Jackson advocate., 1945-09-15
About The Negro Worker And lhe
Labor Union Movement

The meeting here last week of representatives ana
oroanzer of the American Federation of Labor from m
e Southern States in Postwar Organization Confer
nce and the fact Mississippi long regarded as the
leading anti-labor stronghold among the thirteen ooue
tates was selected the place Of meeting can oe 1ah
to mean that during the immediate postwar peIloo ste
or effort than ever before going to be made by the r.
of [, to organize the Southern worker. ). -.
The widespread publicity given the meetlng ahu to
hal statements contained in the resolution adopted oy
the conference is bound to have attracted the ateho
and arouse the thinking of the unorganlzed WoiheIs o
Missssipp and of the entire South The unorgalzeo We
~ oriors aside from the liberal resolution were ul-
oubedy further attracted by the fact that among thee
attending and participating III the conference ai'no"e
from others of the states, were NUMBER ol >esio
sentatives. ;uo+;orc
In this country today there are two great orgal1o %
which represent the organized labor movemen-the Amer
lean Federation of Labor and its affllatlng hlVe
the Oldest and for many years the sole represeh'a ~ ~
bargaining agent of the American Workmen' anu e ~
recently organized Congress OF lndustral ~
CO as it is more generally known with pla, III VI "
;zotion that permitted workers of different sKs W
form themselves into separate crafts out que pelp
more largely to the fact that it was the soe rep , T.
and bargaining agent for the American workers Tue
r. fnal what has been regarded the conservative
annroach to the problem of widespread Worheis u
IFS growth being limited because of his conservase e
Under the Craft Union seup and because VI .ie ,
~ international over which it held but nomnal collt.o
the efforts of the A. F. of L. in combating lhtel % -
crimination against Negro and other Wolhelo o 1T IL
o,ns have not always brought the best results. rioM
sp @ ,d from tbe conference here and study OF us
national policy and program III recent ion'io 20 IIt;ol
&c n,ucb more liberal trend The congress VI iio'''
,onvotions or CIO bent from the beginning upon VI
ganiznp the masses of workers, adopted ho.e % Go
o;cv At it's very beginning and the attacks OF the W
mon discrimination against workers because OF race
color or national origin has been III large hea'e =,
snonsble for the gains in industrial employment ~
Negro workers during the war emergehcy,a poi.s
mitted all workers without regard to their particular
kills 20 unonze and bargain collectively IS largely i'p
s;hIo Cor rs phenomenal growth and power
What NAV we'll be the outstanding major oeVeiopin W
- +b;;n with regards the strength ana effectiveness
~ Tho labor movement recent years is the OPINION now
widely held among outstanding labor leaders, poth "a VI
7 and CIO as well among the leading scnolais anu
Students of the labor movement that the organized aoo
movement will never be able to attain us maximum
strength and effectiveness bargaining agent 1or "oh
rs With millions of urorganzed Negro workers VINO may
he called in at any time at sub-standard wages anu d"
strike breakers. a.s. =; Misc
with s,ch a possible postwar development III MISS
;esnn and in the South indicated by the Az OF L. Co-
ference here it is matter of the utmost importance DO
effects their future welfare and opportunity to WORK aC
living wages that Negro workers take adyantage OF every
onndrlntv to unite with and learn more about orgaAeu
labor with respects to which the opinion is already gen.
ralv held among the intelligent and honest leaoers Q,
the race in the south and throughout the nation as wen
as among the rank and file of intelligent people everywhere
that the labor organizations doing to BRING aoot
real democracy in the United States and to deieat pref
ndice discrimination disranchisement and the spreaoes
of bporv and hate being done by any other move
ment or organization in the entire country.