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Title: Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Collection Genre: Records Dates: 1972-1995 Size: 11 linear feet ID#: 1754 OCLC: ©Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor & Urban Affairs HEFA.01b.update |
Ø Subjects Ø Transfer |
The records of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists were placed in the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs in August-September of 2001 by President William Lucy and were opened for research in March of 2002.
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) was founded at a conference in Chicago on September 23-24, 1972 attended by more than 1,200 black union officials and rank-and-file members. The meeting was called by a steering committee of five black union leaders who hoped to galvanize outrage at the AFL-CIO Executive Council's neutrality in the 1972 presidential election into support for an independent organization which would give voice to the concerns of blacks and other minority constituencies in the labor movement — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy, United Auto Workers Vice President Nelson Jack Edwards, Washington Teachers' Union President William Simons, Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen Vice President Charles Hayes and District 65 Distributive Workers President Cleveland Robinson. Robinson, A. Philip Randolph's successor as head of the Negro American Labor Council, pledged NALC's resources to the fledgling organization.
In 1973, at a constitutional conference in January and its first convention in May, both held in Washington, D.C., the CBTU formalized its structure (the steering committee was expanded to twenty) and created organizing committees for chapters in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio. By 2001, CBTU counted more than fifty chapters, including one in Ontario, Canada. The organization committed itself to using political action and union organizing campaigns to increase black participation and influence in the labor movement and insure social and economic progress for working people and the poor.
CBTU has sponsored regional and national conferences and workshops around the issues of voter registration and education, women's rights, job training and occupational safety, environmental justice, health care for the disadvantaged and opposition to apartheid and NAFTA. It has cooperated with like-minded organizations to advocate for government policies supportive of minority workers and their communities and an end to racial oppression in southern Africa.
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Collection contains correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, convention material, speeches, publicity and other items documenting the national CBTU's and its chapters' lobbying activity for labor and civil rights issues, support for strikes, involvement in the anti-apartheid movement and sponsorship of projects to develop leadership and improve the quality of life within the African American community.
Important Subjects in the Collection:
Affirmative action programs
African American labor leaders
African Americans--Health and hygiene
African Americans--Politics and government
African Americans--Suffrage
African Americans--Training of
Africare
Apartheid
Charles A. Hayes
NAFTA
National Coalition on Black Voter Participation
South Africa
Trade-unions--African American membership
TransAfrica
Important Correspondents in the Collection:
A large number of photographs and some convention memorabilia received with the collection have been transferred to the Archives Audiovisual Department.
11 storage boxes
