Page 2a—Minority Business Enterprises-October 10, 1990
A. Philip Randolph and Sain G. Whitney:
Pioneers in Progress
A Vision of Justice
Throughout his active career
as a labor leader and as a father o f the
civil rights m ovement, A. Philip R an
dolph was guided by a dream for the
building of a new society, in which
people o f all colors could live in free
dom and in dignity. As a socialist,
Randolph believes that a decent and
well-paying job is the first step to
wards social and political freedom.
W hile he consistently sup
ported the needs o f blacks as blacks,
"Mr. Rando'ijfn a'iso maintained d i a l
workers and all the poor should join to
gether, regardless o f race, in order to
achieve their com m on goals. T here
fore, he called for organized labor to
join in the black m an’s struggle for
freedom and in that way to “ rise to its
full moral stature.” Randolph believed
that workers and their unions are the
key forces in any political effort to
Ricky Brame, Apprentice
Father o f the civil rights movement, A.
Philip Kandolph once said, "The labor move
m ent traditionally has been the only haven
fo r the dispossessed, the despised, the ne
glected, the downtrodden and the poor."
His accomplishments range from attaining
blacks their rightful seat in the House o f
Labor to winning an Executive Order in
1948 from President Harry S. Truman to
ban discrimination in the armedforces and
in federal employment.
redistribute society’s wealth more justly.
Mr. Randolph continuously advised black
people to develop alliances with labor,
liberal, and civil rights groups to end
segregation and to elim inate poverty.
He did not see the problems
o f black Am ericans as the problem of
one isolated group. He viewed the con
dition o f blacks as the symptom o f a
larger social illness, which is caused by
an unfair distribution of power, wealth,
and resources. For the socialist ideas
upon which his political wisdom was
formed, Mr. Randolph looked to Nor
man Thomas and Eugene V. Debs, the
giantof American socialism. W hether
he spoke for socialism or civil rights,
A. Philip Randoph followed the prin
ciples of dem ocracy and non-violence
all his life long.
A.Philip Randolph a Pioneer in the Labor Movement
... if not for your sake then for his.
A. PHILLIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
PORTLAND CHAPTER
P.O. BOX 11329
PORTLAND. OREGON
REGISTER BY OCTOBER 16th
Harvey Scott
Michael Turner
STRONG MEN KEEP
ON COMING
Sam A. Whitney
As the nation stands on the brink of
the 21st century, many black workers
and their fam ilies find themselves still
searching for their fair share of the great
A merican Dream.
O ver the past 50 years, the United
States made giant strides in the field of
civil rights. Unfortunately, those gains
are now endangered by persistent eco
nomic inequalities, political attacks and
legal decision. Recent rulings by the
U.S. Supreme Court have significantly
eroded the gains that had been made in
anti-discrim ination laws and affirmative
action.
The trade union movements received
its’ first m ajor break through for blacks
in their quest for equal opportunity came
under the leadership of the great labor
and civil rights leader, A. Phil Randolph.
It was Randolph who led the first “ March
on W ashington” m ovem ent in 1941 de-
manding justice for black workers. Out
of that historic march came the first
presidential Executive Order forbidding
discrimination by federal contractors.
A. Phillip Randolph learned early in
life that there was dignity in honest la
bor. Therefore, when a small group of
sleeping car porters approached him to
help them organize a union, he accepted.
There has been great steps forward
in the advancem ent o f the struggle for
justice and equality for Black Electri
cians. Another forefront runner in civil
rights was Sam A. W hitney. He was the
first Black electrician with the Interna
tional Brotherhood of electrical worker
Local 48 and one o f the most respected
men to com e out o f this area in his day.
In tribute to him-the Black electricians
of IBEW Local 48 have founded and
established an association in his honor.
The Sam G. W hitney Assn. Sam be
lieved that if you had a problem, you
started from the top and worked your
way down. In as much he took one o f his
plights to President Harry Truman and
the president interceded on Sam G.
