Chapter VIII: The Negro in Industry (3)

Among the girls we had quite a lot of trouble in some
departments against our hiring colored girls. To every colored
girl employed we lost five white girls. There was friction in
the washrooms due probably to race, though it may have been
personal.

The report from a foundry employing 950 men, of whom 200 were colored, said:

As a rule if any objection is made to working together it comes
from the white men (Polish) on the grounds that the colored
man is being given the preference.

A laundry company employing ten Negroes out of a total of thirty-five employees, reported that when the first Negro girl was employed the white girls threatened to quit. The manager asked them to wait a week and, if they still objected, he would let her go. There was no further objection; they grew to like her.

The reports of employers regarding the absence of friction between white and Negro workers is borne out by the testimony of Negro workers themselves. Among 865 Negroes interviewed in all the industries covered, the number who complained of disagreeable treatment by white workers was practically negligible. It is possible that some Negro workers among those interviewed at their work places, sometimes with white fellow-workers and foreman near by, felt hesitancy in voicing such complaints. But the fact that the information was sought by an investigator of their own race, and confidentially for the Commission, may be considered as a factor likely to encourage the expression of any grievance, especially if felt at all deeply.

Conditions of work in large foundries would seem to offer plenty of opportunity for friction even where workers are all of the same race. This is particularly true of foundries where the piecework system prevails. The work is done in the confusion of smoke, heat, dust, and noise, with men shouting at each other, each striving to be first to receive this pouring of molten iron from the vats. Notwithstanding the fact that the work is carried on under great tension, the ninety-three Negroes interviewed in fourteen foundries, when asked how they got along with the white men with whom they worked, said: "Good," "Fine," or used other words to indicate friendly relations. Not a single complaint was made against treatment by white workers in any of the foundries or iron and steel establishments investigated.

One interesting instance of happy working relations in which several nationalities of whites were involved was found at Hull-House. A Negro has been in charge of the Coffee House there for six years. He had nine employees working under him: three Negro girls, one German boy, one Greek man, two Polish girls, and two Italian women. The Greek man and the two Polish girls were in the employ of the Coffee House when he took charge. The others have all been employed for a considerable period. In commenting upon the amicable relations of people representing so many different races and under a Negro manager, he said, "We are all working for a living, and there will be no discrimination. It is very simple. The thing to do is to get acquainted."

2. WORKERS REFLECT ATTITUDE OF MANAGEMENT

When the employment of Negroes is decided upon, there is an effort to make the change with as little disturbance as possible to white workers. Frequently the manager tries to imagine himself in the place of his white workers in order to discover what their reaction will be. In so doing, he considers, not what they will think or feel, but what a man with his own social background would feel in their position. The attitude of the management therefore determines whether Negro workers shall be segregated or treated like other workers in the plant without regard to color. Separation once decided upon and partitions erected, white workers may insist upon the distinction being maintained where they would not have raised the point in the first instance. Establishments following both courses gave the Commission the result of their experiences. Of 101 establishments employing five or more Negroes each, eighteen maintained separate lavatory and toilet accommodations for Negro workers. This condition was accepted without complaint in some establishments, while in others it was a source of dissatisfaction among the Negro workers, who resented this manifestation of "Jim Crowism" in the North. The fact is worthy of note that the eighteen establishments reporting separate accommodations or separate departments for colored workers employed but 2,623 Negroes out of a total of 22,337 covered by the investigation, or slightly more than 11 per cent. The remaining 89 per cent, or 19,714, were using all accommodations in common with white workers.

One large foundry company employing 427 Negroes out of a total of 2,488 employees tried a different method in each of its three plants. In one a partition in the locker and shower rooms was erected, to which the Negro workers objected. The general superintendent said he would not have consented to the erection of the partition in the first place, but he was afraid to take it down. In the second plant separate lavatory accommodations were provided in connection with separate departments for Negro and white workers on different floors, and there was no trouble. In the third plant, where no color distinctions were made, all workers using the same lavatory accommodations, the manager never heard of any complaint from white or Negro workers.

In another foundry employing 125 Negroes out of a total of 466 employees the representative said that the Polish workers had objected "that the colored people used the showers and basins all the time and they did not get a chance to. We checked up on this and limited some of our showers to colored only, and we only had two men use the white showers in something like two weeks, time, and in the colored there was something like 200 baths taken." The use of the same accommodations in this plant caused no further complaint after this incident. Another foundry reported that the white and Negro workmen ate lunch and smoked together. There were no separate accommodations and there was no ill-feeling whatever. Another firm employing 500 Negroes out of a total of 3,000 employees reported: "The relationship between our Negro and white employees is very friendly. During the past year we have not had a single encounter of any kind between the white and colored workers. They work together in most of our departments, use the same locker rooms and washrooms, and eat in the same restaurant in the plant." In one foundry the superintendent was nearly compelled to install separate accommodations because of stealing in the locker rooms. Suspicion was aroused against the Negro workers, and the white workers had a shop meeting to demand separate accommodations. The manager said: "The same day the janitor caught a red-headed Irish boy red-handed. We paraded him through the shop and made quite a grandstand operation out of it, and it ended my troubles from that time on, but if I hadn't caught him I might have had to maintain separate locker rooms."

