In my human resources management undergraduate college course, I devote time to unpacking and redistributing the narrative of the American labor movement. I must point out historical facts that have been omitted from standard textbooks. Young people must know the truth, and that truth will set them free.

When students are introduced to labor unions in America on college campuses, they are directed to view YouTube clips featuring men who tout the disadvantages of a union and how unions hurt businesses. These YouTube videos even go as far as planting politics and certain political parties as 100% favoring unions. Unions were created because of inequities found between workers and management. Workers wanted to be treated fairly regarding wages, working hours, and benefits.

Participating in unions has significantly reduced economic disparities between black and white workers. Unions fought for workers to obtain better pay and job protections for workers covered under union contracts. Black Americans were at the forefront of the labor union movement because racial justice and economic justice go hand in hand.

Most often, college professors do not address the contributions of Black Americans to the American Labor Movement. For example, Mary McLeod Bethune, born of enslaved parents, educated herself and was elected as the first woman president of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (NATCS). This organization was later renamed the American Teachers Association (ATA). The ATA eventually merged with the National Education Association (NEA). Today, this US teacher’s trade union boasts over 3 million participants.  Our American history books only talk about McLeod Bethune as the founder of a school for black girls in Florida and that school later became known as Bethune Cookman University.

One of Bethune Cookman University’s esteemed alumni was a man named A. Phillip Randolph. Upon graduation, A. Phillip Randolph became involved in the black movement for economic and social freedom. Randolph met with porters from the Chicago-based Pullman Palace Car Company in the summer of 1925. The Pullman Palace Car Company paid its mostly Black Pullman workers lower wages than their white railway workers. For ten years, Randolph worked to form and organize the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Recognized in 1937 as the first predominately Black labor union in America.

My grandfather was a proud member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He regaled the family with great stories of how he and his union brothers worked for better wages and working conditions. My grandfather later worked for the U.S. Postal Service and gave his time and talents to the American Postal Workers Union.

Then there is Hattie Canty. Hattie was born in Alabama in 1933 but moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with her family in 1972. Hattie held several jobs as a maid, janitor, and later room attendant on the Las Vegas Strip. It was during those times, that Hattie became very active in her union and participated in union activities. Hattie rose within the ranks of the union and was elected to the executive board of the Culinary Workers Union (CWU) in 1984. Hattie later became the union president in 1990. Hattie Canty was the first black woman and the first room attendant to be elected to this position in the CWU. It was her work that helped black and brown people obtain better jobs in the hospitality industry.

I hear from college students that labor unions are a thing of the past and are no longer relevant in American labor today. I remind them of yet another black leader who helped shape the labor movement in America. I tell them the story of Chris Smalls. Born in 1988, this young man saw his mother struggle to make ends meet in their home in New Jersey. Chris knew that this mother was a union member, but his mother did not seem to think that the union cared about her struggles. When Chris became an adult, he worked for Amazon.

Chris struggled with the racial inequities that he witnessed at Amazon. The long hours, no career growth, and impossible management expectations made it difficult for Chris and other warehouse workers to thrive. In 2020, COVID hit and it was clear that Amazon’s primary interest was making more money. Chris and another fellow worker began leading actions for Amazon’s work rights. In 2021, they formed the Amazon Labor Union (ALU). In 2022 the ALU voted to establish a union.

The Bible states that God is a worker and He has designed us to be workers. We are to work “wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not people.” We have many examples of black and brown people who helped to shape labor unions and brought about better working conditions for all American employees.