black power for trade unions

positives

Focus on Poverty & Government Influence

• It helped to focus concerns on the question of poverty which was a greater issue among AA workers

• the movement helped focus government attention on poverty

• this could be linked LBJ's 'Great Society' which aimed to reduce the number living below the poverty line

• some of the Civil Rights legislation may have been influenced by the movement and this legislation did have a positive impact on the workforce e.g. Economic Opportunity Act 1964

• this act LBJ quoted: "To everyone...the opportunity for education and training, the opportunity to work, and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity”

• It may have encouraged Nixon's policy of Affirmative Action as it focused on economic improvement

• it provided help for AA's who lived in ghettos and kept the issue of ghettos on the political agenda

• Black Power influenced wider policy: helped push attention toward poverty, contributing to policies like the Economic Opportunity Act (1964) and later affirmative action (Executive Order 11246).

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Impact on Unions & Workplace Racism

• the movement further encouraged the abandonment of any practices within unions that were racist

• the movement clearly attempted to discourage racism in the workplace

• in 1968 the Black Labour Federation was formed to attempt to achieve anti-discrimination values in unions

• the movement forced unions to address racism, leading to more Black leaders being hired in UAW and GM

• it also called for blacks to be hired into leadership positions at GM and UAW

• UAW eventually hired AA's with moderate positions into leadership positions

• demonstrated that rank-and-file workers could challenge union leadership, with 14% of union contracts rejected in 1967

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Strikes, Worker Militancy & Collective Action

• Black Power triggered a national strike wave in the late 1960s that involved a significant minority of both black and white workers

• strike wave of the late 60s coincided with the most militant phase of the Black Power revolt

• autoworkers marched in Detroit to protest police brutality and repression

• strike activity dramatically increased: from 20.4 strikes/year (1960–66) to 63.3 (1967–73), showing a clear rise in worker militancy linked to Black activism

• massive strike participation: 66.4 million strike days lost in 1970, showing the scale of labour unrest and worker power

• evidence of interracial cooperation: a “significant minority” of white workers joined strikes, and joint action was possible even in a racially tense climate

• movements like DRUM (1968) successfully organised strikes, including 3,000+ workers shutting plants for over two days, showing effective grassroots mobilisation

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DRUM (Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement)

• DRUM in 1968 was formed which attempted to gain concessions from Chrysler Employers

• saw DRUM as the most threating organisation in years

• was not just a powerful network of militant Black autoworkers but a revolutionary organisation with the goal of workers 'power

• organised their first wildcat strike at Chrysler's Dodge Main plant in May 1968 sparked by a speed up of the production line

• it was supported by minority of white workers

• was an immediate success amongst black workers at Dodge Mai, an antiquated plant that was declared as afire hazard as earl as the 1940s

• DRUM strikes e.g. in May and July of 1968 garnered extensive media coverage of the grievances of black workers

• DRUM started a newsletter, Drum, and organized other rallies and strikes

• inspired other RUMS (Ford - FRUM, GM's Cadillac plant CADRUM, GM - GRUM)

• DRUM grew out of the black power movement

• Black autoworkers were frustrated by the limits on their economic opportunities and their power within the United Autoworkers (UAW)

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LRBW (League of Revolutionary Black Workers) & Wider Organisations

• inspired the League of Revolutionary Black Workers (although it didn't last long)

• in 1971 the Black Workers Congress was set up to coordinate the RUMS - the League of Revolutionary Black workers (but only had max 500 members)

• the league was socialist and wanted to remove the roots of oppression in US society

• LRBW sought to transform the UAW arguing that it should be the sole negotiator for black workers

• it produced a newspaper, set up political discussion groups and opened a bookstore

• some LRBW members launched a Detroit branch of the Black Panthers

• had very sizeable influence for 2 years

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Growth of Black Workers’ Influence

• black workers had lowest paid and most dangerous jobs and couldn't advance to management

• black workers became a significant force in unions, making up 20% of AFL-CIO membership by 1970, showing growing influence in organised labour

• the proportion of non-white workers in the auto industry rose from 9% (1960) to 14.8% (1968), showing increased access to industrial employment