There were only six establishments which maintained separate departments for Negro workers. In some cases segregation was effected by a partition; in others by maintaining a complete Negro unit in a different part of the city. The second plan has worked satisfactorily, but segregation by partition in the same plant is resented by Negro workers. Representatives of the largest employers of Negro labor expressed the opinion that erecting a partition, by drawing the "color line," causes friction which in all probability would not otherwise appear.

The industrial secretary of the Urban League, who has been actively interested in extending the range of opportunity for the Negro in industry, firmly believes that the attitude of the management on racial matters is reflected by the employees, that wherever an uncompromising stand is made for fair play for all employees, racial differences do not cause annoyance. He cites the following incident as one of several tending to support his view:

During the fall of 1919 the general manager of the S----
F---- P---- Company was approached on the subject of employing
colored girls. To our surprise, it was discovered that colored
girls were already employed by him in all branches of the
industry, and mixed freely with white employees. There was no
discrimination in the character or kind of work or the use of
plant facilities. Mr. N---- explained that he had never thought
of segregating white and colored workmen, and the wisdom of
his plan had been proved by the experience of his father, who
employs both white and colored girls, but keeps the groups
separated by a partition. According to Mr. N---- the partition
had been a source of trouble for the reason that the placing
of the partition itself indicated that the company intended
to make a difference between white and colored workers. This
put each group in a frame of mind which caused them to resent
the presence of any worker on the side of the partition on
which she was not employed. The elder Mr. N---- realized his
mistake but did not dare to take the partition down, fearing
that by so doing he would precipitate further trouble which
would result in the most desirable girls in each group quitting
the plant.

Foremen, because they personify the management in the mind of the workmen, play a large part in shaping the attitude white workers adopt toward Negroes. If the foremen are antagonistic or insulting in their treatment of the Negro, white workers find favor with the foremen by adopting the same attitude. A construction company employing sixty Negroes reported:

There were always difficulties with this gang when the Italian
foreman was here, as he constantly endeavored to place Italians
at work displacing some very good Negro workers. When I was
sent here I dug under the difficulties and found the Italians
were very clannish and were using the foreman to carry out
the plan of giving every Italian who came along a job, at the
expense of some Negro's job. I am a French Canadian and have
worked with colored men before. After failure in trying to get
Italians to see how bad the old system was, I was forced to
let all the Italians go. I have an excellent gang of Negroes
now.

The representative of a large foundry said:

I believe I have a harder time to get the Polish foremen to
handle Negro help than any other. Our foremen are accustomed
to handling the Polish workers pretty rough. While employers
don't want that, it goes on that way. A Pole is "cussed" around
and does not care what he is called. It's all the same to
him, but a colored man is a pretty thin-skinned individual.
You call a colored man something, and he will grab his hat
and is gone. He thinks that when the foreman uses those words
he means it. He will not stand for the same kind of language
that the Polak will.

3. USE OF NEGRO LABOR TO UNDERMINE WAGES

If Negroes are introduced into a plant during a strike and retained afterward, a period of strained relations between white and Negro workers is almost certain to ensue. They are given a similarly unfavorable start when they are introduced to reduce labor costs. In the smaller establishments, where wages and conditions of work were not well standardized, white workers were suspicious that Negroes were working for lower wages, and the Negroes suspected that they were being paid lower wages than white workers. It is obvious that where mutual distrust and suspicion are present, friction readily develops which may lead to serious social consequences.

To what extent Negroes are being paid lower wages than white workers it is impossible to say. In this connection the Chicago Urban League made the following statement:

The charge of inequality in the wages of white and colored
workers is frequently made, but the League is not always
permitted to inquire into wage scales, and therefore
verification of some of these rumors has been impossible.

The League has taken up this matter with such companies as
----, ----, ----, and numerous others, with the result that
in each instance the statement has been made that white and
colored workers receive the same pay for the same work. There
is a deep-seated suspicion, however, that this is not true. In
some cases this suspicion seemed to be justified. Complaints
have come to our attention where colored people have been
mistaken for white in the offices of the ---- Company and
employed at a higher rate of pay than that given colored girls
for similar work. This, however, has never been verified. Pay
inequalities have been explained away by larger experience,
seniority, superior production, etc., in favor of whites.

The employment manager of one company has told representatives
of the Chicago Urban League that the colored girls employed
in their South Side Branch Office started at a wage in excess
of that given white girls for similar work in their main office.

The statement can be correctly made, however, that many
employers of colored girls, particularly in the needle trades,
have refused to pay colored workers a wage equal to that of
white. There are well-known instances of sweatshop tactics
used on colored girls because of their inexperience in industry
and lack of organization.

An official of the Women's Garment Workers' Union reported
that ---- Company, upon finding that they had to pay the union
scale of wages, requested the local to supply white girls
instead of the colored girls who were already in his employ.
The colored girls were employed to replace the striking whites.

