University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change
Publication Date
Spring 2024
Document Type
Article
First Page
71
Abstract
Since the 1970s, the Labor Movement has been debilitated by a dramatic decline in union membership. However, in recent years, public approval of unions and unionization rates have increased, indicating the potential for Labor’s resurgence. Ironically, the same demographic of workers that unions have historically excluded are the workers leading these unionization efforts. Labor statistics illustrate that Black and brown workers are predominantly responsible for the current dynamism in the Labor Movement. To capitalize on this resurgence and lead the Labor Movement into the future, this Comment urges Labor to prioritize mobilizing workers of color.
With respect to this charge, this Comment argues that reckoning with the Labor Movement’s history of racial discrimination is central to mobilizing Black and brown workers. Presently, millions of Black and brown people, who are disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system, face barriers to employment because of their criminal records. A case study of Local 542 of the International Union of Operating Engineers reveals circumstantial evidence that Labor played a role—whether intentional or not—in the rise of criminal record exclusion laws. Through reckoning with this history, this Comment urges Labor to advocate against criminal record discrimination, which will pull in the workers that have demonstrated their interest in unionization: Black and brown people.
Repository Citation
Ty
Parks,
Unions, Black Worker, and Criminal Records: Reckoning with the Labor Movement's History of Racial Discrimination Should Lead It into the Future,
27
U. Pa. J.L. & Soc. Change
71
().
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jlasc/vol27/iss2/2