This month our country and our Labor Movement celebrate Black History Month, a time to celebrate the leadership, ideas, and actions taken by Black Americans who have contributed to the greater good of American labor. Our Union is strongest when we are united, and so we rededicate ourselves to stand together for equality for all people and against racism and division.
The Black community has been an integral part of the American labor movement. Even before the Civil War, Black Americans participated in labor actions, including a strike by Black caulkers at the Washington Navy Yard in 1835.
Black workers have been a fundamental part of our Teamsters Union, taking an active role in every aspect of our organization. Black team drivers attended the first Teamster Convention in 1903 and while other Unions supported segregation, the Teamsters called for “no color line” in our organization and actively organized black men and women. Our Union also supported the civil rights movement with thousands of Teamsters marching and organizing against discrimination.
Our movement today continues to unite our diverse working class, regardless of race, gender, or place of origin, to improve the lives of all workers. No matter who you pray to or where you come from, we all deserve a fair wage, good benefits, and the freedom that comes with a Union contract.
As civil rights and labor leader A. Philip Randolph said, “A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.”
So this Black History Month, and every month, let’s commit to standing together as Teamsters for the betterment of all workers!
In Solidarity,
Jason Rabinowitz
Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters Local 2010
Catherine Cobb
President
Teamsters Local 2010