Unionization

Fairbanks Morse was an engine manufacturing company that was predominantly owned, managed, and supervised by Beloit elites. The company usually paid Black workers significantly less than white workers and prevented them from moving up in the company. When discussing a promotion Lorenzo Grady said,  “...that’ll just show the prejudice that they had against the colored men. I said, ‘If I had been a white man I would’ve had the job a long time before,’ but I didn’t. I didn’t get it” (Lorenzo Grady Interview, 1976).

Fairbanks Morse had a policy that prevented outside unions from entering the company and Fairbanks fired any individuals who supported unions. One person in particular, Ben Gordon, was aware of the discrimination involved in hiring and firing Black workers at Fairbanks, since he himself had been unfairly fired prior to the union (Book of Beloit 1986). 

However, Fairbanks policy on unionization was disrupted when the US entered World War II. Fairbanks took on many government contracts which had stipulations that Fairbanks could not discriminate on those jobs. This opened the way for unionization in the late 1930s with the creation of the United Steelworkers Union. However many Black workers were hesitant to join the union because they were scared of losing their job. 

Downtown businesses supported the union as it helped increase workers wages which would boost the local economy. Additionally, the union brought concerns about the health hazards of the brass foundry, resulting in Fairbanks finally constructing a new brass foundry in 1941. The union had a significant impact on its Black workers, to the point where Lorenzo Grady commented “every man was treated the same, according to your job, see. Now the white man wouldn’t get any more money on his job than you would. See, if you was doing the same job that the white man was doing you get the same money. Before the Union you got less money than the white man got” (Lorenzo Grady Interview, 1976).