Isaac Myers

Isaac Myers
Isaac Myers, pioneer of the African-American trade union movement circa 1875.
Born	January 13, 1835 Baltimore, Maryland
Died	1891, Age 56 Baltimore, Maryland
Nationality	American
Occupation	Caulker, trade unionist
Known for	African American labor organizing

Isaac Myers (January 13, 1835 – 1891) was a pioneering African American trade unionist, a co-operative organizer and a caulker from Baltimore, Maryland.

Myers was born as a free black, though Maryland was a slave state. Since the state of Maryland did not offer public education for African American youth. Myers had to acquire his early education from a private day school run by Rev. John Fortie. At the age of 16 he began work as a caulker, sealing seams in ships. In the 1850s Myers married Emma V. Morgan, who died in 1868. With her they had three children, including political activist George A. Myers. He later married Sarah E. Deaver. In 1860, Myers left caulking to work in a grocery business leading him to set up a short lived co-operative grocery in 1864. He returned to caulking in 1865.

After the American Civil War competition for jobs led to strikes and protests by white workers, forcing over 1000 black caulkers to lose their jobs. Myers proposed the workers collectively pool resources and form a co-operative shipyard and railway, the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company, to provide themselves with employment. The co-operative, opening in February 1866, was initially a great success, employing over 300 black workers.

Myers and others also established the Colored Caulkers Trade Union Society in 1868, to which he was elected President. The National Labor Union took interest, inviting the Colored Caulkers Trade Union Society to their annual convention. The move was significant for what had previously been an all-white union, but black workers continued to face opposition to membership. In response the Colored National Labor Union was established in 1869, with Myers as President. He was succeeded in 1872 as President by Frederick Douglass.