No complaint has come to our attention of inequality of wages
in union shops employing white and colored workers, or in any
of the larger industries. Colored workers are usually exploited
in the smaller shops. White workers have been known to refuse
to work in shops paying white and colored workers the same wage.

All of the representatives of employers appearing in conferences and all but one of the representatives interviewed stated that Negro and white workers were being paid equal wages in their establishments. The exception was a wholesale hardware company where the employment manager admitted paying Negroes "a dollar or two less per week" because they could not be shifted from one department to another as readily as white workers on account of prejudice of workers or foremen in certain departments.

It was learned that employers occasionally refuse to hire Negro unionists when they learn they must pay them "white men's wages." Unionists allege that even Negro employers object to paying Negroes the same union scale as white workers. To the extent that Negro labor is being used to undermine wage standards, misunderstanding and race friction develop.

4. RELATIONS OF WHITE AND NEGRO WORKERS DURING THE RIOT

In contrast with the violence that characterized street encounters during the riots it is significant that no unfriendly demonstrations occurred between workers in any of the establishments covered by the investigation, according to statements made by representatives of employers. On the contrary, white workers are said by employers to have expressed sympathy in many ways with their Negro fellow-workers. The general superintendent of one of the largest packing companies in the "Yards" emphasized the good feeling that existed between the workers at this critical time:

I think this Commission ought to know that there wasn't a
single case of violence in what we call Packingtown during
the race riot, and the morning that the Negroes were brought
back to work in this packing-house there was not a single
argument--there wasn't a single indication in this plant of
any racial feeling. In fact the two classes of common labor
we have are the Slavs and the Negroes, and they met as old
friends. In many instances they put their arms around one
another's necks. In one particular instance a Negro and a
Pole got on an elevated truck and rode all around this plant
simply to signify to the rest of the workers that there was a
good spirit existing between the two. There was nothing in the
contact between the Negro and the Pole or the Slav that would
indicate that there had ever been a race riot in Chicago, and
there was nothing from the beginning of the race riot to the
end that would indicate that there was any feeling started in
the Stock Yards or in this industry that led up to the race
riot.

That there was at least one case of mob violence is shown by the report of the coroner's jury which investigated the riots. William H. Dozier, a colored man, was killed in the Stock Yards, according to this report. The jury's finding in this case was:

We find that during the race riots at a point about Cook Street
and Exchange Avenue in the Union Stock Yards, and at about 7:15
A.M., July 31, 1919, deceased, a colored man, was struck by a
hammer held and wielded by one Joseph Carka, that the deceased
ran east on Exchange Avenue toward the sheep pens at Morgan
Street, that he was followed and chased by a mob of white men,
and that while so running the deceased was struck by a street
broom, held and wielded by one Joe Scovak, and that he was
also struck by a shovel in the hands of an unknown white man,
and by one or more stones or missiles thrown by one or more
unknown white men; injuries sustained causing death.

This was the only serious case of violence in the Stock Yards discovered, although a number of rumors were investigated, which could not be substantiated by facts.

Because of the nature of the work in the "Yards" and the presence of knives and other dangerous implements which could be turned to ready use, it is significant that more rioting, with deaths and injuries resulting, did not take place. But it is also true that the riot, which started on Sunday afternoon, became so serious by Monday morning that few Negroes made an effort to reach their work at the Stock Yards.

VII. FUTURE OF THE NEGRO IN CHICAGO INDUSTRIES

The investigation of the Negro in industry points to the conclusion that Negro labor has made a satisfactory record, and that there is little race friction in evidence between white and Negro workers. What the future will hold for him depends upon many complicating factors, some of which are: renewal of immigration in large volume, depressed business conditions, attempted reductions in labor costs, increasing unemployment, falling wages, the announced determination of many employers' associations throughout the country to undermine the strength of unions by establishing the "open shop" which might involve the use of Negro labor, and the admitted prejudice of foremen against Negro labor in many plants. It was labor shortage which forced employers to experiment with Negro workers in new fields. Whether Negro employees will be retained when a surplus of white labor is available is an open question.

Employers' representatives, in April and May, 1920, stated (with one exception) that no reduction in labor force was contemplated; that when such reduction became necessary, efficiency and seniority rights would determine which workers would be retained; that the question of color would not enter into the decision in any way. The employment manager of a firm employing a very large number of Negroes expressed the general opinion of the employers' representatives when he said:

I feel that our house will continue to run a colored office
as long as they can run it as efficiently and economically as
they could a white office; while, on the other hand, if they
could not run it as efficiently and economically of course
they wouldn't run it, because it's just a matter of dollars
and cents, and as far as charity and good will goes, all good
business men have it, but they are not going to run their
business according to that entirely.

On the other hand, the employment manager of an establishment which had experienced friction between white and Negro workers was of the opinion that white workers resented the intrusion of Negroes. He thought that this feeling would be a factor if a time came when there was an oversupply of labor; that Negroes would then have to give way because no employer would be strong enough to resist the resentment of white workers; and Negro workers would thus be thrown out of work and would be a standing menace to the community.

