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~Grj(C Chandler Davidson • Professor Emeritus of Sociology

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~Grj(C Chandler Davidson • Professor Emeritus of Sociology RICE UNIVERSITY Sunbelt Civil Rights: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Fort Worth Aircraft Industry, 1940-1980 by Joseph A. Abel A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE Doctor of Philosophy APPROVED, THESIS COMMITIEE: ~::------.. -... ---.. -•.... Associate Professor of History, Florida International University pJerc:caldwell~f"~ ~GrJ(C Chandler Davidson • Professor Emeritus of Sociology HOUSTON, TEXAS MAY 2011 ABSTRACT Sunbelt Civil Rights: Race, Labor, and Politics in the Aircraft Manufacturing Industry of Texas, 1940-1980 by Joseph Abel This dissertation critically engages the growing literature on the "long" civil rights movement and the African American struggle for equal employment. Focusing on the Fort Worth plants of General Dynamics and its local competitors, this study argues that the federal government's commitment to fair employment can best be understood by examining its attempts to oversee the racial practices of southern defense contractors both prior to and after passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. From World War II onward, the aircraft factories of north Texas became testing grounds for federal civil rights reform as a variety of non-statutory executive agencies attempted to root out employment discrimination. However, although they raised awareness about the problem, these early efforts yielded few results. Because the agencies involved refused to utilize their punitive authority or counter the industry's unstable demand for labor through rational economic planning, workplace inequality continued to be the norm. Ultimately, federal policymakers' reluctance to reform the underlying structural causes of employment discrimination among southern defense contractors set a precedent that has continued to hinder African American economic advancement. This dissertation also reevaluates assumptions regarding southern unions and the response of white workers to the civil rights movement. Just as the economic relationship between the federal government and defense contractors gave rise to early mandates on fair employment, the unstable demand for labor and adversarial management style of the Fort Worth aircraft manufacturers nurtured a form of unionism unique within the South for its moderate treatment of African Americans. Long before most labor organizations in the region resigned themselves to similar philosophies, the local aircraft workers' unions adopted a pragmatic approach toward racial questions based largely on their need to counter managerial abuses and provide job security. Whatever their personal prejudices may have been, local white labor leaders nevertheless protected the economic rights of African Americans through forceful shopfloor representation and the negotiation of inclusionary contracts. By demanding a workplace in which management's actions were constrained by a set of fairly negotiated contractual rules, Fort Worth's aircraft unions struck an important if unintended blow against the arbitrariness of employment discrimination. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those who have assisted me in the completion of this dissertation. My thanks begin with those who made the research possible. During the many months I spent at the University of Texas at Arlington, the staff and student workers in the Special Collections department were always extremely helpful and efficient. I especially want to acknowledge labor archivist Claire Galloway for her invaluable assistance-besides guiding me toward many new sources, she has also expanded the library's labor holdings and given me many ideas for future projects. At the National Archives' Fort Worth regional office, Barbara Rust helped me navigate through the maze of dockets and paperwork needed to track down court cases. I also wish to extend my appreciation to the archivists and staff at the Southern Labor Archives in Atlanta; the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs in Detroit; the Clerk's office of the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth; the Genealogy, History, and Archives Unit of the Fort Worth Public Library; the Center for American History in Austin; and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin. I have had the good fortune to work closely with a number of dedicated scholars while preparing this dissertation and navigating the channels of graduate school. First and foremost, I thank my doctoral advisors John Boles and Alex Lichtenstein. This dissertation would not have been possible without their encouragement, patience, and expert advice in the face of what often seemed like insurmountable obstacles. It has been my extreme good fortune to know both them and I look forward to seeking their counsel as colleagues in the future. I would also like to thank the other members of my doctoral committee. Peter Caldwell has always challenged me to think in new ways and his v careful insightful comments on this and other