Terry Walls knows that having a union literally can be a life-or-death matter.

He was working at the McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) aircraft plant in suburban St. Louis a few years ago when a container of chemicals fell and burst open on a warehouse floor.

A longtime activist with Local Lodge B of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837, Walls was the lodge's safety committeeman at the time.

"I looked up the OSHA requirements, and I saw that the chemical was very volatile," he recalls. "If the fumes were in a contained area, they could have blown up."

Walls immediately reported the spill to the superintendent, but "he didn't think it was serious," he says. So Walls took matters into his own hands. "I ended up calling the fire department, and they came out and cleaned up the mess. They were in protective yellow suits when they took care of it. It was very toxic. People could have been injured."

Walls started at the plant as a sheet metal and rivet assembler, as his father was for many years. "He started in 1956," Walls explains. "It was prestigious to be an African American working at McDonnell-Douglas back in those years. I wanted to build airplanes myself, and I was able to get a job there in 1975 right out of high school. I was building the vertical stabilizers for the F-15 wings. Later, I moved on to being a production materials coordinator."

He says he was "pretty much involved in the union from day one." Besides serving as the safety committeeman, Walls was elected to be Local Lodge B's representative on the team that negotiated the current contract for Boeing workers in the St. Louis area. "It was interesting to see the workings of a contract," he recalls. "It was very fulfilling. Negotiations for a new contract are coming up next year, and Walls intends to run for a seat on the committee again.

Do unions make a difference for African American workers? "I think unions are the best thing to come along since sliced bread," Walls responds. "They make the playing field equal. Before unions, one worker could be paid one wage, and another would be paid more. You could be qualified for a job, but you'd never have a chance at it."

He adds: "When I started, I was a 19-year-old kid working for managers whose strong suit wasn't ethical behavior. I'm sure I could have been fired a number of times. But our business rep was a very strong and honorable man. He made sure no one got mistreated or terminated unjustly.

"Everyone should get involved with their union and run for different positions. If you're not at the table, you don't have a say. Getting involved―it's what makes unions strong. It's the best thing for you."