The investigations and inquiries of the Commission in industry took place almost entirely in the period from March to September, 1920, and the statistics concerning Negroes employed were gathered in the earlier part of this period. During these months the general industrial situation was such as to demand all the labor, both white and Negro, that could be secured. In the autumn of 1920, however, a period of decline began, with increasing unemployment. This affected both white and Negro workers. Its own investigational staff no longer available for additional service, the Commission sought information concerning these changed conditions, so far as they affected Negro workers, from the industrial secretary of the Chicago Urban League. Through its industrial department the League places more Negroes in employment than any other agency in Chicago. The industrial secretary made the following statement on November 20:

At the present time the unemployment among colored people
has reached what seems serious proportions. While there is
no indication that colored people are suffering more in this
respect than any other group, the constantly swelling number
is a cause for grave concern. For three weeks our employment
office has been crowded with job seekers. At first it appeared
that those who failed to take their work seriously suddenly
found themselves unable to get employment, but now hundreds
of men with good records have been forced out by temporary
"shut downs" and reduced forces of various plants.

During the working days included between November 15 and
20, our attendance record is 1,073 job seekers with only 131
openings. One month ago the attendance figure was 571 persons
for the equal period (259 men and 312 women).

Our labor reports for May, 1920, indicated an attendance of
941 males and 739 females; about 1,000 orders for male help
and about 500 for female help; there were 722 placements for
males and 371 for females. The total attendance was 1,680;
orders, 1,500; placements, 1,093.

A casual survey including most of the leading industries ...
shows a general decline and a letting off of workers. Some
few report difficulty in keeping their present forces.

There have been some complaints of discrimination against
colored workers, but few comparatively.... Most industries
are keeping their proportionate share of Negroes. In some
instances the proportion has been slightly increased....

During the week, workers have registered from cities in states
from Mississippi to Michigan. Detroit predominates, where the
automobile industries show a marked depression.

Women's work presents a very discouraging outlook. Hundreds
of needle workers are out of employment by the closing of
many of the smaller shops which employed colored girls. The
Women's Trade Union League reports many workers unemployed,
due to the slowness of the trade. Immigrant white girls are
said to be consuming much of the work offered to domestics....
Colored women seem in most cases as reluctant as ever to accept
domestic employment.

The present unemployment problem is probably as serious as
any the League has known. What shall become of the army of
jobless men is a problem serious and perplexing.

As a result of the necessity of reducing costs in response to depressed business conditions, managers of establishments employing both white and Negro workers may be tempted to pit Negro and white workers against each other, paying Negro labor less than white labor as a means of forcing down wages or undermining labor-union organizations. Such attempts would certainly be conducive to increased racial animosity. On the other hand, managers who are hostile to Negro labor may take advantage of the change in the labor situation by discharging Negroes indiscriminately, replacing them with white workers.

During the period of business depression which had already begun, both white and Negro workers seemed certain to lose some of the advantages which they had gained as a result of the labor shortage caused by the war. After the industrial depression has passed, discrimination against the Negro, to whatever extent it may exist, will make the recovery of lost ground more difficult for Negro workers than for white workers. In considering the question of race discrimination, it is evident that the Negro who has lived in the North for a number of years feels keenly the fact that color bars even the most capable members of his race from the hope of promotion to executive or administrative positions, while prejudice on the part of persons in authority prevents the rank and file of Negroes from developing the degree of efficiency which they could develop if they knew their efforts would be judged on merit alone. Where advancement is precluded by color, the incentive supplied by recognition of effort is lacking.

One door of escape from the discouraging prospects held out in industries managed by white men, where there is no chance for promotion to executive positions, is the opportunity for an increasing number of the more ambitious Negroes to enter business among members of their own race. According to Black's _Blue Book_ (1919-20) there were over 1,200 Negro business houses and professional offices in Chicago in 1920. Among others, the list included five banks, forty dentists, fifteen druggists, twenty-four employment agencies, six hotels, three insurance offices, forty-eight real estate offices, eleven newspapers and magazines, 106 physicians, seventy lawyers, 161 barber shops and billiard rooms, and 120 hairdressing parlors. Although the list of Negro business men in Chicago is growing rapidly, it must necessarily remain but a small percentage of the total Negro population. The great majority of Negroes gainfully occupied will continue to be employees in industry. Therefore the fact that a large number of Negroes feel that discrimination is practiced and that, no matter what abilities they show, they can "go so far and no farther" in industries managed by white men is of great importance in any consideration of race problems. These men are the more thoughtful, aspiring members of their race, and their opinion accordingly carries more weight than the opinion of an equal number of care-free Negroes who may consider that the high wages of the present are an offset for all handicaps. Negroes who feel keenly the injustice of unequal opportunities are the ones to seek expression in Negro newspapers and magazines with the aim of arousing widespread resentment against race discrimination. Men who frequently would not resent discrimination directed against themselves are stirred to resentment by well-told recitals of injustice to others. Specific instances may seem to be of trifling importance, but in being retold they reach an ever-widening audience, which is constantly growing more race conscious.