W hitneys’ behalf. He then named one of
his sons after the president.
Today, Blacks have assumed vari
ous leadership positions throughout the
trade union movement serving as mem
bers of the AFL-CIO Executive Council,
top officers of national and Local union
and APRI leaders. Strong Black Men
ju st keep on coming!!
A. Philip Randolph, the vet
eran labor and civil rights leader,
called on black people to strengthen
their bonds with the trade union
m ovem ent in a birthday statem ent
issued in New York.
Randolph, founded and led
the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Por
ters, a anion o f black Pullm an Por
ters. Randolph also directed the
1963 March on Washington, and was
widely recognized as the “ dean of
A m erican civil rights leaders.”
Pointing to the many prob
lems facing black people, Randolph
em phasized that blacks “ have one
reliable and steadfast ally - the trade
union m ovem ent.”
“ The vast m ajority o f black
people are workers,” Randolph said,
“ and the trade union movement, even
with all its im perfections and fail
ings is the m ost effective, and most
powerful defender o f the interests of
all American workers, black as well
as w hite.”
He is quoted as saying, poor
workers throughout the Sunbelt re
gion can only escape poverty by or-
that many blacks have despaired of
political involvement,, Randolph
warned that political withdrawal is
an invitation to “ our enemies to
roll-back every advance o f the last
45 years.” Furthermore, he charac
terized the current political atm os
phere as “ crude conservation and
social defeatism ,” and urged blacks
to intensify their political involve
ment.
Norman Hill, national presi
dent of the A. Philip Randolph Insti
tute headquartered at 260 Park A ve
nue South in New York City, said
that the Institute’s 180 local chap
ters across the country will continue
“ their efforts to fulfill the dream o f
Mr. Randolph.”
‘ ‘Every day, hundreds of dedi
cated trade unionists in all sections
of the country follow Mr. Randolph’s
example by attempting to build a
solid political coalition for the kinds
of goals that Mr. Randolph has so
long espoused, goals like full em
ployment, free collective bargain
ing, social equality, and an end to
racial discrim ination,” Hill said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION -CONTACT YOUR PORTLAND CHAPTER OF APRI 288-1298
Electrician proud of award for
work with local minorities
Michael R. Manlove
Terry Tims
John Dixon
Gus M ille r, a 17-year m em ber of
In te rn a tio n a l Brotherhood of E lec
tr ic a l W orkers (IB E W ) Local 48,
received the coveted Sam W hitney
A s s o c ia t io n a w a r d f o r h is
dedicated w o rk w ith m in o ritie s.
M ille r, 62, has been active in the
P o rtla n d co m m u n ity, in vo lvin g
h im se lf in a num ber of organiza
tions th a t help better the lives of
m in o ritie s. He was in stru m e n ta l in
steering over 150 m in o ritie s into
the IB E W 's apprenticeship pro
g ra m and into careers as union
electricians.
He credits Local 48 o fficia ls fo r
th e ir “ solid support” of the pro
g ra m and fo r the contracts they
have negotiated fo r w orkers.
" I'v e talked quite a few e le ctri
cians away fro m the non-union ele
m e n t,” M ille r said. "Some of the
conditions they were w o rkin g in
and the pay they were receiving
was atro cio u s.”
M ille r ’s rise through the e le ctri
cia n 's trade as a m in o rity w asn't
d iscrim ination-free.
He rem em bers the days blacks
w e re n 't allowed on construction
jobsites, le t alone in a local union,
when he started 46 years ago in
Chicago.
" I spent m y firs t tw o years as an
a p p r e n t ic e c a r r y in g s o ld e r
buckets,” he recalls. " I spent five
years of holy hell in the field. I liv
ed f o r th e d a y I g o t m y
(jo u rn e ym a n ) recognition c a rd .”
A n d d e s p ite h is p e rs o n a l
a c h ie v e m e n ts w it h m in o r it y
groups, M ille r s till observes an un
co m fo rta b ly high am ount of "in e
q u a lity ” on the jobsite—especially
fro m management.
