The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

members affiliated with the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

. More than 50 different international and national trade unions are represented in CBTU and there are 50 chapters in the United States of America 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to discuss the role of black trade unionists in the

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

. 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 in 1 ...

, Nelson Edwards, William Simons, Charles Hayes and

Cleveland Robinson Cleveland Lowellyn "Cleve" Robinson (December 12, 1914 – August 23, 1995) was an American labor organizer, and civil rights activist. He was a key figure in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for which he acted as the Chairman of ...

) 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 leader for 57 years. He was the key figure in the creation of the AFL–CIO and served as the AFL–CIO's first president, from 1955 to 1979. Meany, the son ...

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 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

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 African American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington Movement, in 19 ...

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 southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in response to its policies of

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

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

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. 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