> But it's a good reminder that labor unions were one of the backbones of the
> lobbying and struggle for civil rights in this country and even when bait
> was offered to trade off civil rights for their own self-interest, the
> AFL-CIO unions sided squarely with the strongest positions on civil rights
> legislation throughout the postwar period.
You're correct if you restrict your analysis to the struggle for civil rights in the legislative arena (and then elide affirmative action programs). Of course, you simply can't neglect the world of the shop floor, where labor was virtually loathe to do anything that would upend union enforced racial hierarchies.
mark