B. ORGANIZED LABOR AND THE NEGRO WORKER

I. INTRODUCTION

Industry involves the continuous contact of more whites and Negroes than any other field. It therefore affords wide opportunity for the operation of racial misunderstanding and friction. It is also a field in which the lines of economic interest are so tightly drawn and so closely watched that any misunderstanding or friction is thereby greatly accentuated.

Irritation and clashes of interest have been conspicuous in the relations between labor unions and Negro workers. This friction has extended to the relations between whites and Negroes generally. The efforts of union labor to promote its cause and gain adherents have built up a body of sentiment that cannot easily be opposed by non-union workers. The strike breaker is intolerable to the union man. Circumstances have frequently made Negroes strike breakers, thus centering upon them as a racial group all the bitterness which the unionist feels toward strike breakers as a class. This tends to increase any existing racial antipathy or to serve as concrete justification for it.

On the other hand, Negroes have often expressed themselves as distrustful of the unions because prejudice in the unions has denied them equal benefits of membership. They often find that their first opportunity in a new industry comes through the eagerness of a strike-bound employer to utilize their labor at wages more than they have previously earned, even if less than the union scale. This often tends to make them feel that they have more to gain through affiliation with such employers than by taking chances on what the unions offer them.

There is a gradually increasing sympathetic understanding by unionists of the struggle of Negroes to overcome their handicaps, and an increasing realization of the importance to the unions of organizing them. Negroes are themselves showing more interest in efforts toward organizations, but there is still much mutual suspicion and resentment in their relations.

To understand these relations it is necessary to know (1) the policy and attitude of organized labor toward the Negro and how its expressed policy is carried out in practice; and (2) what the Negro believes the facts to be and what his attitude is toward organized labor. In its investigation the Commission used the following methods of inquiry: Questionnaires were sent to all labor organizations; interviews were held with union officials and members, both white and Negro, with officers and members of Negro "protest" unions, with non-union Negroes, and with persons who were not connected with unions but had certain special information. Ninety-one persons, of whom twenty-five were Negroes, were interviewed. Trade-union meetings were attended by the Commission's investigator. Union constitutions, magazines, convention reports, etc., were collected and studied. Conferences were held by the Commission at which the following labor leaders and organizers presented their information and views:

George W. Perkins, president of the International Cigarmakers' Union, and prominent in the affairs of the American Federation of Labor since its organization.

Victor Olander, secretary-treasurer, Illinois State Federation of Labor, and vice-president of International Seaman's Union.

John Fitzpatrick, president, Chicago Federation of Labor.

W. Z. Foster, organizer of the American Federation of Labor in the steel and packing industries.

A. K. Foote, Negro, vice-president of Stock Yards Labor Council and secretary-treasurer, Local 651, Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America.

I. H. Bratton, Negro organizer for Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America.

John Riley, Negro organizer for the American Federation of Labor in the Stock Yards district.

Max Brodsky, secretary-treasurer, Local 100, International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.

Agnes Nestor, president, Women's Trade Union League.

Elizabeth Maloney, treasurer and organizer, Chicago Waitresses' Union.

Robert L. Mays, Negro, president of an independent Negro union, the Railway Men's International Benevolent and Industrial Association.

II. POLICY OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND OTHER FEDERATIONS

From its beginning the American Federation of Labor has declared a uniform policy of no racial discrimination, although this policy has not been carried out in practice by all the constituent autonomous bodies. At its fortieth annual convention, held at Montreal, Canada, in June, 1920, a plan was presented to "use every means in its power to have the words 'only white' members stricken out of the constitution" of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, an organization which exercises jurisdiction over 100,000 colored employees, although barring them from membership, and "admit the colored workers to full membership in their Brotherhood or have them relinquish jurisdiction" over these Negro employees and allow them to establish a brotherhood of their own.

This failed to receive favorable action, but a resolution was passed reaffirming the position taken at the Atlantic City convention in 1919 that "where international unions refuse to admit colored workers to membership, the American Federation of Labor will be authorized to organize them under charters from the American Federation of Labor." This means that in such cases the American Federation of Labor itself becomes the national or international union of such locals. According to the information given to the Commission by George W. Perkins, "the American Federation of Labor has organized hundreds of local unions and thereby directly attached to the American Federation of Labor colored workers." President Gompers states: "Of the 900 unions affiliated directly with the American Federation of Labor there are 169 composed exclusively of Negroes."

A brief reference to the history of the national federations which preceded the American Federation of Labor shows that the foregoing policy has been followed since shortly after the Civil War.

The National Labor Union (1866-72), at its first convention in 1866, was the first national federation of labor unions to deal with the problem of meeting Negro competition after the Civil War. The formation of trades unions among colored people was favored. In 1869 Negro delegates were admitted to the annual convention. A separate national Negro Labor Union, formed in 1869, was short-lived. The unfriendly attitude of the unions toward the Negroes was the subject of bitter comment at the various sessions of the latter organization. The Knights of Labor, which rose to prominence after the decline of the National Labor Union, admitted all workers without regard to color. Many Negroes in the South joined the organization. When the leadership of organized labor shifted from the Knights of Labor to the American Federation of Labor in the late eighties, the Federation continued to express the policy of no racial discrimination and has stood for that policy to the present time.[75] At the convention of the American Federation of Labor in Atlantic City, 1919, there were present about fifty Negro delegates, men and women. A large number of Negro delegates also attended the last convention of the Federation at Montreal.

