Labor Union Membership and Black Political Participation
Transcript Of Labor Union Membership and Black Political Participation
University of Massachusetts Amherst
[email protected] Amherst
Masters Theses
Dissertations and Theses
October 2017
Labor Union Membership and Black Political Participation
Tiamba Wilkerson University of Massachusetts Amherst
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2 Part of the Sociology Commons
Recommended Citation Wilkerson, Tiamba, "Labor Union Membership and Black Political Participation" (2017). Masters Theses. 591. https://doi.org/10.7275/10448272 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/591
This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at [email protected] Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of [email protected] Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]
LABOR UNION MEMBERSHIP AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
A Thesis Presented By
TIAMBA M. WILKERSON
Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of:
MASTERS OF ARTS
September 2017
Department of Sociology
LABOR UNION MEMBERSHIP AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
A Thesis Presented By
TIAMBA M. WILKERSON
Approved as to style and content by: _______________________________________________ Jasmine Kerrissey, Chair _______________________________________________ Dan Clawson, Member _______________________________________________ Moon-Kie Jung, Member
___________________________________________ Michelle J. Budig, Department Head Sociology
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to first thank my chair, Jasmine Kerrissey, whose help in developing and executing this project has been immeasurable. I would also like to send a special thank you to new Baby Kerrissey for waiting just a little while longer to give me time to defend. Many thanks to Moon-Kie Jung and Dan Clawson for their thoughtful feedback, support, and flexibility during this process. I would also like to thank the people who helped drag me kicking and screaming towards becoming a quantitative researcher: Rodrigo DominguezVillegas, Dr. David Cort, Hsin Fei Tu, Dan Cannity, and Aaron Foote. I truly appreciate all of your help with this project. I would not have been able to do this without you all. Thank you sincerely.
iii
ABSTRACT LABOR UNION MEMBERSHIP AND BLACK POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
SEPTEMBER 2017 TIAMBA M. WILKERSON, B.S., VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Jasmine Kerrissey
Despite the connection between labor status and citizenship in Black history, little scholarly consideration has been given to the specific role of labor organizations in Black political participation. This research examines the impact of labor union membership on Black political activity in the immediate post-Civil Rights period, and argues that, similarly to churches and voluntary associations such as the NAACP, labor unions are an important vehicle for political mobilization of the Black community. Results show that Black union members were significantly more likely than non-members to participate in a range of electoral and nonelectoral political activities, and to a greater degree, especially members with less education. Considering both demographic shifts in the labor movement and the recent upsurge in Black political activity vis a vis the Black Lives Matter movement, understanding the potential of labor unions as a site of political activism for the Black community---one that can address both political and economic issues---could be important to the growth and sustenance of both movements.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………iii
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………………..iv
LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………………………………vii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………...1
II. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………………….......4
A. Organizational Life and Black Political Participation…………………………….5 B. Unions and Political Participation………………………………………………………..7 C. Race, Unionism, and Political Activism…………………………………………………9
III. DATA AND METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………….13
A. Sample………………………………………………………………………………………………..13 B. Methods……………………………………………………………………………………………...14 C. Dependent Variables……………………………………………………………………………15 D. Independent Variables…………………………………………………………………………16
IV. RESULTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………….19
A. Descriptive Results………………………………………………………………………………19 B. Electoral Actions………………………………………………………………………………….19 C. Collective Actions…………………………………………………………………………………20 D. Organizational Participation………………………………………………………………...21 E. Union Effect by Income and Education………………………………………………….21 F. Degree of Political Participation…………………………………………………………....22
V. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………………….24
APPENDICES
A. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS BY UNION MEMBERSHIP…………………………………….…28
B. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: THE EFFECTS OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON ELECTORAL ACTIONS…………………………………………………….……………………………………………………...29
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C. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: THE EFFECTS OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON COLLECTIVE ACTIONS………………………………………………………………………………………………….………30 D. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: THE EFFECTS OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL PARTICIPATION……………………………………………………………….....31 E. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: INTERACTION OF UNION MEMBERSHIP WITH INCOME AND EDUCATION………………………………………………………………………………………………32 F. NEGATIVE BINOMIAL REGRESSION: THE EFFECT OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON TOTAL POLITICAL ACTIVITIES IN A YEAR……………………………………………...………….33 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………………………………34