Series I, Executive Council, 1976-1995, Boxes 1-2:
Minutes, financial statements, attendance rosters, correspondence, reports and other material distributed for discussion at CBTU executive council meetings. Files are arranged chronologically. [Box1] [Box 2]
Series II, Convention, Conferences, 1973-1995, Boxes 2-4:
Programs, executive council reports, correspondence, elections material, position papers, resolutions, constitutions, bylaws, speeches, publicity and other material from the CBTU annual convention and other programs sponsored by the organization. Files are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. [Box 2] [Box 3] [Box 4]
Series III, Correspondence, Publications, Speeches, 1972-1995, Boxes 4-6:
Correspondence and memoranda of William Lucy and his assistants, Leonard Ball and Wil Duncan; articles, testimony and speeches by William Lucy; CBTU publications; and publicity about the organization and its president. CBTU's involvement in the anti-apartheid movement is well documented. Files are arranged alphabetically with correspondence first, followed by publications, publicity, speeches and testimony. [Box 4]
Series IV, Chapters, Regions, National Committees, 1975-1995, Boxes 6-10:
Correspondence, activity reports, meeting minutes, membership information and publicity for chapter-sponsored events. The series also contains the files of the CBTU National Women's Committee and the conference it sponsors at the annual convention. Chapter files are arranged alphabetically by state and then by city and are followed by regional and national committee files. [Box 6] [Box 7] [Box 8] [Box 9]
Series V, Organizations, 1981-1995, Boxes 10-11:
Correspondence, reports, reference material and promotional literature of organizations to which the CBTU belonged or whose projects it sponsored. Especially well documented is the work of TransAfrica, the principal black American lobby with Congress and the Administration for African and Caribbean affairs. Files are arranged alphabetically. [Box 10]
Contents |
[Box1] [Box2] [Box3] [Box4] [Box5] [Box6] |
Series I
Executive Council, 1976-1995
Boxes 1-2
[Box 1]
1. Executive Council meeting, 21 Feb 1976
2. Executive Council meeting, 24 Apr 1976
3. Executive Council meeting, 19 Feb 1977
4. Executive Council meeting, 16 Jul 1977
5. Executive Council meeting, 23 Oct 1977
6. Executive Council meeting, 4 Feb 1978
7. Executive Council meeting, 22 Apr 1978
8. Executive Council meeting, 25 May 1978
9. Executive Council meeting, 8 Jul 1978
10. Executive Council meeting, 4 Nov 1978
11. Executive Council meeting, 3 Feb 1979
12. Executive Council meeting, 24 May 1979
13. Executive Council meeting, 25 Aug 1979
14. Executive Council meeting, 5 Jan 1980
15. Executive Council meeting, 2 Feb 1980
16. Executive Council meeting, 22-23 May 1980
17. Executive Council meeting, 9 Aug 1980
18. Executive Council meeting, 22 Nov 1980
19. Executive Council meeting, 7 Feb 1981
20. Executive Council meeting, 30 Jan 1982
21. Executive Council meeting, 27 May 1982
22. Executive Council meeting, 11 Sep 1982
23. Executive Council meeting, 10 Apr 1983
24. Executive Council meeting, 26 May 1983
25. Executive Council meeting, 26 Aug 1983
26. Executive Council meeting, 17 Dec 1983
27. Executive Council meeting, 10 Mar 1984
28. Executive Council meeting, 24 May 1984
29. Executive Council meeting, 13 Jul 1984
30. Executive Council meeting, 20 Oct 1984
31. Executive Council meeting, 2 Feb 1985
32. Executive Council meeting, 23 May 1985
33. Executive Council meeting, 6 Sep 1985
34. Executive Council meeting, 18 Jan 1986
35. Executive Council meeting, 22 May 1986
36. Executive Council meeting, 25 Oct 1986
37. Executive Council meeting, 10 Jan 1987
