For more than a century, workers, organizers and union staff have poured their hearts and souls into gaining a foothold in industries where workers are in need of power. The result of these efforts has been the creation of very strong local unions that assist entire communities of workers in lifting themselves into the middle class by acquiring Teamster representation.

Throughout history there have been attempts by employers to manipulate and to divide work forces against the Teamsters using race as a weapon. The climate the union has operated in for more than a century is an evolving one and the union has achieved steady progress since the 1900s.  Despite violent conflict and struggle, Teamsters have repeatedly defeated employer groups and moneyed interests to achieve racial harmony in the name of economic justice. In what has been described as “pragmatic cooperation” by Labor Historian David Witwer, the Teamsters Union had always had a relatively large contingent of African-American members, in comparison to similar unions of the same size, since the very beginning of its existence.

Blacks suffered from legal and physical exclusionary tactics when attempting to join most unions of the time, including some in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The Teamster constitution did not have these laws, partially due to the efforts of black delegates such as T.A. Stowers and other forward-thinking leaders. Achieving that progressive stance did not always come easy or quickly, however.  At times, attitudes of Teamster members and leaders did reflect the racial reality of the times, effectively blocking movement toward the goal of no color line in the labor movement.

Some local leadership, however, justified the reasoning behind the organizing of black workers as a matter of common sense. Take this 1914 excerpt from the official Teamster Magazine where St. Louis Joint Council member George H. Denny commented on his interest in organizing black workers: “I know it to be a fact that these men are industrious and intelligent and can be educated the same as the rest of us, to be the best kind of union men. It is against the interest of white drivers to have a body of any kind of men who work at a cheaper rate than the union knows to be fair. So no effort should be spared in informing all the colored drivers that we assure them, as a strictly business proposition in which all are equally interested, the same conditions that the white drivers are getting, and the same protection from the International Union in case of trouble.”

Denny elaborated further on the make-up of Local 607 and the temperament of newly organized black members. He described a reality completely opposite the prevailing image of blacks as a “negro scab race” promoted by The Chicago Tribune during the 1905 Montgomery Ward strike: “It has been a privilege for many years to note how much the good will of the colored men mean to our movement. In our last Journal Joseph L. Covington wrote a most interesting letter. Brother Joe is a black man but one of the staunchest union men I have ever met. He is recording secretary of Local No. 607, van drivers and helpers of St. Louis. In this local there are a large number of colored men who set an example of perfectly orderly conduct in their meetings. We have here a new local union of coal drivers. At a recent meeting I had the honor of initiating 17 new members, 16 of whom were colored.”

The black workers’ push for equal representation along with the struggle against corporate exploitation is still evolving while the obstacles have transformed along with the times. Pay inequality and the need for increased union participation persist in the black community despite years of struggle.  Employers can no longer legally divide work forces directly using race as they once did, but they exercise different methods that incur the same effect. The so called “achievement gap” in education is used as a dividing line that often mirrors ethnic background and economic class. As a result, people of color are excluded from higher positions on the assumption that they cannot handle higher level work. Some employers simply hire black workers into lower-paid positions with no opportunity for growth, assuming that the labor movement will not offer an escape from the stasis of a dead end job.

One thing union members can do to improve these statistics is to continue our study and conversation around Teamster history and how we can use it to win the future of the labor movement. There are millions of young people in jobs that offer no upward mobility, possibility for learning new skills, or even personal satisfaction. That leaves a large opening through which the Teamsters Union can spread the message of solidarity and labor values.  The vast knowledge we have gained through our battles and cooperation with employers would serve young workers very well in today’s fast-moving work environment. Teamsters can hold events and show films at local unions that inspire pride and showcase what black members have accomplished over the last century.  Most importantly, Teamsters can talk and share what we know so that when we are ready to pass the torch, the next generation will be ready to hold it high.

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