I have worked with Jobs with Justice (JwJ) for several years and recently attended their class “Building Unity between Brown and Black.” What a disappointment! There were segregated breakout sessions — “Black, Brown in the Workplace,” “Black, Brown on Housing Issues” and “White Ally.” I commented that this was very divisive and patronizing. The leader’s response was that JwJ was “trying something different.” Racial segregation isn’t so “different” in America!

In the “white ally” session, I said I wasn’t comfortable with the separation. We’re all in the working class and need to fight racism together, especially in the unions! This emboldened some others to voice their concerns about this term. The facilitator argued that “white allies” couldn’t lead any anti-racist struggles, and should essentially be a cheerleader on the sidelines.

At lunch, two women union organizers for United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400 (one black and one Latina) told of how they helped workers win the union election at the Smithfield Ham Plant in Tarheel, NC. Last year Immigration, Customs and Enforcement raided the plant for immigrant workers. Five hundred Smithfield workers of all ethnic groups protested this deportation raid! I asked the organizers how they showed workers that solidarity was in their best interest. They canvassed union workers from Richmond, VA, down to Tarheel, NC, and many workers sent letters of support. Smithfield workers realized they were part of a larger group and gained strength from it.

A “white ally” in the audience asked the organizers about the role of “white allies” in the union struggle. They were baffled by the question and didn’t know how to respond. I spoke up and said that in union organizing, you don’t have white workers on the sidelines. One of the organizers explained that workers need to work together to achieve their goals. Afterwards, I thanked the union organizers for their presentation, and when I told them I had to get back to my “white ally” breakout group, they looked at me in disbelief. I told them about the John Brown/Harriet Tubman March in Harpers Ferry planned for October, and that we wanted to organize unions to go. They told me to keep in touch with them.

Later, I discussed the JwJ conference with two fellow union members who meet with me regularly to discuss CHALLENGE. Both agreed the “white ally” strategy made no sense. One said, “How can white workers fight racism by only talking to whites?” Both said it was important to have multiracial unity among workers to win anything from the bosses. I explained that when PLP talks with workers, we always try to go as an integrated group.

Apparently JwJ thinks that “black and brown” workers won’t be able to play a leading role in the struggle if there are any white workers involved. That notion itself strikes me as “white supremacist” thinking! Black and brown workers have often led class struggle, and white workers unified with them give the working class the greatest punch against the bosses.

D.C. Red