IAM Union Values Embody Black History Month

As Black History Month 2026 begins, the IAM is celebrating labor's legacy of uplifting African American workers. Unions have a long history of fighting for the rights of the Black working-class, like slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglas who was appointed president of the Colored National Labor Union in 1872, to A. Philip Randolph who organized and lead the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in the 1920s, to the IAM and its welcoming of African American members a decade before the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.

"It's mind-boggling to learn about the tremendous history that links labor activism with the upward economic mobility of the Black Americans," said IAM Union International President Brian Bryant. "Our union has been at the forefront of civil rights and Black History Month is a great time to share our union's story."

By 1944, the IAM openly discussed integrating its ranks by admitting African American workers. That year, IAM District 727, which represented 35,000 workers at Lockheed in southern California, sent an open letter to locals encouraging diversity.

Six years later, Roman Mayfield, a World War II veteran, became one of the first African Americans to join the union as a production worker at Boeing in Seattle. Mayfield, who was hired at the plant in 1946, wasn't initially allowed to become a member due to the lodge's policy of not admitting Black members. But he remained undeterred and regularly attended union meetings. His persistence paid off in 1950 when the IAM finally recognized minorities after accepting his membership. Mayfield's story served as a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change as Boeing would go on to hire thousands of Black workers over several decades, many of whom would become IAM members.

Additional highlights in IAM/African American history include:

1. Former IAM president Al Hayes greets Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in New York City in 1962.
2. Predominantly African-American IAM lodges are chartered in the 1960s, like Local 14 in Washington, D.C. and Local 2013 in Richmond, Va.
3. With the assistance of African American union representative Herb Ward, the IAM helps rebuild the predominantly Black community of Watts, Calif., in 1965 after a week of violent riots.
4. The IAM negotiates major contracts in the 1970s at sites like General Dynamics in Fort Worth, TX where 14,000 production workers at District 776, many of whom are Black, agree to lucrative contract offer.
5. Robert Roach, Jr. is appointed as the first African-American General Vice President in 1999, followed by Diane Babineaux in 2013, who became the first Black woman to serve as General Vice President.

The IAM continues to partner with cultural constituency groups in labor by maintaining a large membership base in the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and the A. Philip Randolph Institute, two organizations that have a long history of advancing black economic fairness and racial justice on the job.

"The IAM has a proud track record of promoting diversity and representing African American workers," said IAM Human Rights Director Nicole Fears. "We will continue that mission and the union plans to be a voice for a Black labor agenda far into the future."