Black Workers for Justice

Last updated
Black Workers for Justice
Formation1981;44 years ago (1981)
Region
United States
Website bwfj.org

Black Workers for Justice (BWFJ) is an organization of Black workers that promotes social democracy, economic justice, social justice, and racial equality within the United States. [1] BWFJ has worked closely with United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). [2] [3]

Contents

History

In 1981, Black workers in North Carolina organized to boycott a K-Mart in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, [1] where the all-White management had fired a Black employee. [4] The first meeting in that campaign drew 400 people. [4] The BWFJ was formally created on December 11, 1982. [4]

In 1985, BWFJ created the Black Workers Unity Movement (BWUM) to attempt to expand beyond North Carolina. [3] In 1996, BWFJ participated in the creation of the modern Labor Party. [5] In 1998, BWFJ participated in the Black Radical Congress founding convention. [3]

Organizing

In 1990, BWFJ helped organize the 1600 workers of Cummins Engine in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. [2] In 2006, BWFJ helped City of Raleigh Solid Waste Division employees unionize. [6] In 2008, BWFJ helped 50 Smithfield Packing slaughterhouse employees in Tar Heel, North Carolina unionize. [6] In 2022, BWFJ helped 4000 Amazon fulfillment center employees in Garner, North Carolina to form Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), a step toward unionization. [6]

In 1991, after the Hamlet chicken processing plant fire, BWFJ members repeatedly spoke for justice at community meetings. [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "About Us". Black Workers For Justice. 2 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 Elk, Mike (September 20, 2022). "Rest in Power: Saladin Muhammad, Founder of Black Workers for Justice & UE Veteran, Dies". Payday Report.
  3. 1 2 3 Muhammad, Saladin (December 2002). "Black Workers for Justice, Twenty Years of Struggle". Against the Current.
  4. 1 2 3 Dillahunt-Holloway, Ajamu Amiri (2023). Black Workers Take the Lead : The Southern Freedom Movement and the Building of Black Workers for Justice, 1981-1988 (Thesis). Michigan State University.
  5. ↑ La Botz, Dan (August 1996). "Founding the Labor Party". No. 63 (July/August 1996). Against the Current.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gordon, Brian (February 28, 2023). "Black workers fueled the NC labor movement's past — and are guiding its future". News Observer.
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