projects have made me a much better historian. Chandler Davidson taught me a great deal about the intersections between Texas political history and race and has influenced many of the ideas in this study. I also want to acknowledge David Vaught, my master's thesis advisor, for introducing me to the study of labor history and serving as a trusted mentor throughout my intellectual development. Finally, I thank George Green of the University of Texas at Arlington for his willingness to spare time to talk about my research and introduce me to some of the many individuals he knows in the Texas labor movement. Outside of academia, my research has also introduced me to a number of individuals in Fort Worth's labor community without whose assistance the project would have been impossible. I must first begin by acknowledging the officers and staff of both lAM District 776 and UAW Local 218. These dedicated men and women were always willing to open the doors of their union halls and in so doing demonstrated exactly what makes the American labor movement great. I especially want to thank the members of District 776's retiree club for the good food and conversation that they shared with me on more than one occasion. I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge those whose interviews have done so much to enliven this dissertation. Norris Chambers, Bob Jones, and Tommy Daves all expanded my understanding of life in the aircraft manufacturing industry in different ways. Steve Williams welcomed me into his home and provided a wealth of knowledge about his time as an international union representative. Finally, former District 776 president O. D. Wright proved to be one of the most helpful individuals that I met throughout the entire project. I thank him not only for the great deal of time he spent recounting to me his memories of the Fort Worth labor movement, VI but also for the introductions he provided to numerous other past and present labor activists. My most significant personal debts are to friends and family. My good friend Brian Neumann has always been a fount of goodwill whose friendship and expert advice have helped sustain me. My in-laws, Roger and Dolores Foulke, welcomed me into their home during my frequent research trips to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and have always shown a great deal of support for my work. My own parents, Mike and Tina Abel, have offered constant encouragement throughout all of the travails of both graduate school and life. Their pride in my accomplishments has been a constant source of strength and I cannot thank them enough. Finally, words cannot begin to describe the tremendous debt lowe to my wife. Long before I began this dissertation, Jen was there by my side encouraging me to follow my dreams even as she did the same herself. Her humor, patience, and love have been a constant inspiration throughout this long journey. I can only hope that I have enriched her life half as much as she has enriched mine. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Civil Rights and the Workplace in the Sunbelt South 1 CHAPTER ONE "A Satisfactory Adjustment Without Its Substance" Wartime Struggles for Fair Employment, 1941-1945 30 CHAPTER TWO "Equality Does Not Mean Discrimination­ Neither Does It Mean Preference" Organized Labor and Postwar Civil Rights, 1945-1954 93 CHAPTER THREE "This Operation By Itself Was Not Adequate" Equal Employment in the Military-Industrial Complex, 1953-1960 154 CHAPTER FOUR "Compulsion Is Not The Thing" Federal Contracts and the Ambiguity of Affirmative Action, 1961-1965 210 CHAPTER FIVE "We Are Determined That These People Get A Fair Shake" The Impact of Title VII, 1965-1980 266 EPILOGUE The Shortcomings ofEqual Employment 335 BIBLIOGRAPHY 346 1 INTRODUCTION CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE WORKPLACE IN THE SUNBELT SOUTH On April 17, 1942, the once peaceful skies over Fort Worth, Texas, reverberated with a prophetic sound. That morning, amid the waves and cheers of hundreds of eager spectators, a B-24 Liberator bomber roared down a runway built in a former cotton field and lifted off into the air. Taken by itself, there was nothing particularly unusual about this spectacle-after all, in a nation so recently thrust into world war, the sights and sounds of modem weaponry were becoming an ever-present reality. But to the assembled onlookers that day, this particular display of military strength was something different; for unlike other aircraft they had seen, the olive-hued bomber now circling above was homegrown. Manufactured in a new government-owned plant on the western outskirts of the city by local employees of the Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation (Convair), this airborne instrument of destruction was destined to become an engine of economic progress for the entire area. Over the next four decades the drone of propellers and the scream of jet engines would become familiar sounds to Fort Worth residents as federal defense contracts transformed this sleepy cow-town into one of the most important centers of military aircraft production in the nation.
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