38. Executive Council meeting, 27 May 1987
39. Executive Council meeting, 27 Sep 1987
40. Executive Council meeting, 19 Dec 1987
41. Executive Council meeting, 19 Mart 1988
42. Executive Council meeting, 26 May 1988
43. Executive Council meeting, 18 Sep 1988
44. Executive Council meeting, 28 Jan 1989
45. Executive Council meeting, 25 May 1989
46. Executive Council meeting, 5 Aug 1989
[Box 2]
1. Executive Council meeting, 9 Dec 1989
2. Executive Council meeting, 24 Mar 1990
3. Executive Council meeting, 24 May 1990
4. Executive Council meeting, 17 Nov 1990
5. Executive Council meeting, 9 Feb 1991
6. Executive Council meeting, 23 May 1991
7. Executive Council meeting, 7 Sep 1991
8. Executive Council meeting, 4 Jan 1992
9. Executive Council meeting, 21 May 1992
10. Executive Council meeting, 1 Aug 1992
11. Executive Council meeting, 23 Oct 1992
12. Executive Council meeting, 15 Jan 1993
13. Executive Council meeting, 21 Mar 1993
14. Executive Council meeting, 27 May 1993
15. Executive Council meeting, 10 Jul 1993
16. Executive Council meeting, 29 Oct 1993
17. Executive Council meeting, 14 Jan 1994
18. Executive Council meeting, 25 May 1994
19. Executive Council meeting, 29 Jul 1994
20. Executive Council meeting, 22 Oct 1994
21. Executive Council meeting, 4 Mar 1995
22. Executive Council meeting, 24 May 1995
23. Executive Council meeting, 21 Jul 1995
Series II
Conventions and Conferences, 1973-1995
Boxes 2-4
[Box 2]
24-35. Convention, 1973-84
36. Convention; constitution, 1984
37. Convention; resolutions, 1984
38. Convention, 1985
39. Convention; constitution, 1985
40. Convention; resolutions, 1985
41. Convention, 1986
42. Convention; constitution, 1986
43. Convention; resolutions, 1986
[Box 3]
1-2. Convention, 1987
3. Convention; constitution, 1987
4. Convention; resolutions, 1987
5-6. Convention, 1988
7. Convention; constitution, 1988
8. Convention; resolutions, 1988
9. Convention, 1989
10. Convention; constitution, 1989
11. Convention; resolutions, 1989
12. Convention, 1990
13. Convention; constitution, 1990
14. Convention; resolutions, 1990
15. Convention, 1991
16. Convention; constitution, 1991
17. Convention, 1992
18. Convention; resolutions, 1992
19. Convention, 1993
20. Convention; constitution, 1993
21. Convention; resolutions, 1993
22. Convention, 1994
23. Convention; constitution, 1994
24. Convention; resolutions, 1994
[Box 4]
1. Convention, 1995
2. Convention; constitution, 1995
3. Convention; resolutions, 1995
4. Delegate Selection Process Training Conferences, 1992
5. Health Care in the Black and Poor Community Regional Conferences, 1992
6. Labor/Community Forum on NAFTA, Oct 1993
7. Leadership Retreats, 1983, 1987, 1991
8. Organizing in the South Regional Conferences, 1992-93
9. Political Education Forum, Jan, Mar 1994
10. Political Education Forum, Jul 1994
11. Political Education Forum, Oct 1994
12. Political Education Forum, Jul 1995
13. Regional Political Action Meetings, 1987
Series III
Correspondence, Publications, Speeches, 1972-1995
Boxes 4-6
[Box 4]
14-23. Correspondence & memoranda; Leonard Ball, 1977,
1980-81, 1984-91
24-25. Correspondence & memoranda; Wil Duncan, 1991
[Box 5]
1-4. Correspondence & memoranda; Wil Duncan, 1992-1995
5. Correspondence & memoranda; William Lucy, 1976-78
6-17. Correspondence & memoranda; William Lucy, 1984-95
18. Correspondence & memoranda; William Lucy—Henry Lancaster, 1989-90
19. Correspondence & reports; Hazardous Waste Worker Training Project (NIEHS), 1994-95
20-23. Correspondence & reports; South Africa, 1983-95
24-25. Correspondence & reports; U.S. Congress, 1983-89
1. Correspondence & reports; U.S. Congress, 1990-95
2. Correspondence & reports; U.S. Congress—Congressional Black Caucus, 1982-95
