1. Aerojet-General Corp. 2. Aerospace Corp. 3. Affiliated Kaiser companies. 4. Allied Chemical Corp. 5. Aluminum Co. of America 6. American Airlines, Inc. 7. American Bosch Arma Corp. 8. American Can Co. 9. American Machine and Foundry Co. 10. American Telephone & Telegraph Co. 11. Avco Corp. 12. Bell Telephone Co. of Pennsylvania 13. Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. 14. Bendix Corp. 15. Boeing Airplane Co. 16. Brown and Root, Inc. 17. Burroughs Corp. 18. Caterpillar Tractor Co. 19. Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. 20. Chrysler Corp. 21. Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. 22. Colgate-Palmolive Co. 23. Collins Radio Co. 24. Continental Motors Corp. 25. Cook Electric Co. 26. Cudahy Packing Co. 27. Curtiss-Wright Corp. 28. Douglas Aircraft Co., Inc. 29. Dow Chemical Co. 30. du Pont de Nemours, E. I., & Co., Inc. 31. Eastman Kodak Co. 32. Fairchild Stratos Corp. 33. Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. 34. Ford Motor Co. 35. Garrett Corp. 36. General Dynamics Corp. 37. General Electric Co. 38. General Motors Corp. 39. General Precision Equipment Corp. 40. General Telephone & Electronics Corp. 41. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. 42. Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. 43. Hercules Powder Co. 4. Hughes Aircraft Co. 45. Illinois Bell Telephone Co. 46. International Business Machines Corp. 47. International Harvester Co. 48. International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. 49. Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc. 50. Lockheed Aircraft Corp. 51. Marlin Rockwell Corp. 52. Martin Co. 53. McDonnell Aircraft Corp. 54. Merritt-Chapman and Scott Corp. 55. Michigan Bell Telephone Co. 56. Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co. 57. Monsanto Chemical Co. 58. New England Telephone & Telegraph Co. 59. New Jersey Bell Telephone Co. 60. Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. 61. New York Telephone Co. 62. North American Aviation, Inc. 63. Northrop Corp. 64. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. 65. Ohio Bell Telephone Co. 66. Olin Mathieson Chemical Corp. 67. Owens-Illinois Glass Co. 68. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. 69. Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. (Bell Telephone of Nevada) 70. Pan American World Airways, Inc. 71. Philco Corp. 72. Radio Corp. of America 73. Raytheon Co. 74. Republic Aviation Corp. 75. Ryan Aeronautical Co. 76. St. Regis Paper Co. 77. Sanders Associates, Inc. 78. Socony Mobile Oil Co., Inc. 79. Southern Pacific Co. 80. Sperry Rand Corp. 81. Standard Oil Co. (Ohio Corp.) 82. Texas Instruments, Inc. 83. Textron, Inc. 84. Thiokol Chemical Corp. 85. Thompson Ramo Woolridge, Inc. 86. Union Carbide Corp. 87. United Aircraft Corp. 88. United States Rubber Co. 89. Western Electric Co. 90. Western Union Telegraph Co. 91. Westinghouse Electric Corp. CHAPTER TEN Equal Opportunities in Organized Labor The American trade union movement has a vital role in the effort to achieve equal employment opportunity because of the extent to which the collective bargaining agreements and employment practices unions participate in or control, determine the conditions of hiring, promotion and layoff. The problem of securing equal employment opportunity is not confined to any single industry or union, to any type of industry or union, or to any part of the country. In all the many subdivisions of commerce and industry, employment patterns have generally tended to restrict various minority groups from time to time-and Negroes most of the time to semiskilled, seasonal and laborer or service job classifications. Such designation of "Negro" and "white" jobs, has sometimes been made formal in collective bargaining agreements. Racially identified job classifications also have affected the bargaining process itself. In some cases, where a single contract covers the entire plant, white representatives of the union bargain on matters affecting "their" workers and Negro representatives bargain on "Negro" job matters. In other cases there are segregated locals within the plant each with jurisdiction over part of the jobs. Wherever craft lines exist, whether in the construction field or as part of an industrial structure, the problem of attaining equal opportunity without regard to race or other ancestral considerations is more complex. Tradition restricts the jurisdiction of each craft to its specialty. This in turn limits the number of members of any craft who can be employed at a given time. Since there are a limited number of openings during any period, the successful applicants for admission are often confined to those persons who have direct knowledge of the craft or direct contact with those in the craft who know of vacancies and of the time, place, and procedures for making application. In dealing with the problems of racial discrimination concerning unions, it is important to realize the nature and structure of the trade union movement. Individual unions have historically sought to retain as much autonomy and individual authority as possible. Local unions of specific crafts or industries have combined into international unions for the purpose of obtaining more effective organization. In turn, these bodies have combined into national organizations, the largest of which is the AFL-CIO. It is not uncommon for local unions to take exception to the direction of the international, and for the international to take exception to the direction of the federation. In many cases, therefore, the correction of problems in dealing with local unions requires the concerted efforts of both the international and the federation. Union Programs for Fair Practices In recognition of this fact, on November 15, 1962, leaders of the AFL-CIO and 115 international unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO gathered in the White House to sign with the then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, as Chairman of the President's Committee, Union Programs for Fair Practices. In that ceremony a major portion of the organized labor movement in the United States with a membership of around 11 million workers-pledged to accelerate its programs to insure equal opportunity in union membership, in union facilities, and in all aspects of employment in which the unions are involved. These international unions have been asked as