In the 1940s, the Boilermakers' union, along with other unions, faced pressure to end their auxiliary lodge systems which segregated Black members into separate locals. It’s important to note that while not all unions were segregated in the 1940s, the majority were, mirroring wider society.
While union leaders like International Vice President Charles J. MacGowan and Local 72 Business Agent Thomas Ray denied any discrimination, both the Fair Employment Practices Committee and the California Supreme Court came to the opposite conclusion, ultimately demanding that the system be dismantled.
A pivotal case in the fight against the auxiliary system involved Joseph James, an African American Boilermaker working at Marinship in San Francisco. He sued both the International union and his employer, arguing that the auxiliary system was inherently discriminatory. His legal team was headed by Thurgood Marshall, who was then an attorney for the NAACP and would later become the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. In a landmark decision, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of James, declaring the auxiliary system to be discriminatory and unconstitutional. The court ordered the union to abolish the system.
Meanwhile, the FEPC, which had been established to ensure fair employment practices in wartime industries, also ordered Local 72 to end the auxiliary system. These double rulings highlighted the growing legal and political pressure on the Boilermakers' leadership to address the issue of racial equality within the union.
At the 1944 convention, MacGowan, who was preparing to succeed Joseph Franklin as the International President, used a letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sway the delegates to vote to end the system. In the letter, Roosevelt praised the Boilermakers for their contributions to the war effort and appealed to their sense of patriotism, urging them to support racial equality so that “every worker capable of serving his country... [could] serve regardless of creed, race, or national origin.” The letter had an impact, leading to changes in the auxiliary system.
In response, the 1944 convention passed a resolution that allowed auxiliary locals to elect their own delegates to union conventions and affiliate with local Metal Trades Councils. Previously, they had been dependent on their supervising white locals for representation. While auxiliary locals gained some autonomy, their meetings still had to be attended by the business agent of the supervising local. The precise nature of the relationship between supervising and auxiliary locals remained unclear, leaving much discretion to the International Executive Council.
MacGowan pushed for a voluntary approach to integration, predicting that the issue would resolve itself over time. In 1945, the IEC agreed to stop forming new auxiliary locals, to open all job classifications to Black workers and to equalize insurance benefits between Black and white members. Black members were also allowed to transfer between auxiliary locals.
Despite these reforms, voluntary integration did not lead to immediate change. By 1948, a few locals had integrated, but the majority remained segregated. The Boilermakers' transformation from a segregated organization to an integrated one was slow, reflecting the broader social and political struggles of the United States during this period.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s finally brought about a decisive shift. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed segregation and discrimination, effectively ending the auxiliary system for good. In the years that followed, the union made concerted efforts to integrate and encourage Black workers to participate fully in the union. Subsequently, they were elected to positions at every level, from local lodge officers to the International Executive Council.
The Boilermakers’ journey from a segregated union to an integrated one mirrored the nation's slow and often painful path toward racial equality. What began throughout the labor movement as a reluctant and gradual process eventually led to workers of all races participating fully and equally, reflecting the changing values of the union and of American society.
