Creating a Bond
Black Men In Unions Institute seeks solidarity with all workers
Eighteen years ago, fewer than two dozen black workers came together to talk about how to increase the number of African Americans in the leadership ranks of the U.S. labor movement.
They not only made great strides in their original goal, but also have created a unique institution that is helping to reshape organized labor itself.
On Feb. 20-23, some 800 union members, a majority of them UAW, will attend the 18th Annual Black Men in Unions Institute, now sponsored by the University of Michigan Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations.
At BMIU, workers continue to develop basic union skills such as grievance handling, collective bargaining and parliamentary procedure, but they also study a broader range of subjects such as conflict resolution, male-female relationships and African Americans in labor history.
The BMIU conference now includes black women, as well as white and Latino men and women union members.
Conference coordinator Maurice “Skip” Turner, a former UAW Local 1200 president, explains what has made BMIU a huge success.
“We all come from different perspectives of the workplace and society. It is the sharing and learning, laughing and crying over our common experiences that creates the bond that equips us to collectively address the issues facing us in our workplaces and communities,” Turner said.
“Being a link in the social fabric of solidarity with all workers is what really creates the strength of today’s labor movement and what makes BMIU unique.”
The Black Men in Unions Institute takes place Feb. 20-23 at the Marriott Hotel at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti, Mich. Registration costs $425; call 734-764-0492.
