Birmingham Steel Industry: Racial Stratification Assigns Black Workers Worst Jobs

Birmingham, Alabama's steel industry employed tens of thousands of Black workers in the 1920s but maintained absolute racial job stratification: Black workers were confined to the most dangerous, highest-heat, lowest-paid positions while white workers held skilled, supervisory, and clean-shop positions. Wages for identical physical work were lower for Black workers. Black workers were excluded from AFL craft unions. The system was enforced by company policy, union contract, and implicit threat. During the Depression, Black workers were first laid off despite often having the most seniority in their specific job categories.