Many workers have been protected by unions since the late 18th century, especially in dangerous industries like construction. However, workers of color have faced historical racism within them. Unions are changing, but the pace remains slow, The New York Times reported Nov. 6.
Unions have historically had race issues, even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Race could often trump class solidarity, and some unions discriminated against workers of color, denying them access to the picket line.
Elmer Castillo, vice president of carpenter's union Local 723 and a Honduran immigrant to the U.S, told the Times that union leadership favors nepotism, which creates an inequality of jobs.
"This builds a chain that never ends, a chain of whites," Mr. Castillo said. "One will never have the opportunity to achieve what they achieve."
"There is a legacy of racism, which by no means has been eliminated," Mark Erlich, a research fellow at the Labor and Worklife Program at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard Law School, told the Times. "I respect folks in the community that complain that things are not changing fast enough."
Things have changed over time, and more unions are looking to organize the increased numbers of people of color in the labor force. Renee Dozier, a business agent of a Boston area local of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, told the Times in a statement, "We are doing more every day to increase the diversity of our membership than almost any other industry."
Mr. Erlich also argued that unions realize they need to do more to reflect diversity.
Other workers argue that they have been patient long enough and want unions to give them a chance to step up.
"Unions are great, but they have to give us an opportunity," said Travis Watson, who resigned as head of the Boston Employment Commission in October after becoming frustrated with the organization's inability to make unions further racial equity.