Welcome to the US Labor against Apartheid Archive!
This archive was created to present documents and still images at the Walter P. Reuther Library that focused on the role that labor organizations played in the support of anti-apartheid, labor activists in South Africa. The collections included for this purpose are the AFSCME Office of the Secretary-Treasurer: William Lucy Records and the UAW President's Office: Owen Bieber Records.
Apartheid was a system of institutional and legal racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa, lasting from 1948 until 1991. Broadly speaking, apartheid was delineated into petty apartheid, which entailed the segregation of public facilities and social events, and grand apartheid, which dictated housing and employment opportunities by race.
The role of US labor unions in the struggle against Apartheid is not only part of a global struggle for the rights of workers, but also one of self-interest, as cheap, unorganized labor in South Africa threatened the livelihoods of American workers. Labor Unions in the United States organized political action, lobbying Congressmen and Presidential departments, lecture tours, protests, and boycotts, all while coordinating with labor unions not only in South Africa proper, but across all of Southern Africa. In particular, these Unions also targeted US corporations which dealt directly with the South African regime, for example the Shell Oil boycott, when Shell was supplying oil and gas to the South African Army, which in turn was funneling it to Rhodesia, the rogue state with an apartheid system of its own which South Africa supported.
Further reading on this can be found at: ACOA (American Committee on Africa). 1970. “Apartheid and Imperialism: A Study of U.S. Corporate Involvement in South Africa.” Special issue, Africa Today 17, no. 5. Peter Cole’s work on maritime unions in the United States, and their efforts to aid South African unions, is also noteworthy: Peter Cole, “No Justice, No Ships Get Loaded: Political Boycotts on the Durban and San Francisco Bay Waterfronts,” International Review of Social History 58:2 (2013).
The United Auto Workers’ (UAW) union for example, under the leadership of its President Owen Bieber, took extensive action against the Apartheid regime. Through its UAW Governmental and International Affairs, which deals with the White House, cabinet-level departments, and other federal agencies, the UAW opposed apartheid in South Africa with such vigor that Nelson Mandela insisted on celebrating with Dearborn’s UAW Local 600 after his release from prison.
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/06/20/UAW-chief-in-Johannesburg-condemns-apartheid/7840677390400/
For its part, the AFSCME union, under leadership of its Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy, also worked extensively to organize workers against Apartheid. Their efforts eventually culminated in the freedom of Nelson Mandela. Lucy co-founded the Free South Africa Movement, a grassroots campaign that sparked widespread opposition to apartheid across the United States.
Featured Item
AFSCME announcement of Shell boycott
Bill Lucy and Gerald McEntee send a letter to AFCSME Leadership outlining their reasons for joining the boycott against Shell Oil with the AFL-CIO.
Featured Collection
Bill Lucy- AFCSME
William "Bill" Lucy was the Secretary-Treasurer for AFSCME from 1972-2010. The archival sources in this collection happen to be from 1980 to 1986.
Recently Added Items
News From the UAW
Owen Bieber addresses NUMSA in regards to the illigitimate arrest and eventual arrest of Moses Mayekiso
Letter From Don Stillman to Owen Bieber about the South Africa Trip
Detailed schedule of Owen Biebers meetings and appearances during his trip to south Africa from Don Stillman