Descripton
In this official letter to the editor of New America magazine, Robert A. Turner, President of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), sharply attacks Bayard Rustin's column regarding non-union construction. Turner rejects Rustin's characterization of merit shops as a "sneak attack" on Black workers, calling Rustin's arguments confused, absurd, and factually incorrect. He defends the merit shop system—where union and non-union contractors work side by side—arguing that employers set wages and working conditions based on individual merit and open competition rather than through union collective bargaining.
Turner argues that traditional construction unions had historically locked minorities out of the trades, forcing groups like the NAACP and researchers like Herbert Hill to take unions to court for racial discrimination. He points to recent judicial rulings, such as a federal judge ordering a Philadelphia operating engineers local to hire minority workers, as proof that the union sector had to be forced by law to accept Black workers. Conversely, Turner claims that ABC member companies actively offered non-discriminatory job opportunities and on-the-job training, making the merit shop a much more welcoming and accessible route to employment for minority workers seeking steady work and individual advancement.
Historical Context
This letter represents the intense corporate pushback from non-union employers against the labor-civil rights alliance during the Carter administration. By the late 1970s, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) had grown into a massive national association representing over 14,000 contractors who championed the "open shop" model as a free-market alternative to powerful building trade unions. Recognizing the moral and political authority that veteran civil rights leaders like Bayard Rustin held among minority communities, corporate trade groups like ABC felt compelled to directly contest Rustin's public critiques in labor-liberal publications like New America.
In defending non-union labor, Turner strategically leveraged historical tensions between the Black community and traditional building trade unions. While Rustin and civil rights organizations fought to integrate the unionized trades so minority workers could enjoy high wages and pension protections, non-union contractors exploited past union discrimination to present themselves as champions of equal opportunity. This sharp exchange captured a major ideological divide over whether economic advancement for Black workers was best achieved through union solidarity or open-market corporate employment.
Turner, Robert A. "Letters to the Editor." New America, November 26, 1979.
