1968: The Memphis Sanitation Strike
When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, he had come to the City of Memphis to help striking sanitation workers. The strike began in February of 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. It was meant to address the poor pay and dangerous working conditions that the city's African-American sanitation workers had to endure. The on-the-job deaths of workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker in garbage compactors motivated over 700 of the 1300 sanitation workers to meet on Sunday, February 11, and agree to strike.
The city of Memphis had a long history of segregation of its workforce and of unfair treatment for African-American workers and residents. Local politician E. H. Crump had created a city police force made up of a mumber of Ku Klux Klan members who mistreated the African-American population and maintained Jim Crow laws. African-Americans were not allowed to join unions and were paid much less than their white co-workers. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) attempted to organize the African-Americans, but their efforts were set back by anti-communist fears after World War II. The civil rights struggle was renewed in the 1960s, starting with desegregation sit-ins in the summer of 1960. The NAACP and Southern Christian Leadership Coalition (SCLC) became active in Memphis.
Memphis sanitation workers were mostly African-Americans and they have deplorable working conditions. They were paid very poorly and could be fired without warning. In 1968, these workers were earning between $1.60 and $1.90 an hour. They were not paid for overtime and many worked other jobs or availed themselves of welfare and public housing. to survive. These sanitation workers had been attempting to organize since 1960, when organizers began signing workers up with the Teamsters. But intimidation stalled these efforts in 1963 when 33 workers (including the organizers) were all fired immediately after an organizing meeting they attended. Despite this, Local 1733 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was formed in November 1964.
The union attempted to organize a strike in August 1966, but it was quickly ended by strikebreakers and threats to jail leaders of the strike. At the end of 1967, Henry Loeb was elected as mayor of Memphis and upon taking office, Loeb increased regulations on the city's workers and appointed Charles Blackburn as the Public Works Commissioner. Loeb ordered the union leaders to deal with Blackburn, who said that he had no authority to change the city's policies.
On February 1, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, two sanitation workers, were crushed to death in a garbage compactor where they were taking shelter from the rain. Two other men had died this way in 1964, but the city refused to replace the defective equipment. On February 11, hundreds of workers came to a meeting at the Memphis Labor Temple, to complain about their working conditions. On Monday, February 12, most of the city's sanitation and sewage workers did not show up for work. Some who did show up walked off when they found out about the strike. But Mayor Loeb refused to meet with the strikers. The workers marched from their union hall to a meeting at the City Council chamber where they were met with 40–50 police officers. Loeb led the workers to a nearby auditorium, where he grabbed the microphone from AFSCME International organizer Bill Lucy and shouted "Go back to work!" before storming out of the meeting.
By February 15, piles of trash were noticeable, and Loeb began to hire strikebreakers. These individuals were white and traveled with police escorts. Sanitation workers established a daily routine of meeting at noon with nearly a thousand strikers and then marching from Clayborn Temple to downtown. The marchers faced police brutality in the forms of mace, tear gas, and billy clubs. On February 24, while addressing the strikers after a clash with police, Reverend James Lawson said, "For at the heart of racism is the idea that a man is not a man, that a person is not a person. You are human beings. You are men. You deserve dignity." Rev. Lawson's comments embody the message behind the iconic placards from the sanitation workers' strike, "I Am A Man".
On the evening of February 26, Clayborn Temple held over a thousand supporters of the movement. Reverend Ralph Jackson charged the crowd to not rest until "justice and jobs" prevailed for all black Americans. That night $1,600 was raised to support the Movement. Rev. Jackson declared that the movement would also address ending police brutality, as well as improving housing and education for the African-American community in Memphis.
The local news media were critical of union leaders. The media supported the mayor for his resolve. The Tri-State Defender, an African American newspaper, and The Sou'wester, a local college newspaper, reported the events of the strike from the sanitation workers' perspective. These publications emphasized the brutality of the police reactions to the protestors. Speakers from the NAACP addressed the strikers in the union hall.
