The country's two primary labor unions were previously divided, as the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was committed to a multiracial organizing strategy to meet the growing demographics of industrial centers. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) primarily organized in rural areas and did not see this as a priority.

However, in 1955 the two unions come together, creating a fully-integrated trade union. The AFL-CIO, along with the United Auto Workers and the Sleeping Porters Union, are key supporters in the emerging civil rights movement.