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BLACK MILITANTS IN UNIONS
AFL-CIO
Region 14
608 South
Dearborn Street, Room 1025
Chicago,
Illinois 60605
August 8,
1968
Mr. William
Kircher, Director
Department of
Organization
American
Federation of Labor and
Congress of
industrial Organization
815 Sixteenth
St., N.W.
Washington,
D.C.
Dear Brother
Kircher:
For
some time in the Chicago area, I have been watching the Negro,
both in the organized and unorganized plants, creating a problem
which, I think, will have to be faced up to, particularly in
organizational campaigns.
Both
in the Zenith campaign and the Donnelley Chicago situation,
where large numbers of Negroes are employed, they have a
tendency to band together and are lead [sic] by the black power
advocates; they seem to think that an organization should be set
up for black people, only serviced and lead by black
representatives of their own choosing.
There
currently is a dangerous situation developing within the
Amalgamated Transit Union, Division 241, AFL-CIO in the city of
Chicago where, as I understand it, efforts are being made by the
black membership to disaffiliate from the International Union.
They have already conducted a four-day wildcat strike in Chicago
on this issue -- mainly not sufficient representation within the
officers and executive board in the Local Union. They are again
threatening a shutdown right around convention time. This is a
rather serious situation as President and Business Agent James
Hill has been appointed to fill the vacated Secretary-Treasurship
of his International Union, the big problem being that there are
only 4 Negroes on the 26-man Board of the Division and the Local
has a procedure whereby pensioned off employees vote on the
election of officers. Since most of the pensioners are caucasian,
this allows the present power structure to pretty well designate
who goes on the Executive Board.
In the Donnelley situation, we have what is know as unity
Committee, whose main purpose is to set up grievance machinery
for the black employees. We are slowly but surely infiltrating
this situation, hoping that we can control it.
In the Zenith situation, there is a hard core of militant
blacks who are being advised on the outside by the advocates of
black power, and I do not think if the I.B.E.W. is successful in
getting a re-run election here, they have to guarantee adequate
representation on the Executive Board of the Local Union, should
the I.B.E.W. win the bargaining rights.
This
is becoming a rather serious situation in Chicago, and I am
wondering if any of the other Directors are encountering this
type of problem.
One
of the main gripes seems to be that many of the international
unions are not giving the black membership adequate
representation in accordance with the number of members that
they have.
I
will be happy to discuss this with you over the telephone.
With good
wishes,
Sincerely and
fraternally,
Daniel J.
Healy, Regional Director * *
* * *
update 24 July 2008 |