• in Detroit, nearly 50% of autoworkers were Black by 1968 (a 30% increase from 1963), giving Black workers strong collective power in key industries

• DRUM and the LRBW left behind a legacy of increased political awareness of black workers, especially in Michigan

• they also increased the number of black leaders

• Black activism contributed to greater political awareness among workers, especially in places like Michigan

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Economic Impact

• wage gains improved significantly: average pay rises increased from 3.15% (1960–65) to 8.6% (1967–71), showing material benefits of activism

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Spread of Influence & Wider Impact

• Black Power helped create Revolutionary Union Movements (RUMs) across industries (e.g. FRUM, CADRUM), spreading influence beyond one workplace

• inspired other groups: movements like Concerned Transit Workers (1970) and Black Labor Federation (1968) challenged union discrimination

• Black Power influenced the actions of workers towards the Amalgamated Transit Union in 1970 when Chicago black bus drivers attempted to replace their all white leadership

• it could be argued that the wider Civil Rights struggle which Black Power was part of, encouraged minorities such as women to continue their struggle

• helped stimulate broader social movements (students, women, etc.), showing wider impact beyond labour

negatives

Loss of Support & Division

• the militancy and violence lost support not just among whites but also among some AAs

• further divided both the civil rights and the union movement

• unity was inconsistent and short-lived, with racism still shaping attitudes and limiting long-term cooperation

• some strategies (e.g. nationalist focus) alienated potential white allies, reducing effectiveness in mixed workplaces

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Focus & Limitations of Aims

• although there was some emphasis on the economic position of AA's, much of the campaign was about black culture and emphasising differences

• concern about the economic position of AA's was just one issue among many in the Black Panther 10-point programme

• the main concern was the poverty in which a large number of AAs lived and this may have resulted in less support for advancing labour rights

• economic focus could be criticised as too narrow, often addressing poverty rather than improving workplace conditions directly

• influence on policy was indirect and limited, and many gains came from government action rather than sustained union success

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Race vs Class & Solidarity Issues

• Black Power focused on AA worker solidarity rather than worker solidarity

• some Black Power approaches focused more on racial solidarity than worker solidarity, limiting broader class-based alliances

• LRBW failed to answer the question - what is the fundamental divide in society - race or class

• internal ideological conflict (e.g. race vs class debate) weakened movements and caused splits like the creation of the Black Workers Congress (1971)

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Conflict with Unions (UAW etc.)

• UAW was utterly hostile to DRUM so there was no solidarity

• the UAW believed it was 'progressive' as it showed verbal support for the civil rights movement and hired a few token black officials

• increased militancy also caused conflict with unions like the UAW, which were described as hostile and even used intimidation against activists

• unions were initially dominated by white leadership, and often ignored discrimination, focusing only on wages rather than racial issues

• union leadership often resisted change, sometimes collaborating with employers or suppressing radical workers

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Weaknesses of Organisations (LRBW, BWC etc.)

• The League of Revolutionary Black Workers ended abruptly in 1971 largely as it could not agree on a long-term strategy

• many of these organisations were short-lived, e.g. the League of Revolutionary Black Workers collapsed by 1971 due to internal disagreements

• split in the LRBW lead to the creation of the Black Workers Congress (BWC) and the Communist League (CL)

• the BWC lasted only a few months

• BWC had a very small membership max 500

• some movements failed to sustain support, e.g. Concerned Transit Workers lost momentum after limited concessions

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Limited Impact of Black Workers

• Despite the concentration of black workers and militants in important industries in urban Detroit, they were still a minority in the labour force overall

• Black workers still remained a minority overall in the national labour force, limiting their ability to fully control union direction

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Workplace Inequality Still Present

• Black workers were still often confined to the lowest-paid and most dangerous jobs, especially in industries like auto manufacturing, limiting real economic equality

• despite increased employment, Black workers were excluded from management and skilled roles, and were typically supervised by white workers

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Consequences of Militancy

• militancy sometimes led to disproportionate punishment, e.g. 5 of 7 workers fired after the 1968 strike were Black, discouraging participation

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