As we prepare to celebrate Labor Day, it is appropriate to take a moment to reflect on the lives of black workers across the country. While the holiday is about honoring the American labor movement and the ways that workers of all colors and genders contribute to the well-being of the country, black workers have a very specific experience in the workforce and routinely encounter barriers and discrimination at the intersections of race, class, and gender.
According to a report released earlier this year by the Economic Policy Institute, black unemployment today is worse than it was 50 years ago, with 7.5 percent of blacks unemployed in 2017, compared to 6.7 percent in 1968. This number is twice the unemployment rate for white workers. And in many majority-black neighborhoods in cities across the country, the rates are much higher than the national average. In the Blue Hills and Ivanhoe neighborhoods of Kansas City, Missouri, the black unemployment rates are 17 and 26 percent respectively.
Sadly, the wage rate isn’t much better. Black workers on average make 82 cents on the dollar compared to white workers. This average doesn’t account for the black women working full-time jobs all year round who make roughly 63 cents for every dollar earned by white men. It’s also important to note that black women are overrepresented in the low-wage workforce. We comprise 10 percent of all low-wage earners, while making up only 6 percent of the workforce overall.
These facts and figures demonstrate the incredible need for economic and social justice for black workers. The National Black Worker Center Project is an organization dedicated to building the collective power of black workers. Not only is it focused on addressing the unemployment crisis among the black community, but it is also taking on the challenge of low-wage work. Here’s how they describe their work:
The National Black Worker Center Project (NBWCP) is a national network of Black worker centers. We empower Black workers to advance their rights and improve the quality of jobs in key employment sectors. The NBWCP provides education about the impacts of low-wage work and unemployment on Black communities.
Specifically, the organization convenes staff and members of black worker centers around the country to help them learn from one another, organize, and develop new skills. They also provide technical assistance to aid in the organizational development of affiliates and black worker centers.
The NBWCP has a national campaign called the Working While Black initiative. It is described as “lifting up the accomplishments, challenges, and the realities of Black work.” Currently there are four stories available in the Working While Black video series. Below is the first video, which features workers from OneDC, the Baltimore Black Worker Center, and the AFL-CIO.
You can access the rest of the stories by clicking here. And if you wish to donate, you can do so online through their donation page.
Happy Labor Day!