Otto Huiswoud, Socialist Party Left-Winger and founding member of the Communist Party, with a valuable short history of Black workers and U.S. unions, ending in the Trade Union Educational League’s ‘Negro Program.’

‘The Negro And The Trade Unions’ by Otto Huiswoud from The Communist. Vol. 7 No. 12. December, 1928.

At the close of the Civil War, the Negroes who had just been freed from chattel slavery, were confronted with the problem of securing the means of livelihood. Released from bondage, illiterate, possessing nothing but their brawn, they were suddenly thrust into the competitive labor market. Long accustomed to forced plantation labor, it was not easy for them to adjust themselves to the transition from chattel slavery to wage slavery. The promised “forty acres and a mule” were not forthcoming. The responsibility of securing their own food, clothing, and shelter rested upon them. They were left to shift for themselves.

One of the most important factors in the economic development of the south was the labor of the chattel slaves and that of the free Negroes. The basis of the wealth of the south was created by the Negro masses. Not only was their contribution made in the field of agriculture, but also in the skilled and semi- skilled occupations. ‘The mechanics of the plantations and the towns were recruited from the ranks of the slaves. Charles Wesley, “Negro Labor in the U. S., says:

“Among this group of skilled laborers there were the blacksmith, the carpenter, the wheelwright, the mason, the bricklayer, the weaver, the plasterer, the painter, the tanner, the miller, the shoemaker, the harnessmaker, the cooper.”

Evidently, then, the Negro also contributed to the mechanical development of the south.

THE MIGRATORY MOVEMENT

Soon after the Civil War, the migratory movement of the Negroes from the south began. Gradually they moved into the border states of Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia, etc. As early as 1879, large numbers of Negroes migrated to the west. From then on, to the period of the World War, migration has proceeded uninterrupted, sometimes becoming sensational. These migration brought tens of thousands of Negro workers into the border and northern states. ‘They came seeking work and higher wages and to escape the brutal treatment which was their lot in the south. They did not find it easy sledding in the north. Competing for jobs, they met the open hostility of the white workers and the employers. The opposition to them manifested itself in various acts of prejudice, discrimination, and in race riots. However, on many occasions, Negro workers were hired in the place of white workers. The importation of colored caulkers from Virginia to Boston, Mass., during the struggle on the eight-hour day question in 1866, caused the newly formed National Labor Union to pay some attention to the Negro workers. The workers were called upon to realize, “that there should be no distinction of race or nationality; that there is but one dividing line—that which separates mankind into two great classes, the class that labors and the class that lives by others’ labor.”

FIRST ENTRANCE INTO LABOR MOVEMENT

The first appearance of Negro delegates to a labor body was at the National Labor Union Assembly in Philadelphia, in August, 1869. There were nine Negro labor representatives present. They represented Negro workers’ organizations such as engineers, moulders, caulkers, painters and hod-carriers. Not only did the Negro workers participate in the trade unions nationally, but in 1870 the National Labor Union of the United States, an independent Negro union, sent the first Negro delegate to the World Labor Congress in Paris.

On September 13, 1871, many Negro labor organizations participated in a parade held in New York by the International Workingmen’s Association. Negro workers had heretofore been affiliated with the German Marxian labor organizations.

Race prejudice, discrimination, mistreatment of Negro workers, and disagreement between the black and white politicians, who tried to influence the local labor organizations, produced dissension and caused the formation of a separate national union by Negroes in January, 1869. The first permanent Negro labor organization convened in December, 1870, in Washington, representing 23 states with 203 delegates, under the leadership of Isaac Meyers, the first prominent Negro labor leader. After 1873 these unions began to disintegrate and like the white unions were broken up because the intriguing politicians tried to use them to further their own ambitions. This ends the first chapter in the history of trade unionism among Negroes.

CHANGES WROUGHT BY THE WORLD WAR

During the period of the World War, the migration of Negroes into the north was tremendous and overshadowed all previous movements. Between the years of 1916 and 1923, hundreds of thousands of Negroes moved to the northern states. In the first period of migration, 1916-18, the new war industries created a demand for thousands of Negro workers. The second wave of the migratory movement during the years 1921-23 was due mainly to the cutting off of European immigration. Turning their backs to the oppressive social conditions of the south, with its intense exploitation, low wages, long hours, and espionage system, the migrants flocked into the steel mills, coal mines, cement factories, automobile factories, railroads and many other industries.

As a result, whole sections of the south were depleted of their labor supply and in many places the crops rotted with no one to attend to them, causing a loss of millions to the southern Bourbons, The employers, taking advantage of this large supply of Negro workers drifting into the north, used them to replace white workers at lower wages, and in many cases as strikebreakers. Some of the most violent race riots were directly due to this situation. The following table will show the increase of the Negro population in a few industrial states:

The process of industrialization of the Negroes can best be appreciated when we take into account not only the increase of population in the north and middle west, but also the large numbers who have entered into some of the basic industries. The role and ‘importance of the Negro proletariat can easily be seen from the following figures:

The following table will give us an idea of the extent to which the Negroes are gainfully occupied:

The foregoing tables give us a picture of the steadily increasing number of Negro workers in the basic industries and show what a powerful factor they are in the labor movement. One of the most important tasks facing the American labor movement is the organization of the large number of unorganized Negro workers. Taking his place side by side with the white workers in the gigantic factories and mills, the role the Negro will play in the every-day struggles of the working class can no longer be ignored. The racial antagonism fostered by the employers to keep white and black workers divided must be fought against for the unification of the entire working class.