3. Correspondence & reports; U.S. government, 1980-95
4. Correspondence & reports; White House, 1979-95
5. Articles; William Lucy—"Labor's Role in Support of Full Employment," the Urban League Review, Summer 1986
6. Articles; William Lucy—"Links of Freedom," TransAfrica Forum, 1985
7. Articles; William Lucy—"Not NAFTA," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1 Sep 1993
8. Articles; William Lucy—"The Price of NAFTA," Third World Viewpoint, 1994
9. CBTU membership brochures, 1986, 1992
10. CBTU newsletter, 1973, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1989-90, 1992
11. CBTU position papers, 1980-92
12-13. CBTU press releases, 1972-95
14. Publicity re CBTU & William Lucy, 1976-95
15. Speeches; Willie L. Baker, Jr., 1988-89
16. Speeches; William Lucy—[Apartheid], Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (Washington, D.C.), 25 Sep 1985
17. Speeches; William Lucy—"Apartheid, The Legacies of," Forum of Black Trade Unionists (New York City), 7 Jan 1984
18. Speeches; William Lucy—Blacks and the Labor Movement, National Urban League Forum on (Washington, D.C.), 23 Jul 1985
19. Speeches; William Lucy— Black History Month Program, AFSCME Local 1422 (Coatesville, Pa.), 1 Feb 1989
20. Speeches; William Lucy— Black History Month, AFSCME/Norristown (Pa.) Hospital Employees, 1 Feb 1990
21. Speeches; William Lucy—Black History Month, "Prevailing with Our Heritage," Feb 1988
22. Speeches; William Lucy—Black Issues Conference, New Jersey State APRI (Cherry Hill), 6 Sep 1986
23. Speeches; William Lucy—CBTU convention, 1976-77, 1979-80
24. Speeches; William Lucy—CBTU convention, 1983-84, 1987-89
25. Speeches; William Lucy—CBTU convention, 1990, 1992-94
26. Speeches; William Lucy—CBTU St. Louis Chapter Dinner, 2 Sep 1989
27. Speeches; William Lucy—CBTU South Florida Convention (Miami), 28 Oct 1995
28. Speeches; William Lucy—Health Care in the Black and Poor Community Regional Conference (Pittsburgh), 21 Nov 1992
29. Speeches; William Lucy—Health Security Express Rally (New Orleans), 28 Jul 1994
30. Speeches; William Lucy—(Houston), 29 Apr 1984
31. Speeches; William Lucy—Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO Conference (Atlanta), 27 May 1993
32. Speeches; William Lucy—Labor Issues and Policies for the 1990's and Beyond, African American Summit, 21 Apr 1989
33. Speeches; William Lucy—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Columbus CBTU Chapter Labor's Salute to, 16 Jan 1988
34. Speeches; William Lucy—Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Breakfast, Los Angeles SCLC, 15 Jan 1988
35. Speeches; William Lucy—Minority Labor Conference, Statewide (Austin, Tex.), 7 Oct 1995
36. Speeches; William Lucy—NAACP Convention Luncheon (Los Angeles), 10 Jul 1990
37. Speeches; William Lucy—NAFTA, NAACP Seminar on (Washington, D.C.), 8 Jun 1993
38. Speeches; William Lucy— NAFTA/GATT, National Black Caucus of State Legislators Policy Briefing on (Memphis), 30 Nov 1994
39. Speeches; William Lucy—"Namibia's Liberation, Trade Unions and," Seminar on Efforts to Implement the UN Plan for the Independence of Namibia (Toronto), Sep 1988
40. Speeches; William Lucy—National Urban League Conference (Indianapolis), 26 Jul 1994
41. Speeches; William Lucy—Occupational Health and Safety, CBTU Conference on (Detroit), 30 Oct 1980
42. Speeches; William Lucy—Political Conference, CBTU Regional (Birmingham, Ala.), 18 Jan 1992
43. Speeches; William Lucy—SCLC Convention Breakfast (Jacksonville), 13 Aug 1986
44. Speeches; William Lucy—Women's Conference, CBTU (Los Angeles), 22 May 1992
45. Testimony (government); William Lucy, 1973-95
Series IV
Chapters, Regions and National Committees, 1975-1995
Boxes 6-10
[Box 6]
