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Puerto Rican Migration to the US
A 1962 article from Memphis World titled “Union policies restrict minority earning.”

A 1962 article from Memphis World titled “Union policies restrict minority earning.”

Transcript:

Union Policies Said To Restrict Minority Earning

NEW YORK

—The International Ladies Garment Workers Union came in for some strong criticism of its practices involving Negro and Puerto Rican members in testimony here this week before a sub- committee of the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Herbert Hill, NAACP labor secretary, declared in his statement to the subcommittee: "There are virtually no Negro and Puerto Rican members in the locals that control access to the well paid jobs where there is a high degree of job stability," he said. He said that for all practical purposes, locals such as 10, 60 and 89 are "lily white" while Negro and Puerto Rican workers are "limited to membership in Local 22 and in the unit known as 60A," which he called "the Jim Crow auxiliary of Local 80."

BEST IN INDUSTRY

The average hourly wage in jobs within Local 60's jurisdiction pressers) is $5.00 an hour, Mr. Hill said. Local 60 has an all white membership, and its jobs are the best in New York City's garment industry.

"On the other hand," he added, "there is 60A which is simply a unit of Local 60. This is almost entirely Negro and Puerto Rican. They work as shipping clerks, push bays and delivery man. They earn in the vicinity of $50.00 per week." ILGWU contracts provide for but a small amount above the bare minimum required by law "in the locals where there is a major concentration of non white workers,' Hill's statement declared.

Typical jobs in these categories are floor girls, shipping clerks, trimmers and sewing machine operators in the low priced dress field and in the miscellaneous locals.

Mr. Kill concluded that the IL GWU leadership has simply refused to adjust to the fact that non- whites make up an increasingly large part of New York's population –with heavy concentration in the lower income categories, the bulk of the union's constituency.

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Citation Information
“Memphis World: Union Policies Said To Restrict Minority Earning,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/24ef45c4e81141680fa6098d4b80ac01.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of Rhodes College Crossroads to Freedom via Tennessee Digital Library.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
  • the author's purpose
  • historical context
  • audience

Item 9 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Puerto Rican Migration to the US

Previous ItemNext Item
A map of Puerto Rico, including graphics about agriculture and economy, from World Geo-Graphic Atlas, 1953.
An airline map of the United States and Puerto Rico showing principal non-stop routes, 1965.
A photograph of Luis Muñoz Marín, governor of Puerto Rico from 1949 to 1965, speaking at the Governors Conference in San Juan, 1959.
A report titled Puerto Rican Farm Workers in Florida, published by the US Department of Labor in 1954.
A statement, “The Puerto Rican Farm Labor Program,” delivered by Clarence Senior before the National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor, 1959.
A photograph of Puerto Rican girls, New York City, 1950s-1960s.
Excerpts from a 1956 report by the New York City Board of Education, “Who are the Puerto Rican pupils in the New York City public schools?”.
A 1964 article from Memphis World titled “Number of Non-Whites in NYC Colleges Told.”
A 1962 article from Memphis World titled “Union policies restrict minority earning.”
A postcard from 1986 depicting Lolita Lebrón escorted from the US Capitol after opening fire from the House of Representatives gallery.
A poster of “Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican Freedom Fighter” by Marcos Dimas, 1971.
A photograph of the actress Rita Moreno performing “America” in the 1961 film production of West Side Story.
A set of timbales belonging to Tito Puente, a Puerto Rican musician from New York City who popularized Latin jazz, mambo, and salsa, 1990s.
A photograph of Tito Puente and Felipe Luciano, ca. 1970s.
An article celebrating the achievements of Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente, May 28, 1960.

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