African Americans In The 20th Century
Many of the events, situations and circumstances of the second half of the 20th century set the stage for, caused and made possible, most of the business, political and interpersonal scenarios we are experiencing in this country today – good, bad and indifferent.
According to the U.S. Census of 1900, ninety percent of Blacks lived in the South. Three-quarters of black households were located in rural places; only one-fifth owned their own homes and most worked as farmers or laborers. If not on farms, the vast majority of Black men and women who worked at all did so in unskilled labor and service jobs. It was also noted in the census that most Black children did not attend school.
The massive migration of Southern Blacks to the North …show more content…
Labor unions became more necessary and most powerful. For Blacks however, the relationship with Northern labor unions was unharmonious. Though Blacks made up a larger portion of factory workers, many unions had categorical rules banning Blacks from membership. The antagonistic relationship between Blacks and the unions was only exacerbated when employers were faced with the threat of union strikes. They would often hire Black workers to replace the Whites who were striking. Employers were comfortable in the fact that the Blacks were probably not sympathetic to the unions and could definitely not join them. Despite their unwillingness to allow Blacks into their folds, unions ultimately noticed that Black workers were solidly entrenched in manufacturing and that they would have to be included in any sort of far-reaching organizing …show more content…
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and the Railway Labor Act of 1951 basically paved the way for union corruption. Those acts in part, gave unions the right to exclusive representation in all 50 states. That means that once a union could certify that they had a simple majority of support for organizing as a unit, it then would speak for ALL covered workers, whether those workers voted for the union or not. Workers, who became disenfranchised with the union, did not have the right to form another union or invite in a different organization. They were stuck with what they had. As well, the government gave unions the absolute right to exact dues from workers, whether they wanted to pay them or not. Money, power and influence were squarely with the unions and made union treasuries easy pickings for union leaders and
According to the U.S. Census of 1900, ninety percent of Blacks lived in the South. Three-quarters of black households were located in rural places; only one-fifth owned their own homes and most worked as farmers or laborers. If not on farms, the vast majority of Black men and women who worked at all did so in unskilled labor and service jobs. It was also noted in the census that most Black children did not attend school.
The massive migration of Southern Blacks to the North …show more content…
Labor unions became more necessary and most powerful. For Blacks however, the relationship with Northern labor unions was unharmonious. Though Blacks made up a larger portion of factory workers, many unions had categorical rules banning Blacks from membership. The antagonistic relationship between Blacks and the unions was only exacerbated when employers were faced with the threat of union strikes. They would often hire Black workers to replace the Whites who were striking. Employers were comfortable in the fact that the Blacks were probably not sympathetic to the unions and could definitely not join them. Despite their unwillingness to allow Blacks into their folds, unions ultimately noticed that Black workers were solidly entrenched in manufacturing and that they would have to be included in any sort of far-reaching organizing …show more content…
The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and the Railway Labor Act of 1951 basically paved the way for union corruption. Those acts in part, gave unions the right to exclusive representation in all 50 states. That means that once a union could certify that they had a simple majority of support for organizing as a unit, it then would speak for ALL covered workers, whether those workers voted for the union or not. Workers, who became disenfranchised with the union, did not have the right to form another union or invite in a different organization. They were stuck with what they had. As well, the government gave unions the absolute right to exact dues from workers, whether they wanted to pay them or not. Money, power and influence were squarely with the unions and made union treasuries easy pickings for union leaders and