Studies Center explores the relationship between the labor and civil rights movements on its Web site (www.labor-studies.org). The site includes Martin Luther King’s speech to the AFL-CIO convention and video clips of other King speeches. There are also lessons in labor history and links to other Web sites that feature historic images and video clips highlighting the partnership between the labor movement and the civil rights movement.
  
  
• Another Web site that features resources on the history of African-Americans in the labor movement is www.afscme.org/about/aframlink.htm. A click on that site will reveal books, magazine articles and other Web links containing information on blacks and the labor movement, including background information on African-American labor leaders like Isaac Myers, who organized the first national black labor organization; Benjamin Fletcher, an early organizer for the Marine Transport Workers Union; and Maida Springer-Kemp, an organizer for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union in the 1930s.
  
  
• The Labor Center at the University of California at Berkeley site (http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/blackworkers/resources.shtml) links to a number of African-American labor history guides, as well as lists of recommended books, articles and videos.

Labor history: Up close and personal

Students at A. Philip Randolph Skills Center in Philadelphia received some important lessons in labor history as part of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators' "Labor Education in the Schools Project." In late November, a group of black state legislators, joined by several labor leaders, including members and staff of the AFT and NEA, visited the Philadelphia skills center to talk to students about the outstanding contributions unions have made to American society. United Food and Commercial Workers vice president Willie L. Baker, discussed the significant role A. Philip Randolph and other labor leaders played during the civil rights era, including helping to organize the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Pat Eiding, president of the Philadelphia Central Labor Council, told students about the apprenticeships and internships offered by various AFL-CIO unions. "It's important that young people know the history of the labor movement, as well as the contributions unions continue to make to our society and the lives of working people," says Foster Stringer, director of the AFT department of human rights and community relations.