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Page
1. Total Participation In A Year…………………………………………………………………..23
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In 1939, following a speech to Black cotton compress workers in Memphis, CIO organizer, Ed McCrea, notes, “All I talked about was what it meant to get organized, the only way workers could ever get a decent living or any kind of freedom…[you] didn’t have any trouble explaining this to blacks, with the kinds of oppression and conditions they had. It was a question of freedom” (Honey, 1993). What McCrea recognized among these workers was a profound awareness that their labor status was inextricably tied to their ability to access the rights of full citizenship in the United States. Indeed, it is in the history of African Americans where we see most keenly the recursive nature of race, labor and citizenship. Beginning with chattel slavery, enslaved Africans experienced the interlocking conditions of perpetual subjugated laborer and non-citizen (or, more egregiously, non-human), ineligible of the full rights and privileges reserved for white members of the newly found democracy. Later, in the century following emancipation, their descendants continued to face intense labor exploitation and oppressive working conditions; conditions that not only reflected their enduring social and political marginalization, but also often functioned to justify and perpetuate it. As a result, for many Black working people, the struggle for workplace rights could not be disconnected from the struggle for political rights. In spite of this link between labor status and citizenship for the Black community, little sociological consideration has been given to the significance of
1
labor to Black political life, particularly the role of labor organizations in Black political engagement. Labor studies research on political participation and labor unions tends to examine workers broadly, often treating race as a control variable. However, what role might labor organizations play in the civic lives of Black people specifically? While, historically, mainstream organized labor has had a tumultuous, and oftentimes downright hostile, relationship with the Black working class, shifts in union racial demographics over the last thirty to forty years have created a labor movement that is increasingly minority and female (Zullo, 2012). Also, despite the contentiousness, Black (and other minority group) workers overwhelmingly support labor unions and unionization compared to white workers (Chang, 2003; Defreitas, 1993; Kochan, 1979), and Black workers are more likely to be unionized that any other race of workers (BLS, 2017). Given these factors, labor scholars may want to give more serious consideration to the intersections of race and gender in the labor movement, especially as it relates to member politicization and mobilization.
On the other hand, most examinations of Black political participation have focused primarily on the role of the “Black church” or voluntary associations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Undoubtedly, these organizations have been essential to mobilizing the Black community politically, notably in regards to encouraging and facilitating electoral participation. However, research also points to the positive impact of labor unions on voting habits as well (Juravich & Shergold, 1988; Leighley & Nagler, 2007; Radcliff, 2001). So, like churches and voluntary political organizations, labor unions
2
[email protected] Amherst
Masters Theses
Dissertations and Theses
October 2017
Labor Union Membership and Black Political Participation
Tiamba Wilkerson University of Massachusetts Amherst
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2 Part of the Sociology Commons
Recommended Citation Wilkerson, Tiamba, "Labor Union Membership and Black Political Participation" (2017). Masters Theses. 591. https://doi.org/10.7275/10448272 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/591
This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at [email protected] Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of [email protected] Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]
LABOR UNION MEMBERSHIP AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
A Thesis Presented By
TIAMBA M. WILKERSON
Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of:
MASTERS OF ARTS
September 2017
Department of Sociology
LABOR UNION MEMBERSHIP AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
A Thesis Presented By
TIAMBA M. WILKERSON
Approved as to style and content by: _______________________________________________ Jasmine Kerrissey, Chair _______________________________________________ Dan Clawson, Member _______________________________________________ Moon-Kie Jung, Member
___________________________________________ Michelle J. Budig, Department Head Sociology
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to first thank my chair, Jasmine Kerrissey, whose help in developing and executing this project has been immeasurable. I would also like to send a special thank you to new Baby Kerrissey for waiting just a little while longer to give me time to defend. Many thanks to Moon-Kie Jung and Dan Clawson for their thoughtful feedback, support, and flexibility during this process. I would also like to thank the people who helped drag me kicking and screaming towards becoming a quantitative researcher: Rodrigo DominguezVillegas, Dr. David Cort, Hsin Fei Tu, Dan Cannity, and Aaron Foote. I truly appreciate all of your help with this project. I would not have been able to do this without you all. Thank you sincerely.
