Opinion content—editorials, columns and guest commentaries—is created independent of news reporting and is exclusive to subscribers.A. Philip Randolph, center, president of the Negro American Labor Council, along with civil rights leaders Bayard Rustin, left, and John Morsell, holds a news conference on Aug. 3, 1963, in New York.
Unions profess a devotion to racial equity, yet it is clear the rung on the ladder to the middle class remains elusive for African Americans and women in the building and construction trades.Chicago’s labor movement dates to 1864, and labor’s influence now dominates the Illinois political landscape. Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former union organizer, could use his influence to get trade unions to open up apprenticeship opportunities for those mired in poverty and hopelessness.
The state has required the building and trade unions to provide data annually on ethnicity of union apprenticeships. Labor unions continue to underperform in training African American workers. According to a, contractors revealed employing even fewer African American workers. For example, in June 2020, contractors reported a workforce of 1% African American, 32% Latino and 76% white.
There is a direct correlation between violence and unemployment. The communities in Chicago with the highest levels of violence include Englewood, South Shore, Austin, Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Chatham and Roseland. In West Garfield Park, it is estimated that nearly 80% of male African Americans ages 17 to 34 are unemployed.The trade unions could have a major impact on reducing violence in these areas. It has been said that nothing stops a bullet like a job.