IT’S A THIN LINE:
A TALE OF THE COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BLACKS AND THE TRADE UNIONS Trade unions are meant to provide support to their members, protecting the integrity of the trade and advocating for the best wages, benefits, and safety standards. But many African-American tradespeople have a complicated love-hate relationship with the unions that are supposed to be protecting their interests. Sprinkler fitter Michael Sullivan was the first Black elected officer of his local union. But he has felt the sting of discrimination from the union and the industry throughout his career. This is his story in his own words.
M
y journey began in 1983 as a young man trying to become a sprinkler fitter. After taking the exam, I learned that although I ranked in the upper 10% of the 1200 applicants, my test scores had been lost. I retook the test four years later and found out that they were terminating the list and that I would have to get in line again. By this point, I was fed up and reached out to
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Affirmative Action and The Urban League. Affirmative Action contacted the Sprinkler Fitters Union on my behalf and threatened to sue if I wasn’t admitted. I was eventually accepted into the Apprenticeship Program and started in June 1990. I later learned about another Mike Sullivan (a white man) who I suspect was given my spot. According to others, he wasn’t too bright.