“ I ’m glad I have Local 48 behind
m e 100 percent. I ’m not quite sure
wHor-r* I wroiilH Fw» ♦ F»r»i it thom ’’
he stressed.
A fte r Chicago, M ille r perform ed
h is e l e c t r i c a l w i z a r d r y in
Washington, D.C., H a w a ii and at
an A rm y b a rra cks in Okinawa. He
says he has handled about every
phase of e le c tric a l w o rk im
aginable, ranging fro m the old
"kn o b and tube days” through the
c o n v e rs io n o f g a s - to - e le c tr ic
lig h tin g and into to d a y’s nuclear
age.
He owned a T V re p a ir shop/elec-
tr ic a l co n stru ctio n business in
Chicago u n til thieves stole h im
blind, fo rcin g h im to close.
D u rin g his 17 years w ith Local
48, M ille r w orked his w ay to a
supervisory role, leading crew s fo r
W.R. G rasle, L a m b e rt E le c tric ,
Bernard Gooseberry
-
Clifton Edwards
ganizing. ‘ ‘Amid affluence and new
found welath,” Randolph said, “ thou
sands o f workers receive subsistence
wages. And because so few have the
protections o f a union contract, they
have no job security, no fringe bene
fits, and no rights in the w orkplace.”
As an exam ple o f an important
trade union cam paign, Randolph
pointed to the current strike involving
19,000 shipyard workers in Newport
News, Virginia. “ These w orkers,”
Randolph declared, “ were forced to
strike by a com pany which refuses to
recognize their right to join a union
and negotiate for better wages and
working conditions.”
Randolph also accused the J.P.
Stevens and W inn-Dixie com panies
of attem pting “ to block their em ploy
ees from freely organizing into un
ions.” Because of this, he reaffirm ed
his long-standing support for the la
bor-backed boycotts o f J.P. Stevens
and W inn-Dixie.
As in the past, Randolph re
stated his strong belief that blacks
m ust increase their political power by
registering and voting. While he noted
A h i l i t v E le c t r ic ? . N W R n p r p v a t t h e
Eddy Jeannis
Joe White
Journeyman
Electrician
♦
Picture was unavailable
Gus Miller
r r* *
T ro ja n N uclear P lant and D ill
ingham Ship R epair on Swan
Island.
I t was at the shipyard tw o years
ago that he suffered a ca re e r
ending in ju ry when a 500-pound
hatch slam m ed down and crushed
his hand as he craw led out of a
v a u lt onto the deck of a super
ta n ke r docked at the P o rt of
P ortland.
Larry Warren
MS
.«• ' '¿¿C • •
* » » <
.9
«
M ille r has suffered constant pain
since the accident, to such a degree
th a t he recently agreed to take ex
perim ental injections fo u r tim e s a
month, hoping they w ill b ring some
relief. This despite the fa c t th a t the
injections cause his blood pressure
to rise dangerously high and p ro
duce some m em ory loss.
T h e a e cid < * n t t h r e w
a
m onkey
wrench in to M ille r’s plan th a t c a ll
ed fo r re tire m e n t this year so th a t
he could serve in the Peace Corps
in South A fric a . M ille r and his
w ife , A d rin n e , who ru n s the
cosmetology departm ent at M t.
Hood C om m unity College, had
th e ir tra v e l plans a ll ready.
The M ille rs have tw o sons and a
daughter.
M ille r re ce n tly stepped down as
vice president of Local 48 and end
ed his 17 years as a m em ber of the
local's executive board. He s till a t
tends classes to upgrade his elec
tric a l skills and m aintains a super
visor's license he has held since
1972.
He is in the process of outlining a
scholarship program under his
name to be given annually to a
m in o rity w ith in Local 48 and he re
m ains a ctive in the P o rtla n d
chapter of the A. P h ilip Randolph
Institute.