LDF Attorneys Hit U.S. Steel
Press Release
September 9, 1966

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Press Releases, Volume 4. LDF Attorneys Hit U.S. Steel, 1966. acdf0e27-b792-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/efe9a8a3-e54e-4775-a64b-1c713c60bd9d/ldf-attorneys-hit-us-steel. Accessed April 27, 2025.
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10 Columbus Circle New York, N.Y. 10019 - Legal Defense and Educational Fund PRESS RELEASE FOR RELEASE President : FRIDAY Hon. Francis E. Rivers September 9, 1966 Director-Counsel Jack Greenberg LDF ATTORNEYS HIT U. S, STEEL Federal Court Hears 6 Job Bias Cases in Ala. BIRMINGHAM---Job bias cases against five Southern industrial giants were heard in Federal District Court here this week, part of a massive drive by Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) attorneys. It marked the first time a Federal Court heard this many labor discrimination cases at one sitting. All were filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against the U. S, Steel Corporation, St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co; H. K. Porter; Alabama By-Products Corp.; and American Cast Iron Pipe Co. LDF lawyers named the United States Steel Corporation as defen- dants in two separate cases. The general complaints against these companies are: a) Main- tenance of segregated job categories. b) Maintenance of differential hiring rates for Negro and White employees performing the same duties. c) Segregated facilities for Negro employees. d) Maintaining separate lines of progression. In four of these cases the local workers unions are also named as co-defendants. The defendant-unions are charged with failure to properly represent the Negro employees. The unions involved in the suits are: Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America : International Molders and Allied Workers Union; United Steel Workers of America; and the United Mine Workers of America. Seven cases were originally filed in the Birmingham area, How- ever, the case against the U.S. Pipe & Foundry Co. was settled out of court, by officials of the NAACP, a separate organization from the Legal Defense Fund. Mutual Cooperation LDF Director-Counsel Jack Greenberg placed field workers in 10 Southern states last summer. They gathered job bias complaints from NAACP chapters and other organizations. The field workers were under supervision of Herbert Hill, labor director of the NAACP, Mr, Hill subsequently filed 1,439 complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Commission has so far found reasonable cause to believe in the validity of the charges in 266 cases. It was successful in seeking a just settlement in 19 cases, and is still working to bring about a settlement in 275 other cases. The Legal Defense Fund has so far filed 31 suits with the U.S. District Courts in seven Southern States. Of these cases, only six suits were settled outside of the courtroom. These are the only cases which have been initiated to_implement Title VII--the fair employment section, of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (more) Jesse DeVore, Jr., Director of Public Information—Night Number 212 Riverside 9-8487 ’ LDF ATTORNEYS HIT U, S, STEEL September 9, 1966 Federal Court Hears 6 Job Bias Cases in Ala, There are currently 25 Title VII cases pending in the U.S. District Courts. The defending companies for the six pending cases before the Birmingham Court have answered the complaints with counter-motions requesting the court to dimiss the cases. They assert that the Negro plaintiffs have no legal grounds. -30