The policy of the Illinois State Federation of Labor was outlined to the Commission by Victor Olander, secretary-treasurer, as follows:

The State Federation of Labor is under the jurisdiction of
the American Federation of Labor, and the laws governing the
national would necessarily govern the state federation, so
that in respect to law they are the same. I might add that
they are carrying out the law in much the same manner with
respect to the Negro. There hasn't been a convention of the
Illinois State Federation of Labor held in many years that
hasn't had in attendance Negro delegates. That is the usual
thing at every convention. There is no discrimination.

The Chicago Federation of Labor is the city central body of the various local unions in Chicago which are connected with the American Federation of Labor. Each of these local unions elects delegates to represent it at the semi-monthly meetings of the Chicago Federation. Negro delegates take an active part in these meetings, and are cordially received. The Federation and its president have been very active in all efforts to organize Negroes, especially in the Stock Yards, the steel industry, and the culinary trades.

III. POLICY OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL UNIONS

In considering the policy of national and international unions, that of the unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor will be discussed first, and following this the policy of six of the most important of the independent internationals.

1. UNIONS AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR

The American Federation of Labor has consistently followed a policy of no racial discrimination. It has, however, no power to compel its constituent national and international unions to follow this policy. The question of race discrimination by an autonomous national or international union has been frequently the subject of spirited discussion at American Federation of Labor conventions, but the outcome has been merely a recommendation to the offending union that the discrimination be discontinued. Since strict autonomy of national and international unions is recognized in the constitution of the American Federation of Labor, no more effective action can be taken.

In order to learn the racial policy of the 110 nationals and internationals affiliated with the American Federation of Labor inquiries were sent to each, and direct responses were received from sixty-nine. The policy of twenty-five additional unions was learned through their district councils or locals in Chicago. Thus all but sixteen of the 110 national and international unions in the American Federation of Labor were covered. Of these, two were suspended from the American Federation of Labor in 1919-20. Only three have locals in Chicago, and all have little significance for Chicago. Information concerning the racial policy of the sixteen unions not heard from was supplied by labor leaders in touch with the whole union situation and able to speak with authority on this subject.

Of the 110 national and international unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, eight expressly bar the Negro by their constitutions or rituals. These unions are: Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America, International Association of Machinists, American Association of Masters, Mates, and Pilots, Railway Mail Association, Order of Railroad Telegraphers, the Commercial Telegraphers' Union of America, American Wire Weavers' Protective Association, and Brotherhood of Railway Mail Clerks.

Thus 102 of the 110 national and international unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor admit Negroes. Not all of these unions, however, have Negro members, notwithstanding the fact that Negroes are eligible to membership. In accounting for the absence of Negro members, twenty-eight national and international unions reported "no Negroes in the trade," or "no applications ever received." Certain of the 102 nationals and internationals reported a small Negro membership with the following explanations:

Eleven stated that employers discriminated against Negro members of the union--wanted white men if they had to pay the union scale of wages.

Seven internationals and five delegate bodies reported that special efforts were now being made to organize Negro workers.

Twelve internationals called attention to long periods of apprenticeship--four had a three-year period, six a four-year period, and two a five-year period--as a factor which accounted for the failure of Negroes to join.

In their comments, some of these union officials unconsciously express their prejudice, sometimes attributing traits to the Negro which they seem to take for granted as being characteristic. The following are some examples:

No Negroes have applied for membership in our union or did
not have nerve enough as it requires lots of climbing.

We do not have any Negroes in our organization, but there is
nothing in the constitution which prevents them from becoming
members after they have learned the trade. No one has ever
made application for a Negro. I judge this is because they
have to blow in the same pipe [in glass blowing].

I find nothing in our laws which bars Negroes from becoming
members of this union, but in my thirteen years in this office
I have never known one to make application for membership.
This may be due to the hazardous nature of our work.

Ours is usually very hard work. Negroes as a whole do not like
hard work. They instead very often prefer employment where
they can get along at their own gait or in their own way,
especially working in gangs.

National and international unions which had Negro members in appreciable numbers reported the following facts:

Sixteen had Negro officers or organizers.

Twenty-three reported that relations between the races in the unions were undisturbed by race prejudice.

Thirty-three stated that Negroes had belonged to the union for the following periods:

Number of
Unions

2 years or less 12
2 to 4 years 8
4 to 6 years 1
6 to 8 years 2
8 to 15 years 4
20 years 4
25 years 1
35 years 1

2. UNIONS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR

There are a number of unions[76] not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, of which the most important are: the four railway brotherhoods--Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Order of Railway Conductors of America--Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America; Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). The four railway brotherhoods exclude the Negro by constitutional provision. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the Industrial Workers of the World admit the Negro and make special efforts to organize Negro workers. The I.W.W. has its main foothold in the lumber, mine, and textile industries and does not have any strong unions in Chicago.

