‘There will be no Messiah Sent from New York or Elsewhere’: Organising Black Workers in the South During the Cold War

Abstract

When he gave the speech above, Arthur Osman had been the president of 'District 65', a labour union headquartered in New York City, for over 14 years. In the course of those 14 years, Osman turned a small union of Jewish dry goods salesmen with 70 members into a 17,000 member 'catch-all' union that organized everyone and everywhere it could. Throughout its history, Osman and the union's organizers tried to bring people into the union who, in their estimation, needed the union the most. That philosophy brought warehousemen, food processors, box nlakers, newsboys, store clerks, porters, couriers, pushboys, and other low-paid workers into the union. By joining District 65, these workers realized higher wages, job stability, and, in some cases, health insurance and other benefits in addition to finding what several described as 'self-respect' in being a part of a 'progressive' organization dedicated to changing the social and econolnic landscape.