In spite of the lessons learned from the great steel strike in 1919, the East St. Louis race riot during the war, and the Chicago race riot of 1919, which were due mainly to the competition for jobs between white and Negro workers, the American Federation of Labor maintains its suicidal (to the labor movement) policy of refusing to organize the mass of unorganized Negro workers. Except for a few weak and meaningless resolutions passed at some of its annual conventions, favoring the organization of colored workers, the A.F. of L. refuses to take concrete steps to actually organize these workers.

Not only this, but many of the unions affiliated with the A.F. of L. openly or covertly discriminate against the Negro workers. About eleven international unions- Machinists, Telegraphers, Railway, Boilermakers, etc., – exclude Negroes by constitutional or other provisions. Other unions exclude Negroes without such provisions, such as the Electricians, Plumbers, etc. Some admit Negroes, but in separate locals—Musicians, Barbers, Waiters, etc.

While Negro membership in the trade unions has increased in the last few years, it is impossible to get correct figures either as the number of Negroes in the unions, or as to the number of purely Negro unions. A few unions, such as the Garment Workers, Miners, Hod-Carriers, etc., do not designate their members according to race, which makes it difficult to get actual figures as to the number of Negro workers in these unions. A survey made by Charles Johnson of a number of unions, along with certain other estimates made, while entirely incomplete, shows a Negro member- ship of nearly 200,000 in the trade unions:

Not only is there a growing Negro proletariat, but we witness also the development of class differentiation in the Negro population. In recent years there has developed a Negro petit-bourgeoisie, and to some extent a bourgeoisie. The Negro intelligentsia plays a very important role as the leader, ideologically or otherwise, of the race movements. Until recently the Negro worker was seen, but not heard. To the degree that he becomes industrialized and class conscious, will he assume a militant and aggressive role in the race movements and give them a distinctly proletarian leadership, not only nationally, but internationally as well.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE NEGRO WORKERS

The emphasis on our Negro work today must be placed on the organization of the Negro workers in the trade unions. We must forever break with the attitude and concept of the labor bureaucracy whose argument is, first organize the white workers, then take care of the Negroes.

The May, 1928 plenum of the C.E.C. in its resolution correctly estimated the task before the party:

“The organization of the Negro in the trade unions must be recognized by the Party as one of its foremost tasks. The C.E.C. endorses the policies of the Political Committee on Negro work, pointing out that: a. The Negro question is a race question and the Communist Party must be the champion of the oppressed Negro race; b. the Communist Party must especially be the organizer of the working-class elements of the Negro race; c. the Communist Party must fight for the. leadership of the working class in all Negro race movements; d. the work among the Negroes is not only a special task of the Negro comrades, but it is the task of the entire Party.”

Recognizing the importance of organizing the Negroes in the trade-union movement, the R.I.L.U. has organized the International Negro Trade-Union Committee:

“This committee is charged with the work of drawing Negro workers into the trade unions, the creation of new joint unions of white and Negro workers, and the creation of independent Negro unions where the white unions do not permit Negro members.”

As the representative of the R.I.L.U. in America, the T.U.E.L. must take the initiative in doing trade-union work among the Negro workers. The T.U.E.L. has too long neglected this important phase of its work. The T.U.E.L. must immediately launch a campaign to organize the Negro workers either in the existing unions, where possible, or in independent Negro unions.

The task before us can be summarized as follows:

1. We must fight for the admittance and inclusion of Negro workers in the existing trade unions on an equal basis. Our fractions in these unions should raise these questions constantly.
2. We must approach the Negro workers in the shops in order to form shop committees. This will give us the necessary basis for an organization campaign.
3. We must form inter-racial committees on trade lines as an aid in organizing the Negro workers.
4. When Negroes are not admitted into existing unions, we must organize them into independent unions, and continue the fight against segregation from the regular unions.
5. In new unions, Negro workers must be taken in on a basis of complete equality. They must be drawn in on the leading committees of these unions, such as the new textile and miners’ unions.
6. A complete study of conditions and methods of approach must be made in order to tackle this problem with a clear and correct program.

There are a number of journals with this name in the history of the movement. This The Communist was the main theoretical journal of the Communist Party from 1927 until 1944. Its origins lie with the folding of The Liberator, Soviet Russia Pictorial, and Labor Herald together into Workers Monthly as the new unified Communist Party’s official cultural and discussion magazine in November, 1924. Workers Monthly became The Communist in March ,1927 and was also published monthly. The Communist contains the most thorough archive of the Communist Party’s positions and thinking during its run. The New Masses became the main cultural vehicle for the CP and the Communist, though it began with with more vibrancy and discussion, became increasingly an organ of Comintern and CP program. Over its run the tagline went from “A Theoretical Magazine for the Discussion of Revolutionary Problems” to “A Magazine of the Theory and Practice of Marxism-Leninism” to “A Marxist Magazine Devoted to Advancement of Democratic Thought and Action.” The aesthetic of the journal also changed dramatically over its years. Editors included Earl Browder, Alex Bittelman, Max Bedacht, and Bertram D. Wolfe.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/communist/v07n12-dec-1928-communist.pdf