Disregarding the classification of nationals and internationals based upon affiliation with the American Federation of Labor, a review of the figures presented above shows that 104 national and international unions admit the Negro, and that twelve exclude the Negro by written provision.

The outstanding fact with reference to these twelve organizations is that, with the exception of the Wire Weavers, they are all connected with the transportation industry: seven are members of the American Federation of Labor Railway Department and the other four constitute the big "railway brotherhoods." The latter are sometimes referred to by members of the unions as the "aristocrats in the labor movement." All of these unions, except the Masters, Mates, and Pilots, have been organized more than twenty years. None of the unions formed within the last twenty years, except the Masters, Mates, and Pilots, excludes the Negro.

In these crafts, excepting such trades as carmen, machinists, clerks, and firemen, it may be that in general the Negro would not be much of a factor at present, because these trades demand an amount of education and skill not yet possessed by a large percentage of Negroes. But this by no means proves that the Negro would not acquire the necessary skill and education if opportunities in these trades were actually open to him.

The Railway Department of the American Federation of Labor is composed of fourteen craft unions, all but two of which exclude the Negro worker. The Stationary Firemen and Oil Men of the American Federation of Labor Railway Department are openly soliciting Negro members. The only other craft organization which admits Negroes is the Maintenance of Way Craft, which really means the common labor group. Negroes can get into this craft through an auxiliary charter to a Negro local. Regardless of how skilled or how intelligent the applicant may be, or how logically he falls into some other craft, he can only come in through one or the other of these two craft unions.

The attitude of the railway brotherhoods is typified in remarks made to an investigator for the Commission by a member of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks who is now serving on an important public commission. He was emphatic in upholding the brotherhood's policy of excluding Negroes. "As long as the engineers have anything to say about it, they certainly will not get in." He said that the modern locomotive was a highly complicated and scientific mechanism, and that the Negroes "did not have brains enough to run one."

As showing the contrasting view of another trade-union man, an employee of the public commission mentioned said that he had been a member of the United Mine Workers since 1901, and in that organization no color line is drawn; that he had worked beside Negro miners and feels no prejudice. He pointed out that the national conventions of the miners always have a large representation of Negro delegates, and some of the ablest and best speakers come from the Negro race. He expressed the feeling that the policy of the railway brotherhoods is a mistake, and is a case of "swell-headedness."

The general exclusion policy of the railway brotherhoods and certain of the unions in the Railway Department of the American Federation of Labor has created a feeling of bitterness among Negroes which spreads beyond these crafts and is directed against unions in general, notwithstanding the constructive and progressive policy of the many unions which admit Negroes. In the transportation crafts it has led to the formation of a "protest" Negro railway union.

_The Railway Men's International Benevolent Industrial Association._--This organization is a labor union open to Negro railway employees. It is a protest organization which has grown up because of the exclusion of Negroes by the railway brotherhoods and certain unions in the Railway Department of the American Federation of Labor.

The Association was organized May 12, 1915, and has seventeen locals in Chicago and a membership of about 1,200, all railway employees. The leaders of this group disclaimed any intention of building up "a rival American Federation of Labor among Negroes," but stated that, as far as they were personally concerned, they would be willing to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor in its proper department, _providing_ all forms of discrimination in national and international unions, both in constitution and practice, were done away with, and the Negro worker was assured of equal treatment and opportunity with the white worker. They realize that the highest welfare of both groups depends upon co-operation. But, as to what the membership would want to do when that time comes, they of course do not know.

Mr. Mays, the president of the organization, was asked by the Commission's investigator what he would do in a situation where both Negroes and whites were organized separately, and the whites were going out on a strike and had requested the Negroes to come out also. He stated that several such local strike situations had arisen in the South, and that he had advised the Negro union in each of these cases to use its own judgment, but that if it decided to support the white unions, it should, before doing so, have a joint committee of both groups meet and make it understood absolutely that any agreement finally reached with the employers must include both groups on equal terms. In one case, after such an agreement had been reached and the men had gone back to work, the employer tried to keep out certain Negroes, but the white unionists insisted that the agreement must be lived up to.

The officials of this organization are exceptionally capable Negroes; its advisers are professional men, well educated and thoroughly familiar with the history and tactics of white labor unions.

A more definite statement of the purpose and policies of this protest organization was made before the Commission by R. L. Mays:

The Railway Men's International Benevolent Industrial
Association really protests as an organization against unfair
and bad working conditions of the employer and against unfair
practices on the part of the American Federation of Labor and
the railway brotherhoods.

This is the crux of the problem as we see it. We agree with
the policies and principles of the American Federation of
Labor so long as they are American and in the interests of the
workmen, but if their practices are against Negroes, then we
are against the American Federation of Labor unflinchingly.

_Question_: To what extent have you found their practices
unfair to the colored people?

_Mr. Mays_: There are fourteen unions in railway employment
in the American Federation of Labor. The United Brotherhood of
Railway Employees has been accepting Negroes in full membership,
but the other thirteen organizations do not accept Negroes in
membership. As a matter of fact, they are secured on contract,
which is the greatest holdback for the Negroes and breeds more
distrust on the part of the Negro in these places, so far as
the American Federation of Labor is concerned.

