By Dom Shannon\People’s World
Photos: People’s World\YouTube Screenshots
ORLANDO—When Big Business and far-right politicians wage war on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), workers need more than vague assurances from corporations—they need enforceable protections codified in federal law and in collective bargaining agreements. That’s why labor leaders at the 54th Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) International Convention made it clear that DEI must be cemented into union contracts in the first place.
“Black excellence is not a fluke…it’s inseparable from the greatness that we say this country is!” declared Rev. Terry L. Melvin, President of CBTU, setting the tone for a convention centered on defending Black workers from the fascistic attacks on the labor movement and, in doing so, defending the rights of all workers, regardless of race, in the United States.
The stakes couldn’t be higher, said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, who drew a direct line between today’s battles and the Civil Rights Movement. “There’s a reason in the 1960s and 70s, the Civil Rights Movement and labor movement came together. It was because we knew being divided did not serve us.”
She warned that the Trump administration’s efforts to erase Black history and dismantle DEI initiatives are a push to revive “the days of hatred and division.” Building unity between the labor movement and the civil rights movement was repeatedly stressed all weekend.
Why union contracts matter
For Black workers, the assault on DEI isn’t something abstract—it’s direct economic sabotage and creates an even more unequal division of society, allowing bosses to more thoroughly exploit all workers. Everett Kelley, President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), put it bluntly: “Black workers are being targeted; plain and simple.”
Federal jobs, long a gateway to higher living standards for Black Americans, are under siege. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Black workers make up 18% of the federal workforce—5% higher than their share of the U.S. population—making attacks on these jobs disproportionately impact Black workers. When you factor in the Postal Workers, nearly 30% of these workers are Black. And, every day the attacks on the federal workforce continue, the days when the entire union movement and all workers come under attack grow closer…. READ MORE…