part of their voluntary efforts to distribute a detailed questionnaire to their local unions. The questionnaire seeks to determine the racial composition of local unions and apprenticeship programs. Answers have so far been received from approximately one-third of these local unions. In addition, AFL-CIO President George Meany has appointed and staffed a special committee to work with local councils throughout the country and with all departments of the AFLCIO to mount a campaign to "wipe out discrimination wherever it exists on the jobs, in the schools, in the voting booth, in the housing developments, stores, theaters or recreation areas." The reorganization of the AFL-CIO Civil Rights Committee with provision for complaint procedures also has tended to promote an awareness of the need for affirmative action at all levels of that organization. AFL-CIO Civil Rights Department On the national level, day-to-day operations have included the exchange of information on an informal as well as on a formal basis. Joint meetings with international union officials and representatives of the President's Committee and the AFL-CIO Civil Rights Department have helped spot areas where a union should take action to achieve necessary corrective action by its local unions. The AFL-CIO Civil Rights Department also has kept the President's Committee informed of positive actions various unions have voluntarily undertaken and has investigated complaints which involved its constituent unions based on information furnished by the President's Committee. During recent months, convention action to strengthen and emphasize civil rights programs and responsibilities has been reported by AFLCIO State Councils in Texas, Virginia, and Utah. Many locals and internationals have also established special civil rights committees. Examples of Union Effort Some specific examples of the efforts made to achieve equal employment opportunities in cooperation with the union movement include: In the tobacco industry, the Tobacco Workers International Union, as well as the locals concerned, have worked out collective bargaining and jurisdictional problems to provide wider opportunities in the plants with which they bargain. All segregated locals within this International are being merged. In the steel industry, the United Steel Workers of America has helped in eliminating discrimina tory lines of promotion and providing equal transfer opportunities in Birmingham, Ala. A clause of nondiscrimination, with access to grievance procedures in the event of violation, is now a part of the basic steel agreement. A broader exercise of plant-wide seniority has provided expanded opportunity for Negro workers of long service and limited training opportunity to avoid layoff and to move into positions for acquisition of wider experience. The union currently is working on the elimination of discriminatory practices in promotion and transfer-wherever they can be found-through a review of current seniority agreements. The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union has worked closely with Committee representatives in correcting situations in several major refinery and chemical plants along the gulf coast. Segregated locals within this International Union have been eliminated. Metal Trades Councils, which bargain for as many as 20 affiliated unions, have cooperated in opening up job promotion, transfer and apprenticeship opportunities in the shipbuilding and petrochemical industries in Mississippi and Louisiana. The Pulp and Sulphite Workers, in keeping with pledges under the Union Program for Fair Practices, has directed the elimination of all segregated locals within its jurisdiction. The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers worked with the President's Committee in a situation on the West Coast to eliminate segregated units in a department, a move opposed by the local union. Insistence by the international union that this was contrary to its policy resulted in the necessary changes and proper seniority adjustments for the individuals concerned. In a southern plant, complaints were filed concurrently with the Committee and the United Automobile Workers. Action by union representatives resulted in correction of inequities in the plant even prior to investigation by the Committee. In another situation, when the UAW was unable to obtain corrective action, the UAW international helped its members file complaints. The building trades and other unions interested in apprenticeship have cooperated and assisted in the establishment of an Apprenticeship Information Center in Washington, D.C. The center, which operates within the Youth Employment Section of the U.S. Employment Office, has alticeship programs in the printing and building trades. The Construction Industry Much attention has been focused on the construction industry this year in the area of equal employment opportunity. One situation which received national attention developed in Washington, D.C., where protests by students and officials at Howard University resulted in an investigation of the policies and practices of unions and contractors building a university gymnasium. Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz, as Vice Chairman of the Committee, directed the taking of whatever action was necessary and appropriate-including referral for legal action by the Justice Department-to insure that the contractors on this project complied with the Executive order. During the course of this investigation, considerable effort was made to locate Negro craftsmen who would be available for the various crafts involved on this job. Some were employed, despite the fact that the relatively small job was more than 60 percent finished at the time of the complaints. Since it became clear that equal opportunity on construction projects in the District of Columbia could not be provided effectively on the basis of individual complaints or on a project-by-project basis, Secretary Wirtz directed that attention be focused on the apprenticeship programs, the source of skilled craftsmen for most construction projects in Washington. Following these directions, meetings were held with those Joint Apprenticeship Committees which indenture the most apprentices each year to consider ways of assuring equal opportunity for qualified Negro applicants in those programs during the current year. At the same time, the U.S. Employment