Prior to the Civil War, black workers were excluded from nearly every “white” labor union in the United States. During Reconstruction, the leaders of the newly formed National Labor Union (NLU), a confederation of many local labor unions, opened its doors to women and African Americans. At its Sept. 4, 1869 convention black delegates were seated at a national labor union convention for the first time.
William Sylvis, who headed the NLU, had been an effective organizer of iron molders, many of whom were Irish immigrants. He also worked to bring immigrant women into the NLU. Sylvis saw newly freed slaves as good candidates for unionization. The NLU did not defend Chinese workers, however, and supported restrictions on their immigration.
From: William H. Sylvis and the Search for Working Class Citizenship by David Montgomery in Labor Leaders in America edited by Melvin Dubofsky
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