The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

members affiliated with the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

. More than 50 different international and national trade unions are represented in CBTU and there are 50 chapters in the United States and one in Ontario, Canada.

History

CBTU was started in September 1972 when more than 1,200 black union officials and rank and file members from 37 national unions met on September 23–24 at the LaSalle Hotel in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to discuss the role of black trade unionists in the

labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

. At the time, it was the largest single gathering of black unionists in the history of the American labor movement. Five black labor leaders (

William Lucy William Lucy (1594–1677) was an English clergyman. He was Bishop of St David's after the English Restoration of 1660. Life Lucy was a student at Trinity College, Oxford. He belonged to the Arminian party, and became Rector of Burghclere ...

Nelson Edwards Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, William Simons, Charles Hayes and Cleveland Robinson) called the new organization the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. They believed

President

George Meany William George Meany (August 16, 1894 – January 10, 1980) was an American labor union administrator for 57 years. He was a vital figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as its first president, from 1955 to 1979. Meany, the son of a ...

had been ignoring the voice of black trade unionists. They also believed that the AFL–CIO might attempt to declare its neutrality in the forthcoming U.S. presidential campaign in which President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

was seeking re-election. The members of the CBTU thought that the re-election of Richard Nixon would continue hurtful policies to laborers such as unemployment, inflated prices, frozen wages, and appointing judges to the U.S. Supreme Court who did not consider the rights of minorities, workers, and the poor. Between 35 and 40 percent of the delegates who attended the first meeting were black women. Five of them served on the first executive committee of the CBTU. The CBTU executive council subsequently organized the National Women's Committee, which now holds conferences and workshops. The CBTU held its first convention in Washington, D.C., in May 1973. There was opposition to the new labor organization.

Bayard Rustin Bayard Rustin ( ; March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American political activist and prominent leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin was the principal organizer of the March on Wash ...

claimed that the CPTU was redundant because black trade unionists had already assumed leadership roles in their own unions and communities. Since its founding, CBTU has been involved in a number of causes including the rights of women workers, promoting black leadership, and bringing attention to human rights issues. In 1974, it was the first labor organization in the United States to pass resolutions for the economic boycott of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in response to its policies of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. CBTU has also passed resolutions highlighting political and human rights issues in

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. In 2013, William Lucy left the presidency after 40 years of service to the organization. Terrence (Terry) L. Melvin was elected and became the second president of the CBTU.

References

External links

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc.

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Ontario, Canada Chapter

Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Records.
Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs. Wayne State University. {{Portal, Organized labour Trade unions in the United States AFL-CIO History of labor relations in the United States 1972 establishments in Washington, D.C. African-American trade unions Trade unions established in 1972

History

References

Further reading

External links