iii
ABSTRACT LABOR UNION MEMBERSHIP AND BLACK POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
SEPTEMBER 2017 TIAMBA M. WILKERSON, B.S., VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Jasmine Kerrissey
Despite the connection between labor status and citizenship in Black history, little scholarly consideration has been given to the specific role of labor organizations in Black political participation. This research examines the impact of labor union membership on Black political activity in the immediate post-Civil Rights period, and argues that, similarly to churches and voluntary associations such as the NAACP, labor unions are an important vehicle for political mobilization of the Black community. Results show that Black union members were significantly more likely than non-members to participate in a range of electoral and nonelectoral political activities, and to a greater degree, especially members with less education. Considering both demographic shifts in the labor movement and the recent upsurge in Black political activity vis a vis the Black Lives Matter movement, understanding the potential of labor unions as a site of political activism for the Black community---one that can address both political and economic issues---could be important to the growth and sustenance of both movements.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………iii
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………………..iv
LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………………………………vii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………...1
II. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………………….......4
A. Organizational Life and Black Political Participation…………………………….5 B. Unions and Political Participation………………………………………………………..7 C. Race, Unionism, and Political Activism…………………………………………………9
III. DATA AND METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………….13
A. Sample………………………………………………………………………………………………..13 B. Methods……………………………………………………………………………………………...14 C. Dependent Variables……………………………………………………………………………15 D. Independent Variables…………………………………………………………………………16
IV. RESULTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………….19
A. Descriptive Results………………………………………………………………………………19 B. Electoral Actions………………………………………………………………………………….19 C. Collective Actions…………………………………………………………………………………20 D. Organizational Participation………………………………………………………………...21 E. Union Effect by Income and Education………………………………………………….21 F. Degree of Political Participation…………………………………………………………....22
V. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………………….24
APPENDICES
A. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS BY UNION MEMBERSHIP…………………………………….…28
B. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: THE EFFECTS OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON ELECTORAL ACTIONS…………………………………………………….……………………………………………………...29
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C. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: THE EFFECTS OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON COLLECTIVE ACTIONS………………………………………………………………………………………………….………30 D. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: THE EFFECTS OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL PARTICIPATION……………………………………………………………….....31 E. LOGISTIC REGRESSION: INTERACTION OF UNION MEMBERSHIP WITH INCOME AND EDUCATION………………………………………………………………………………………………32 F. NEGATIVE BINOMIAL REGRESSION: THE EFFECT OF UNION MEMBERSHIP ON TOTAL POLITICAL ACTIVITIES IN A YEAR……………………………………………...………….33 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………………………………34
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
Page
1. Total Participation In A Year…………………………………………………………………..23
vii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In 1939, following a speech to Black cotton compress workers in Memphis, CIO organizer, Ed McCrea, notes, “All I talked about was what it meant to get organized, the only way workers could ever get a decent living or any kind of freedom…[you] didn’t have any trouble explaining this to blacks, with the kinds of oppression and conditions they had. It was a question of freedom” (Honey, 1993). What McCrea recognized among these workers was a profound awareness that their labor status was inextricably tied to their ability to access the rights of full citizenship in the United States. Indeed, it is in the history of African Americans where we see most keenly the recursive nature of race, labor and citizenship. Beginning with chattel slavery, enslaved Africans experienced the interlocking conditions of perpetual subjugated laborer and non-citizen (or, more egregiously, non-human), ineligible of the full rights and privileges reserved for white members of the newly found democracy. Later, in the century following emancipation, their descendants continued to face intense labor exploitation and oppressive working conditions; conditions that not only reflected their enduring social and political marginalization, but also often functioned to justify and perpetuate it. As a result, for many Black working people, the struggle for workplace rights could not be disconnected from the struggle for political rights. In spite of this link between labor status and citizenship for the Black community, little sociological consideration has been given to the significance of
1
labor to Black political life, particularly the role of labor organizations in Black political engagement. Labor studies research on political participation and labor unions tends to examine workers broadly, often treating race as a control variable. However, what role might labor organizations play in the civic lives of Black people specifically? While, historically, mainstream organized labor has had a tumultuous, and oftentimes downright hostile, relationship with the Black working class, shifts in union racial demographics over the last thirty to forty years have created a labor movement that is increasingly minority and female (Zullo, 2012). Also, despite the contentiousness, Black (and other minority group) workers overwhelmingly support labor unions and unionization compared to white workers (Chang, 2003; Defreitas, 1993; Kochan, 1979), and Black workers are more likely to be unionized that any other race of workers (BLS, 2017). Given these factors, labor scholars may want to give more serious consideration to the intersections of race and gender in the labor movement, especially as it relates to member politicization and mobilization.
On the other hand, most examinations of Black political participation have focused primarily on the role of the “Black church” or voluntary associations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Undoubtedly, these organizations have been essential to mobilizing the Black community politically, notably in regards to encouraging and facilitating electoral participation. However, research also points to the positive impact of labor unions on voting habits as well (Juravich & Shergold, 1988; Leighley & Nagler, 2007; Radcliff, 2001). So, like churches and voluntary political organizations, labor unions
2