One of the big sticking points in the 1955 merger of the A.F.L. and C.l.O.
was building-trade union discrimination against Negroes. Last week the civil rights question still divided labor's leadership. Walter Reuther, who had quit the A.F.L.-C.l.O. executive council over this and other issues and may ultimately lead his 1.5 million-member United Auto Workers out of the federation, told the Congressional Joint Economic Committee that craft union leaders were "hiding behind pious declarations on paper." His "greatest disappointment since the merger," said Reuther, "has been the failure of the labor movement to solve the problem of minority groups in the...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
