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Footnotes 1299
It should be noted that almost all the Negro-excluding unions are either A.F. of L.
affiliates or independent railroad brotherhoods. (See Florence Murray [editor], The
Negro Handbook [1942], pp. 1 34-1 3 5»)
These are the cases of complete exclusion. But most other craft unions show more or
less partial discrimination:
‘‘Most of the other national craft unions, while they do not bar Negroes from
their ranks, either curtail their rights and privileges within the union, or allow their
local components to do so. Thus the national rules of the Motion Picture Operators,
the Blacksmiths and Drop Forgers, the Sheet Metal Workers, and the Maintenance-of-
Way Employees (an unskilled craft union) permit the organization of colored workers
in ‘auxiliary’ locals, but prohibit them from having any voice in union affairs. And if
they are subjected to unfair or arbitrary treatment by the employers, their only means
of obtaining redress is to request the officials of the ‘regular’ (white) local to present
their grievances for them. . . .
“The Carpenters and the Painters do not have any constitutional provisions or other
explicitly stated rules in their national set-up providing for the exclusion or segregation
of colored workers. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of discrimination against
Negroes among the locals of both these unions which, while not openly sanctioned, is
always tacitly condoned by the central organizations. The national leadership of the
Bricklayers’ Union, on the other hand, has on a number of occasions attempted to
enforce racial equality in the constituent bodies. As far as the writer has been able to
learn, however, these attempts have been sporadic, and not very vigorous; and there
are still a number of local bricklayers’ organizations which openly practice discrimina-
tion.” (Norgren and Associates, of, cit,y p. 302.)
More recently (September, 1942) Northrup has classified the unions according to
degree of discrimination and nondiscrimination as follows:
‘^Unions excluding Negroes by ritual—(l.) International Association of Machinists
(A.F.L.)
“Unions excluding Negroes by constitution,—(i) Masters, Mates, and Pilots;
(2) Commercial Telegraphers; (3) Railroad Telegraphers; (4) Railway Mail Associa-
tion; (5) Switchmen’s Union; (6) Airline Pilots; (7) Sleeping Car Conductors;
(8) Wire Weavers; (all A.F.L.) ; (9) American Federation of Railroad Workers;
(10) Locomotive Engineers; (ii) Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen; (12) Rail-
road Trainmen; (13) Railway Conductors; (14) Train Dispatchers; (15) Railroad
Yardmasters of America; (16) Railroad Yardmasters of North America; (all inde-
pendents).
“Unions which generally refuse admittance to Negroes by tacit consent:—(i) Broth-
erhood of Electrical Workers; (2) Journeymen Plumbers and Steamfitters; (3) Asbestos
Workers, Heat and Frost Insulators; (4) Granite Cutters; (5) Flint Glass Workers;
(all A.F.L.)
“Unions which provide Negroes with Jim Crow auxiliary status which gives them
the privilege of paying dues but no say in the organization—(l) Boilermakers, Iron
Ship Builders, Welders and Helpers; (2) Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers;
(3) Railway Carmen; (4) Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express
and Station Employees; (5) Maintenance of Way Employees; (6) Federation of Rural
Letter Carriers; (all A.F.L.) (7) Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (Independent).”
(Herbert R. Northrup, unpublished memorandum made available by the courtesy of the
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