The Founding of the CBTU

Founding of the CBTU: 

"A Sleeping Giant Awakens"

In September of 1972, more than 1,200 black union officials and rank and file members, representing thirty-seven different international and national unions, met in Chicago for two days to discuss the role of black trade unionists in the labor movement. Five black labor leaders, alarmed that the AFL-CIO Executive Council had taken a "neutral" position in the 1972 presidential election between incumbent Richard Nixon and challenger George McGovern, called this founding conference of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. They believed AFL-CIO President George Meany had ignored the voice of black trade unionists. Neutrality, they believed, would contribute to the re-election of Nixon. The call they issued for the conference noted:

"We are concerned that the re-election of Richard Nixon will almost certainly result in four more years of favored treatment for the rich and powerful; continued unemployment; frozen wages; high prices; appoint- meant of additional members of the U.S. Supreme Court who are conservative and insensitive to the rights of workers, minorities, and the poor; more repression and restriction of civil liberties; and the reversal or total neglect of civil rights."

These five leaders, who formed the initial steering committee of CBTU, were:

• William Lucy, international secretary-treasurer, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

• Nelson "Jack" Edwards, vice president, United Auto Workers

• William Simons, president, Washington Teachers Union, Local 6

• Charles A. Hayes, vice president, United Food & Commercial Workers Union

• Cleveland Robinson, president, Distributive Workers of America, District 65

Turnout at the initial meeting, which took place September 23-24, 1972, at the LaSalle Hotel, constituted the largest single gathering of Black unionists in the history of the American labor movement. It was a bold, empowering action. While the impetus for the Chicago conference was the presidential campaign, the most significant development was the establishment of a permanent organization Ñ the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. The delegates made it clear that black workers were ready to share in the power of the labor movement at every level of its policy-making process. CBTU would be a progressive forum for black workers to bring their special issues within unions as well as act as a bridge between organized labor and the black community.

Continue reading on CBTU.org >>

More information on the CBTU's Founding:

• Case Western University - COALITION OF BLACK TRADE UNIONISTS

Sources:

• Walter P. Reuther Library (46612) Lucy at CBTU Founding. Wayne State University Library System, reuther.wayne.edu. Accessed 6 May 2024