Before the roads were under government control certain
discriminatory practices were found in the South, but now
you will find colored men in certain skilled positions. In
the Brotherhood of Carmen, if a colored man is not organized
into the local union, he cannot advance automatically from
repair to car building. He might be a member of one of these
local unions chartered by and affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. But under contract they say their members
must be white, and they use only white men. In the South our
men have enjoyed these jobs; under war conditions they were
brought here, but under this contract no Negro can be employed
as a carman, although he has all the experience in the world.
They refuse to take the colored man but take the white man.
No colored boy can go in as an apprentice and work up to a
skilled mechanic's position. Consequently they are reducing
the Negro railway worker to a position of common laborer and
automatically are keeping him down. If this is the condition
in the railways in the North, I say it will prevail everywhere.
I have said that it is a northern prejudice coming South.

IV. ATTITUDE AND POLICY OF LOCAL UNIONS IN CHICAGO

1. WHITE AND NEGRO MEMBERSHIP IN CHICAGO LOCAL UNIONS

Much effort was made to obtain statistics of white and Negro membership in local trade unions in Chicago. Information was sought through requests addressed to the national headquarters of all national and international unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor for data as to any local unions they might have in Chicago. Requests were also addressed directly to these local unions as listed in a directory published by the Chicago Trade Union Label League. Further requests were addressed to local unions in Chicago directly affiliated with the American Federation of Labor as listed in a directory of all such unions published by that organization.

It was difficult to ascertain the exact number of local unions in Chicago. Those covered embraced, however, as full a list as could be supplied by trade-union offices in Chicago. But the president of the Chicago Federation of Labor said that the number of local unions was changing so continually by reason of the organization of new ones and the consolidation of two or more into one, that no accurate list was available.

Data for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and for the Railway Men's International Industrial Benevolent Association were obtained directly from those organizations.

Reports were received from the railway brotherhoods saying that they exclude Negroes, but giving no data as to the number of white members.

The information which was obtained may be summarized as follows:

Members

371 local unions affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, comprising locals of national and international unions
so affiliated, and also federal and local unions directly
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor 253,237

11 local unions of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of
America 40,000

17 local unions of the Railway Men's International Industrial
Benevolent Association 1,200
-------
294,437

The total Negro membership reported for Chicago by the foregoing organizations was 12,106. The number of locals through which this Negro membership was distributed cannot be stated with any approach to accuracy, due to the fact that in a number of cases the district council or the national body reported the membership for its Chicago locals jointly. In such cases it could not safely be assumed that each of the locals in question had Negro members. Disregarding all such cases, however, there still remains a total of at least eighty-five Chicago locals for which, individually, Negro members were reported.

It is interesting to note that, judging by the figures here shown as to white and Negro membership in local unions in Chicago, the proportion of Negro union members to the Negro population in Chicago is almost exactly the same as the proportion of white members to the white population in Chicago.

2. METHODS OF DEALING WITH NEGRO APPLICANTS

If the unions which bar the Negro are chosen as examples, organized labor might appear to be very unfair to Negro workers. On the other hand, if unions which admit them into the same locals and have Negro organizers and officers are chosen as examples, it might appear that there was no prejudice whatever against Negroes on the part of trade unions. Neither extreme would represent the facts. On the basis of policy toward the Negro, unions in Chicago may be divided into four classes or types. These classes are:

A. Unions admitting Negroes to white locals.

B. Unions admitting Negroes to separate co-ordinate locals.

C. Unions admitting Negroes to subordinate or auxiliary locals.

D. Unions excluding Negroes from membership.

The existence of these classes indicates the fact that the union attitude and policy toward the Negro cannot be summed up by any simple generalization. Each class or type has its own policy, and even within the class there are minor variations of attitude and policy.

A. UNIONS ADMITTING NEGROES TO WHITE LOCALS

Wherever and whenever Negroes are admitted on an equal basis and given a square deal, the feeling inside the union is nearly always harmonious. This is true in such unions as the Butcher Workmen's, Hodcarriers', Flat Janitors', and Ladies' Garment Workers', which include important fields of Negro labor in Chicago.

_Stock Yards' unions._--The Stock Yards' strike of 1904 was broken by the use of Negroes. This was the opening wedge for the admittance to the union of the large number of Negroes which followed. No organization thereafter could hope to amount to anything in the Yards unless it took in Negroes. From 1917 until the riot of 1919 Negroes in large numbers were joining the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen's Union of North America. Forty locals were formed. The Negro was welcome to join any local he desired, whether it was predominantly Polish or Irish or Negro. However, the majority gravitated to Local 651, which was composed mainly of Negroes and had Negro officers and organizers and headquarters near the "Black Belt."

This was not unnatural, since the headquarters of the various local unions are distributed over the city with a view to their convenience for the members. Most of the Negro members live within the "Black Belt." The most active Negro organizer in the city is connected with this local. Negroes living outside this area belong to the locals nearest their homes.