46. Chapter activity reports, 1977-89
47. Chapter chairpersons meeting minutes, 1989, 1991-95
48. Chapter lists, 1984-91, n.d.
49. Alabama; Central Alabama, 1991-95
50. Alabama; Muscle Shoals Area, 1991
51. Alabama; Northern Alabama, 1989-90
52. Arizona, 1991-93
53-56. California; Northern California/San Francisco, 1978-86
1-5. California; Northern California, 1987-95
6-9. California; Southern California/Los Angeles, 1979, 1986-95
10. Connecticut, 1987-95
11. Delaware, 1979-95
12-16. District of Columbia, 1979-95
17. Florida; Central Florida, 1994-95
18. Florida; Jacksonville, 1988-91, 1995
19. Florida; Panhandle, 1988-92, 1995
20. Florida; South Florida, 1989-95
21. Georgia, 1993
22. Georgia; Atlanta, 1984-87, 1995
23-27. Illinois; Chicago, 1978-87
28-29. Illinois; Joliet, 1980-95
30. Illinois; Springfield, 1995
31. Indiana; Central Indiana, 1991-95
32. Indiana; Gary, 1978-95
33. Kentucky, 1992-95
34. Maryland; Baltimore, 1975-87
1. Maryland; Baltimore, 1990-95
2-9. Michigan; Detroit, 1978-95
10. Michigan; Flint, 1984-85
11. Michigan; Pontiac, 1984-95
12. Michigan; Washtenaw County, 1983, 1985
13. Minnesota, 1984-85, 1988-89, 1993
14. Missouri; Kansas City, 1986-87
15-18. Missouri; St. Louis, 1976-95
19-21. New Jersey, 1977-80, 1983-84
22-23. New Jersey; Central/Northern New Jersey, 1985-95
24. New Jersey; South Jersey, 1985-95
25. New York; Buffalo, 1988, 1991-95
26-34. New York; New York City, 1977-89
1-2. New York; New York City, 1990-95
3. Ohio, 1974, 1979-86, 1990
4. Ohio; Cincinnati, 1979-95
5. Ohio; Cleveland, 1980-95
6. Ohio; Columbus, 1980-95
7. Ohio; Lorain, 1995
8. Ohio; Toledo, 1980-95
9-10. Ohio; Youngstown, 1993-95
11. Pennsylvania; Harrisburg, 1975-95
12-17. Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, 1984-95
18-20. Pennsylvania; Southeastern Pennsylvania and Greater Philadelphia, 1976-95
21. Pennsylvania; Western Pennsylvania, 1991-95
22. Tennessee; Memphis, 1978-94
23. Texas; Austin, 1994-95
24. Texas; Dallas/Fort Worth, 1991-95
25-26. Texas; Houston, 1978-80, 1983-91
27. Virginia; Central Virginia, 1995
28. Virginia; Richmond, 1987, 1991-92
29. Washington; Northwest Area, 1991-92
30. Washington; Seattle, 1994
31-32. Wisconsin; Milwaukee, 1983-95
33. Wisconsin; Racine/Kenosha, 1987-88
[Box 10]
1. Regions; misc., 1978-86, n.d.
2-3. Region I, 1979, 1984-95
4. Region II, 1979, 1984-95
5. Region III, 1984, 1990-95
6. Region V, 1986-95
7-8. Region VI, 1985-94
9. Region VII, 1990
10. Region VIII, 1986
11. Region X, 1994
12. Retirees Committee, 1991
13-23. Women's Committee, 1980, 1982-90, 1992-94
Series V
Organizations, 1981-1995
Boxes 10-11
[Box 10]
24. A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1985-91
25. AFL-CIO, 1994-95
26. African-American Heritage Memorial Museum, 1990
27. African-American Labor Center, 1988-89, 1992
28-30. Africare, 1985-92, 1994
31-33. Black Leadership Forum (Roundtable), 1983-90, 1992-94
34. Charles A. Hayes Labor, Cultural and Community Center and CBTU Black Labor Hall of Fame, 1984-89
[Box 11]
1. Citizens Commission on Justice at Samsons and Delila, 1989-90
2-3. Constituency for Africa, 1992-95
4. Florida Committee for Fair Representation, 1991
5. Free South Africa Movement, 1984-86
6. Free South Africa Movement; stamps, 1986
7. ICWU Center for Worker Health and Safety Education, 1994-95
8. Joint Center for Political Studies, 1984-88
9. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, 1985-88
10-11. NAACP, 1983-94
12. National Association of Black Organizations (NABO), 1990, 1992-93
13. National Baptist Convention/Labor Roundtable, 1995
14. National Black Caucus of State Legislators, 1988-95
15-18. National Coalition on Black Voter Participation, 1982,
1984-92, 1995
19-20. Southern Africa Project, 1981-94
21. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), 1988-95
22. Southern Organizing Committee, 1992-93
23-24. TransAfrica, 1983-87, 1989-92, 1995
Finding Aid end