Service made available testing and interviewing facilities for recruits sought through visits to all high schools in the District of Columbia. Additional meetings were also held with contractor associations and some of the international unions. Partly as a result of these efforts the electricians, plumbers, steamfitters, carpenters and iron workers selected 32 Negroes for their apprenticeship programs. These five trades indentured a total of seven Negro apprentices in 1962. Additional results in these and other trades are anticipated. elsewhere in the construction industry. Of general interest, the Presidents of the International Unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO Building Trades Department have adopted a four-point program designed to insure the consideration of all applicants on the basis of qualifications without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. The Carpenters' International Executive Board has ordered elimination of segregated locals wherever they are found to exist. Also the Construction Industry Joint Conference, consisting of representatives of international building trades unions and national contractors associations, has recently recommended detailed procedures to assist local Joint Apprenticeship Committees in assuring equal opportunity in this essential phase of employment. The recommendations include the establishment of an appeals procedure so that any questions as to treatment of applicants may be adjudicated at the local level. Local Activities Action has also been taken at the local level. In Cincinnati, the Building Trades Council adopted an agreement which embodies the four points of the Building Trades Presidents' statement and creates a committee for implementation. In Newark, Trenton and Elizabeth, N.J., the Building Trades Councils have reached agreements with local government and civil rights groups providing for additional opportunities for Negroes as journeymen and in apprenticeship programs. In Philadelphia, agreements have been worked out which provide for additional opportunities with the plumbers, steamfitters, electricians, sheet metal workers and composition roofers. The agreements include provision for an impartial review of qualification tests administered by the union. Apprenticeship opportunities also will be increased and in some cases nonwhites will be recruited for these programs. In New York, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has actively recruited Negroes for its apprenticeship program. In Milwaukee, the Building Trades Council has adopted and published a program designed to encourage minority group individuals to make application for apprenticeship training and to out regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. In Detroit, the Building Trades Council and employer representatives unanimously adopted a program for elimination of discrimination in construction in the Detroit area. The basic points outlined in this agreement include: (1) Seeking assistance from local, State and Federal Agencies and interested community groups in the recruiting and entry of qualified minority group applicants into apprenticeship programs. (2) The adoption by all affiliated locals of the policy of accepting all qualified applicants for membership without regard to race, creed, color or national origin. (3) The encouragement of nonunion craftsmen to establish qualifications and seek union membership. (4) The publication for the benefit of all concerned of the qualifications and rules regarding application for, or employment of, apprentices. Such rules and qualifications are to be reviewed by a committee of the Joint Construction Activities Committee to determine if changes are necessary to insure non-discrimination. The program has been quite successful. There has been an almost total absence of picketing of construction sites in the metropolitan area; almost every trade union has been integrated, both at the apprentice and at the journeyman level; Negro labor organizations fully support the program. In Cleveland, complaints were filed alleging discrimination by the Plumbers and Sheet Metal Workers Unions. Negotiations, which included participation by Under Secretary of Labor John F. Henning, resulted in an agreement whereby nonwhite contractors in each of these trades who met current standards would become union contractors. Qualified journeymen and apprentices working for these contractors were to be accepted into membership without regard to race, creed, color or national origin. On one of the jobs then underway, a portion of the work was subcontracted to one of the nonwhite contractors. In Pittsburgh, following complaints alleging discrimination by the painters, electricians, iron workers, elevator constructors, plumbers, pipefitters and asbestos workers, negotiations were un Commission. They resulted in an agreementlater issued as an order of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission-which included the following: (1) Qualified nonwhite craftsmen who meet the present standards for skill and qualification for membership will be immediately accepted for membership by the union concerned. (2) An impartial and neutral observer selected from names suggested by the union involved would be allowed to be present at written, oral and/or performance examinations given by any of the unions. (3) Qualified applicants would be enrolled in an apprenticeship training program without regard to race, creed, color or national origin. (4) The State commission would be notified when apprenticeship testing programs are to be conducted and an appropriate number of applicants qualified according to either Pennsylvania or Federal apprenticeship standards would be accepted. (5) Upon request by the State commission, the appropriate unions would submit reports showing the number of applicants for membership and apprenticeship and the number accepted and rejected. Sample Union Program for Fair Practices Most of the unions signing Union Programs for Fair Practices on November 15 signed programs identical to the one below. In some instances, there were slight variations to conform to special situations, but in no instance were the changes of substantive nature. Joint Statement on Union Program for Fair Practices Name of Union The President's Committee on The (name of union) welcomed President Kennedy's historic Executive Order 10925 establish |