African Americans
And
Early Labor Unions
plus
A Quick Look At
The Origin of Labor Day
Labor Day
Most people think of Labor Day as the holiday that marks the end of summer and the
beginning of the school year.
Labor Day actually has more significance.
The holiday was created to celebrate American workers and their families.
LABOR DAY: WHAT IT MEANS
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated
to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national
tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our
country.
United States Department of Labor
Labor Day came out of the labor movement during the American Industrial Revolution.
During this period of growth in the United States, workers were subject to harsh working
conditions. The organization of Labor Unions grew out of the need to protect the interests
and rights of workers and to make working conditions more tolerable. Unions supported
workers and fought on their behalf for such things as better wages, safer and better work
environments, and reasonable hours.
In 1882 the Central Labor Union of New York proposed a holiday to celebrate and honor
the working man.
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on
Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City.
The celebration included speeches, a concert and a
parade of unions.
More than ten thousand workers, including a group of
African American workers, marched in the parade.
In 1884, the holiday moved to the first Monday in
September.
African Americans and Labor Unions
African American workers began participating in the labor movement before the Civil War
and saw the need to organize and fight as a group to get conditions changed in the
workplace. As early trade unions were organized by white workers and generally
excluded blacks, African American workers began organizing on their own.
Isaac Myers and the Colored National Labor Union
(CNLU)
In 1869, Isaac Myers and a group of African Americans,
consisting of mechanics, engineers, artisans,
tradesmen, and tradeswomen came together and
formed the Colored National Labor Union (CNLU).
Isaac Myers (1835-1891) was born in Baltimore,
Maryland on January 13, 1835.
When he was sixteen, he apprenticed with a ship caulker
and in 1867 organized the Colored Caulkers Trade
Union Society of Baltimore. Myers served as the union’s
first president.
Isaac Myers
In 1869, the union was invited to attend the annual
convention of the National Labor Union (NLU). Myers
believed the invitation would lead to African American
unions joining the NLU. The speech that Myers delivered at the convention was well
received, yet the NLU refused to let Blacks join the organization.
Myers and other Black workers recognized the importance of unionizing and empowering
black workers. Since they were not welcome in the NLU, they formed the Colored National
Labor Union. Myers was elected president of the union.
The main goal of the CNLU was to achieve equal representation of African Americans in
the workforce, and they welcomed all workers, regardless of race, gender, or occupation.
Unfortunately, resistance and hostility from employers and white unions forced the CNLU
to disband after a couple of years.
Richard L Davis
Coal Miner and Labor Organizer
Richard L. Davis was born in Roanoke, Virginia on December 24, 1864. He began working
as a miner at a very young age and in 1882 moved to a mining village in Rendville, Ohio.
He became active in the labor movement and was a founding member of the United Mine
Workers of America (UMWA).
The UMWA’s goals were:
 An eight-hour work day: achieved in 1898
 Collective bargaining rights: achieved in
1933
 Health and retirement benefits: achieved
in 1946
 Health and safety protections: achieved
in 1969
Davis served as a UMWA organizer in
Alabama, Ohio and West Virginia and
served two terms on the UMWA National
Executive Board.
He died of a lung ailment in Rendville on
January 24, 1900.
Benjamin Fletcher
(1890 – 1940)
Labor Organizer
Benjamin Fletcher was born in 1890 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1910 he began
working on the Philadelphia docks. He joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
in 1912 and became an active member.
The IWW welcomed members from all
races and treated them equally.
Fletcher was very active in the union. His
intellect and speaking skills made him a
stand-out in the labor movement.
In 1913 he helped establish the
Philadelphia Marine Transport Workers
Industrial Union Local 8, the Philadelphia
branch of the IWW. Local 8 members
included African Americans, European
immigrants and West Indians. Fletcher
believed that worker solidarity in the
workforce was more important than racial
solidarity. He made sure the leadership of
Local 8 reflected the diversity of the
membership. He knew that integrated
union groups prevented employers from
using racism to play different ethnic groups
against each other.
During World War I Fletcher and other leaders were targeted by the newly formed FBI
because of the union’s anti-war stance. They were accused of treason and arrested for
conspiring to strike. Fletcher was convicted in 1918 and sentenced to ten years in prison.
African American leaders, including W.E.B. DuBois, and Asa Philip Randolph protested
Fletcher’s imprisonment. In 1920 he was released on bail. President Warren G. Harding
commuted his sentence in 1923, and in 1933 he received a full pardon from President
Franklin D Roosevelt.
Fletcher died in Brooklyn, New York on July 10, 1949.
A. Phillip Randolph
And
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP)
was the first African American Union to sign a
collective bargaining agreement with a major
United States corporation.
Pullman porters, so named because they worked
for the Pullman Company, were part of the labor
force that served white passengers traveling on
the railroads.
They worked very much like household servants
and were responsible for making sure white
passengers were comfortable during their
journey.
Pullman Porter
Pullman porters carried luggage for passengers, set up the
beds at night, served food and beverages, and took care of
whatever the white passengers needed at any hour. Porters
were not always treated well and had to work extremely long
hours before getting paid. They were required to work 400
hours or 11,000 miles, whichever came first, to get full pay.
With full pay, the porters still had to rely on tips from
passengers to make a living.
In the 1920s, a group of unhappy
porters from New York asked A.
Philip Randolph to help them
form a union.
Porter helping passenger
Asa Philip Randolph was born on April 15, 1889 in Crescent
City, Florida. He moved to Harlem, New York in 1911 and
worked as an elevator operator while taking classes at the City
College of New York, and New York University.
He was a well-known civil rights leader and an advocate of
Black workers. He would later organize the 1963 March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Martin Luther King,
Jr. made his I Have A Dream speech.
Asa Philip Randolph
In 1925 Randolph organized The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
The union faced opposition from the Pullman
Company and the company refused to negotiate with
the organization. It was close to failing when
Congress passed federal laws guaranteeing the right
of all legitimate unions to organize workers without
interference from their employers. Also, by this time,
the American Federation of Labor, the major labor
union in the United States, had given BSCP their
support.
In 1937, the Pullman Company signed a labor
agreement with the union.
Glossary
American Industrial Revolution A period of innovation, invention, rapid economic
growth, and a shift from the production of goods by
hand to mechanized systems in factories.
Collective Bargaining
Negotiation of wages and other conditions of
employment by an organized group of employees.
Commuted Sentence
A sentence changed by an official to make it less
severe.
Labor Agreement
Contract between workers and management about
wages, benefits and working conditions.
Labor Movement
An organized effort on the part of workers to
improve their economic and social status by united
action through labor and trade unions.
Labor Union
An organization of workers formed to protect their
rights and interests.
Pardon
An official act that frees a person from punishment
for a crime.
Name:
Discussion Question
Considering labor unions and the things they have fought for over the years, how would
your life be different if they had not been around to fight on behalf of workers?
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Discussion Question
Imagine that you are part of each of the unions below. What would you like included in
the labor agreement?

International Union of Police Associations
Union for law enforcement and law enforcement personnel

National Basketball Players Association
Labor union that represents basketball players

National Union of Hospitals and Health Care Employees
Union represents workers in the health care industry in places such as hospitals
and clinics
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