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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2012)
Black History Month The Gentle Warrior: A. Philip Randolph By KEITH EDWARDS Asa Philip Randolph was one of the greatest and most effective civil rights and labor leaders of the 20th century. Randolph was on the leading edge of social and political change. Although Randolph had many successes, he also had many failures. By the early 1920s, he had run for political office on three different occa- sions only to be defeated every time. When Randolph arrived in New York in 1911, he put himself in the thick of the struggle for freedom and equality for Black Americans. A group of Pull- man porters came to Randolph asking for his assistance in gaining the right to bargain for better wages and work- ing conditions. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was launched Aug. 25, 1925. Through many attacks from the Pullman Company, lack of support by the law, failed mediation and arbitration, the workers prepared for a strike. The strike was called off at the last moment. The Brotherhood was now in a struggle to survive without funds, little support from the outside, and in the FEBRUARY 3, 2012 middle of the Great Depression. Ran- dolph traveled on Brotherhood busi- ness with meager funds but with one strong message “Black men are able to measure up.” This led to winning an election, in 1935, supervised by the National Mediation Board. That same year, the AFL reversed its position and granted an international charter to the Brotherhood. After two years of nego- tiations the Pullman Company signed a contract. Prior to WWII, after being told by President Roosevelt to make him do something regarding the discrimina- tion in American factories, Randolph traveled the country in an effort to unite Blacks against being shut out of well-paying factory jobs. All over the U.S., Blacks began forming commit- tees to “March on Washington” in protest. Finally FDR signed an execu- tive order in June of 1941. This was the be- ginning of ‘fair employ- ment practices.’ Nearly seven years later Ran- dolph persuaded Presi- dent Truman to sign an executive order ending discrimination in the mil- itary and federal civil service jobs. By 1955, A. Philip Randolph was well re- spected as a relentless advocate for justice and equality for Blacks, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, Puerto Ricans, and poor Whites — those who were disenfran- chised. That same year Randolph be- came a vice-president of the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Randolph had put organized labor in a frontline role in the civil rights revolution. He believed that Black or White, workers and their labor unions are the key forces in any political effort to redistribute society’s wealth more justly. Though Randolph was well aware that many unions dis- criminated, he continued in his convic- NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS O PEN F ORUM tion that only through the organization of the workers into unions could soci- ety be changed. Randolph was approached by James Farmer (CORE), John Lewis (SNCC), Martin Luther King Jr. (SCLC), Roy Wilkins (NAACP) and Whitney Young (Urban League) to or- ganize the 1963 March on Washing- ton. Randolph agreed, if Bayard Rustin could assist him in the planning and mobilization. Somewhere between 250,000 and 400,000 marchers at- tended the event, where MLK Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream “ speech. In 1964, Randolph was awarded the Pres- idential Medal of Freedom by Presi- dent Johnson. (Editor’s Note: Keith Edwards is an international representative of the In- ternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and a former business man- ager of Portland-based IBEW Local 48.) Eryn Slack hired at Labor’s Community Service Agency Eryn Slack has been hired as a part- time office manager for Labor’s Com- munity Service Agency. Slack has been in the labor move- ment since 2007, where she left a job as a waitress and shop steward at the Portland Hilton for a position with UNITE HERE Local 9, which repre- sents workers at the hotel. Last year, UNITE HERE asked her to take a resource navigator workshop conducted by Labor’s Community Service Agency. The program is de- signed to help union activists assist members of their union during any dif- ficult times they may encounter. “Because of this partnership, our union became stronger and our mem- bers healthier,” Slack said. Slack became “passionately in- volved” with the resource navigator program, joining its steering commit- tee. “Our vision is to have trained staff and membership navigators at every union, so a union member in need doesn’t have to look far for help,” she said. As office manager of Labor’s Com- munity Service Agency, Slack joined Office and Professional Employees Lo- cal 11. PAGE 11
