The Blame for Shame

One of Washington's quiet scandals is that few Negro construction craftsmen can get jobs in the nation's capital. Reason: most building contractors hire only union workers (a union shop is required on Government jobs), and many Washington building-trades locals have successfully barred Negroes. While the Hod Carriers and the Bricklayers have let down color bars, the two Carpenters' locals (5,000 members) have only half a dozen Negroes. The Rodmen's local (membership: 250) has six. The Painters (membership: 700) and the Plumbers (700) are proudly lily white. But by far the hardest nosed of all is the big (about 2,500 members), rich, inbred Local 26 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Every skilled, unionized electrician in Washington belongs to Local 26. And Local 26 admits no Negroes.

The story of Local 26 was split open last week by A.F.L.-C.I.O. President George Meany, whose Washington head quarters were built by all-white labor, and who now faces an insurrection in the ranks of his own restive Negro members (TIME, Feb. 22). Meany blasted the President's Committee on Government Contracts which tries to get employers to abide by the clause in Government contracts that forbids racial discrimination. A year ago, said Meany, he offered Labor Secretary James Mitchell a chance to help break the color bar on a big Washington urban-renewal project. The offer: if Mitchell, who is vice chairman of the President's Committee, would put pressure on the contractor, the Truland Electrical Contracting Co., Meany would put pressure on Local 26 by providing nonunion Negro electricians. Meany said he got no reply from Mitchell on the offer; Mitchell said he does not recall that Meany made the offer in the first place.

It would have had scant chance of success. I.B.E.W. Local 26 has defied all pleas, threats and cajolery. In 1957 the President's Committee, headed by Vice President Nixon, invited executives from 13 international and local building-trades unions to a meeting to discuss dropping the color bar; only three showed up. Then it called a separate huddle with the leaders of Local 26; none showed up. Later, Nixon personally wrote a note to I.B.E.W. International President Gordon Freeman, admonished him to crack down on Local 26. Freeman did not answer.

Since membership in highly skilled, highly paid (hourly wages: $4.10) Local 26 is virtually on a father-to-son basis, the old ways are easily preserved. Having such a union on his own doorstep is a source of never ending embarrassment to George Meany, who has labored long and well to eliminate segregation in unions. Last week he admitted that the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s Civil Rights Committee was stymied by Local 26. To spread the blame for the shame, Democrat Meany then elected to discredit the President's Committee, through whose good works Vice President Nixon has been rolling up quite a bit of popular support among Negro voters.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.