Minneapolis Spokesman

Bomb, Bigs & A.F.L.

It was probably inevitable that attempts would be made to discriminate against Negro workers applying for employment at the Savannah River hydrogen bomb plant near Aiken, S. C.
Skilled workers for the project are being supplied by an American Federation of Labor hiring hall in Augusta from various craft unions, many of them notoriously discriminatory.
The DuPont Company, which is the general contractor, cannot hire any workers without the recommendation of the AFL union which is hiring labor, and it seems evident that the union is not recommending any Negroes for employment no matter how skilled they may be.
If this old run-around policy is continued, it will mean that the only jobs Negroes will be able to get will be those of a menial kind.
The NAACP, which is of course interested in this matter, talks of taking the case to court "to let the judge tell the unions how they must operate."
Unfortunately, the record of the courts in such matters fails to inspire confidence that anything concrete will be directed to rectify this evil.
Obviously this is a case in which the Federal Government should immediately intervene.
Not only is the bomb plant being built under the Federal supervision but the taxpayers of the United States, colored and white, are paying for it through taxes.
A strong directive from President Truman, who has constantly professed his fervent affection for fair employment practices, would go a long way toward remedying this situation on the latest bomb project.
What is needed now is a strong FEPC, especially on all war contracts of which this is an outstanding example.
A Federal Fair Employment Practices Law requires the assent of Congress, but the President does not have to wait for that he can issue an Executive Order with plenty of teeth, if he wants to, tomorrow.
We might also add that even speedier action could be obtained if the American Federation of Labor with its tremendous power over its unions would itself take steps to stop this discrimination.
Negroes today are far less interested in words than they are in action.
If the AFL is not a jim-crow outfit, as often alleged, here is its chance to prove it.—Pittsburgh Courier