Memphis Sanitation Strike
The Memphis Sanitation Strike began on February 11, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Citing years of poor treatment, discrimination, dangerous working conditions, and the recent work-related deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker, some 1300 black sanitation workers walked off the job in protest. They sought to join the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1733.[1]
Over the next 64 days, the strike grew into a major civil rights struggle, attracting the attention of the national news media. AFSCME and the workers demanded union recognition, wage increases, and an end to discrimination. Local clergy members and community leaders also undertook an active campaign, including boycotts and civil disobedience. Civil Rights leaders Roy Wilkins, James Lawson, and Bayard Rustin all participated over the course of the strike. Prior to his death on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. also took an active role in mass meetings and street actions. The strike ended on April 12, 1968, with a settlement that included union recognition and wage increases, although additional strikes had to be threatened to force the City of Memphis to honor its agreements.
[edit] External links
- King's Unfinished Struggle, at Socialist Worker website
- Memphis Sanitation Worker's Strike, at Stanford's KingPapers website
- Labor Rights are Human Rights, from Michael Honey, a professor of History
- The Last Wish of MLK, from NY Times
- The American Prospect explains why MLK was in Memphis
- AFSCME remembers the historical strike
- AFSCME provides a time-line of the relevant events
