Disunited Brotherhoods

Just 40 years ago, the construction unions of New York City were among the most powerful labor organizations in the world. They were also among the most openly racist and sexist, and were thoroughly dominated by organized crime. Today, minority males, and women of any color, can get work in the industry, and the power of gangsters is on the decline. But the fall of racketeering and racism also broke the power of those unions.