On Saturday, February 17, at a widely attended meeting at Charles Mason Temple, Bishop J. O. Patterson pledged to help the strikers with food. A week later, on February 24, African-Amercan leaders came together to form Community on the Move for Equality (COME). The strike became an important event during the Civil Rights Movement, attracting the attention of the NAACP, the national news media, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. first visited the Memphis strike on March 18, speaking to an audience of thousands at Mason Temple. A demonstration on March 28 that King was present for turned violent when some protesters started breaking windows. Police responded with batons and tear gas, killing 16 year old Larry Payne. Payne's funeral was held in Clayborn Temple. Despite police pressure to have a private closed-casket funeral in their home, the family held the funeral at Clayborn and had an open casket. Following the funeral the sanitation workers marched peacefully downtown.
Both the AFSCME and the AFL–CIO sent representatives to Memphis to support the strike. They asked the striking workers to focus on labor solidarity and downplay racism. The workers refused. Local 1733 received direct support from URW Local 186. Local 186 allowed the strikers to use their union hall for meetings.
On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of the striking members of AFSCME Local 1733. On April 3, King addressed a rally at Mason Temple, the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. King's flight to Memphis had been delayed by a bomb threat against his plane. Speaking without a prepared text, King gave the last speech of his life. He referenced the bomb threat and other threats on his life and said:
"And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
King was booked in Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel (owned by Walter Bailey) in Memphis. King was fatally shot at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, as he stood on the motel's second-floor balcony. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where doctors opened his chest and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.
King's assassination intensified the strike. Rioting had already begun in Washington, D.C. Federal officials, including Lyndon Johnson's Attorney General Ramsey Clark, urged Mayor Loeb to make concessions to the strikers in order to avoid violence. Loeb refused.
On April 8, a completely silent march with the SCLC and Coretta Scott King attracted 42,000 participants. The strike ended on April 16, 1968, with a settlement that included union recognition and wage increases. Additional strikes had to be threatened to force the City of Memphis to honor its agreements.
In 2011 President Barack Obama met with an honored some of the surviving members of that strike in a meeting at the White House.
The city of Memphis had a long history of segregation of its workforce and of unfair treatment for African-American workers and residents. Local politician E. H. Crump had created a city police force made up of a mumber of Ku Klux Klan members who mistreated the African-American population and maintained Jim Crow laws. African-Americans were not allowed to join unions and were paid much less than their white co-workers. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) attempted to organize the African-Americans, but their efforts were set back by anti-communist fears after World War II. The civil rights struggle was renewed in the 1960s, starting with desegregation sit-ins in the summer of 1960. The NAACP and Southern Christian Leadership Coalition (SCLC) became active in Memphis.
Memphis sanitation workers were mostly African-Americans and they have deplorable working conditions. They were paid very poorly and could be fired without warning. In 1968, these workers were earning between $1.60 and $1.90 an hour. They were not paid for overtime and many worked other jobs or availed themselves of welfare and public housing. to survive. These sanitation workers had been attempting to organize since 1960, when organizers began signing workers up with the Teamsters. But intimidation stalled these efforts in 1963 when 33 workers (including the organizers) were all fired immediately after an organizing meeting they attended. Despite this, Local 1733 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was formed in November 1964.
The union attempted to organize a strike in August 1966, but it was quickly ended by strikebreakers and threats to jail leaders of the strike. At the end of 1967, Henry Loeb was elected as mayor of Memphis and upon taking office, Loeb increased regulations on the city's workers and appointed Charles Blackburn as the Public Works Commissioner. Loeb ordered the union leaders to deal with Blackburn, who said that he had no authority to change the city's policies.
