The reason I wrote Union Man is to give you a better understanding of labor union and the racial situation in America. Every union person in America should read this book. Becoming the first black president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU}, I Local 29 in Pittsburgh is what inspired me to write this book, Union Man. It really gave me a greater insight on how serious the race problem is in America, and how little people in the union understand the concept of unionism. First, I see what I call black on black racism. Blacks have a negative image toward their own people because they perceive themselves with the same perception as white people have about them. White people still view black people as being inferior to them. I felt the need to write this book to wake up white and black people, because if we do not wake up and address this problem of racism, we will self-destruct in this country.