The Civil Rights Movement in the 1930s and 40s

African-American workers in the 1930s and 40s could use that. And they did. Now, what happens later on is their standard goes up. I mean, you can have a racist union where, you know, the leadership doesn't want to have dances with blacks and whites together. But if they're trying to enforce the contract, it's gonna be advantageous to African Americans. The bureaucracy being more progressive than the rank and file was the defense of every bureaucrat during this period. If ordinary workers see possibilities of activity liberating them, then yes, they could easily become much more conservative.