On February 1, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, two sanitation workers, were crushed to death in a garbage compactor where they were taking shelter from the rain. Two other men had died this way in 1964, but the city refused to replace the defective equipment. On February 11, hundreds of workers came to a meeting at the Memphis Labor Temple, to complain about their working conditions. On Monday, February 12, most of the city's sanitation and sewage workers did not show up for work. Some who did show up walked off when they found out about the strike. But Mayor Loeb refused to meet with the strikers. The workers marched from their union hall to a meeting at the City Council chamber where they were met with 40–50 police officers. Loeb led the workers to a nearby auditorium, where he grabbed the microphone from AFSCME International organizer Bill Lucy and shouted "Go back to work!" before storming out of the meeting.
By February 15, piles of trash were noticeable, and Loeb began to hire strikebreakers. These individuals were white and traveled with police escorts. Sanitation workers established a daily routine of meeting at noon with nearly a thousand strikers and then marching from Clayborn Temple to downtown. The marchers faced police brutality in the forms of mace, tear gas, and billy clubs. On February 24, while addressing the strikers after a clash with police, Reverend James Lawson said, "For at the heart of racism is the idea that a man is not a man, that a person is not a person. You are human beings. You are men. You deserve dignity." Rev. Lawson's comments embody the message behind the iconic placards from the sanitation workers' strike, "I Am A Man".
On the evening of February 26, Clayborn Temple held over a thousand supporters of the movement. Reverend Ralph Jackson charged the crowd to not rest until "justice and jobs" prevailed for all black Americans. That night $1,600 was raised to support the Movement. Rev. Jackson declared that the movement would also address ending police brutality, as well as improving housing and education for the African-American community in Memphis.
The local news media were critical of union leaders. The media supported the mayor for his resolve. The Tri-State Defender, an African American newspaper, and The Sou'wester, a local college newspaper, reported the events of the strike from the sanitation workers' perspective. These publications emphasized the brutality of the police reactions to the protestors. Speakers from the NAACP addressed the strikers in the union hall.
On Saturday, February 17, at a widely attended meeting at Charles Mason Temple, Bishop J. O. Patterson pledged to help the strikers with food. A week later, on February 24, African-Amercan leaders came together to form Community on the Move for Equality (COME). The strike became an important event during the Civil Rights Movement, attracting the attention of the NAACP, the national news media, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. first visited the Memphis strike on March 18, speaking to an audience of thousands at Mason Temple. A demonstration on March 28 that King was present for turned violent when some protesters started breaking windows. Police responded with batons and tear gas, killing 16 year old Larry Payne. Payne's funeral was held in Clayborn Temple. Despite police pressure to have a private closed-casket funeral in their home, the family held the funeral at Clayborn and had an open casket. Following the funeral the sanitation workers marched peacefully downtown.
Both the AFSCME and the AFL–CIO sent representatives to Memphis to support the strike. They asked the striking workers to focus on labor solidarity and downplay racism. The workers refused. Local 1733 received direct support from URW Local 186. Local 186 allowed the strikers to use their union hall for meetings.
On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of the striking members of AFSCME Local 1733. On April 3, King addressed a rally at Mason Temple, the world headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. King's flight to Memphis had been delayed by a bomb threat against his plane. Speaking without a prepared text, King gave the last speech of his life. He referenced the bomb threat and other threats on his life and said:
"And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
King was booked in Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel (owned by Walter Bailey) in Memphis. King was fatally shot at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, as he stood on the motel's second-floor balcony. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where doctors opened his chest and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.
King's assassination intensified the strike. Rioting had already begun in Washington, D.C. Federal officials, including Lyndon Johnson's Attorney General Ramsey Clark, urged Mayor Loeb to make concessions to the strikers in order to avoid violence. Loeb refused.
On April 8, a completely silent march with the SCLC and Coretta Scott King attracted 42,000 participants. The strike ended on April 16, 1968, with a settlement that included union recognition and wage increases. Additional strikes had to be threatened to force the City of Memphis to honor its agreements.
In 2011 President Barack Obama met with an honored some of the surviving members of that strike in a meeting at the White House.