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25 Lab. Stud. J. 3 (2000-2001)

handle is hein.journals/labstuj25 and id is 1 raw text is: Introduction Race and gender have been difficult issues for unions to address. His- torically, discriminatory views and practices have divided the House of Labor, creating tension among co-workers and union members. These divi- sions have led to confusion as to who our partners really are in building a broad movement for social justice and equality. Over time, the structure and culture of organized labor in the United States have gone through many transformations. Changes in production, demographics, national and global markets have periodically forced labor to examine and, in a sense, recreate itself. Successive waves of immigrants have continually changed the demographics and culture of working-class communities in this country. Slavery and other forms of oppression have carved inequality and racial discrimination into the institutional foundations of work and unions. In April 1999, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Indus- trial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the University and College Labor Edu- cation Association (UCLEA) held a conference in Atlanta to focus on issues of labor solidarity. Specifically, the conference addressed race, class, gender, and community, the roots of division and the strategies for inclusion. For decades, many leaders had advised against a conference designed specifi- cally to open and analyze the controversial and contradictory record of or- ganized labor around discrimination and exclusion. Some warned that the very people we want to include in this discussion would not attend. Others argued that it was not a priority labor issue. At this difficult time in our history, they argued, we should focus on what unites us, on our positive work and common agenda based on organizing, bargaining and politics. A new leadership at the helm of both organizations, however, sup- ported this initiative. In fact, they agreed that no issue is more important than labor solidarity; moreover, they recognized that only when labor has made a conscious effort to unite workers across differences have unions achieved the unity that translates into growth and power. The Conference was a milestone in open discussion, exchange of

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