From May 22 – 27 at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Florida, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists will be having our 42nd Annual International Convention. The theme for this year’s convention is “Paths to Building on Our Future.”Our goal is to empower and educate our members to face the struggles and obstacles ahead. With membership in the Public, Private, and Building Trades Sectors of the Labor Movement, we envision arming hundreds of Unionists with the skills to advance and promote the Labor Movement in their homes, shops, and communities.
Our agenda is ambitious and packed. We are going to provide participants with information, arm them with tools, and offer a road map to continue moving this great organization forward. While there is no longer “separate but equal,” that does not mean we are actually equal. There is still much work ahead of us. As unionists, progressives, and people of color we must continue to reach for the Mountain Top. We’re not there yet brothers and sisters, but we must never stop reaching.
Speakers from around the country and the world are going to descend on Orlando with a clear agenda and purpose – to empower participants. There will be presenters from as close as Ontario, Canada, to as far as South Africa bringing an international perspective of our movement. In addition to these internationalists, Labor leaders from around the country, experts in their respective fields, will be briefing participants on the status of our ever influx education, economic, and health care system. We plan on having specialists inform members on the current conditions of some of the most crucial social institutions of our country. Lastly, we will continue to build on the strategic initiatives first laid out by President Emeritus Lucy.
I want to thank those attending for leaving their families, friends, job, and comfort of home to join us in Orlando and do some work. Orlando is a perfect vacation destination, but this will be no vacation. We will rest when the work is done. Our reprieve will come with our accomplishments. We will add more bricks to our foundation, reach for greater heights, and continue moving forward. This is a momentous occasion and I am truly humbled to be the first President to preside over a convention since the great William “Bill” Lucy stepped aside. We will continue on the great legacy of CBTU at our convention, but it is something only made possible by our members.
"CBTU is pelased to see the Sierra Club's support for positive Immigration reform, fair treatment and rights for the millions of hard working and vulnerable families. We stand with them for reform and change." - President Melvin
Sierra Club Supports Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Workers
Welcome
Welcome to the website of CBTU, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists. CBTU is the fiercely independent voice of Black Workers within the Trade Union Movement.
2013 Convention Information
Online and Early Registration is now closed. Onsite registration will be available.
Airport Shuttle Information
Mears Coupon
Allied Organizations
National AFL-CIO
National NAACP
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)
A. Phillip Randolph Institute (APRI)
Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
Pride at Work
Inside CBTU
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Leonard C Ball &
James H Bell
Scholarship Fund
HIV / AIDS
CBTU Act against AIDS Leadership Initiative Program
Every 9 1/2 minutes someone is infected with HIV / AIDS.
Click here for details.
Union-to-Union relief effort supports Haitian workers. Click here to read more.