Labor Union Blog

A. Philip Randolph

The economic downturn is hitting black workers especially hard, reminding us again that unions are still the best hope for people of color to gain social and economic justice.

Throughout Black History Month, which ends today, black union leaders have reminded us how that message sprung to life through the first AFL-CIO African American union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and its founder A. Philip Randolph.

Despite recent declines in African American union membership, the union still is the best bet for black workers. Today, African American union members earn 37 percent more than their nonunion counterparts and are far more likely to have health care coverage and secure pensions. (Click here to get a comparison of union and nonunion wages, health care and more.)