Whereas in 1968, 1,300 African-American sanitation workers
in Memphis, Tennessee, fought for collective bargaining rights and equality in
the workplace;
Whereas in the struggle for workers’ rights, the American
Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) integrated the
labor movement and the civil rights movement in a demand for basic human rights
and respect for all men and women;
Whereas Black employees had almost no health care,
pensions, or vacation, worked in deplorable conditions, and were disrespected
by White supervisors;
Whereas 40 percent of the workers qualified for welfare in
order to supplement their low salaries, and were denied the opportunity to
improve their working conditions by Memphis Mayor Henry Loeb and the city
council;
Whereas, on January 31, 1968, 22 sewer workers who
reported for work were sent home when it began raining, losing a day’s pay,
while White workers were not sent home and received a full day’s pay;
Whereas the following day, February 1, 1968, sanitation
workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker were fatally crushed by a malfunctioning
city garbage truck;
Whereas, on February 12, 1968, Memphis sanitation and
public employees went on strike after attempting last-minute negotiations with
Mayor Loeb and the city on the terms of their employment, demanding that the
city recognize their union, provide a pay increase to $2.35 an hour from an
average of $1.70, overtime pay, and promotions based on merit irrespective of
race;
Whereas, on February 23, 1968, 1,500 strikers and
supporters organized a march to the Memphis City Hall, where, 11 days after the
initial strike, the city council refused to recognize the union;
Whereas in the following days, 500 White labor union
members joined members of the clergy and sanitation workers in a march
downtown, 116 strikers and supporters were arrested during a peaceful
demonstration, and hundreds of high school students joined in another march led
by members of the clergy;
Whereas, on March 4, 1968, a proposal by State Senator
Frank White to create a State mediation board to resolve the stalemate was
rejected by Mayor Loeb;
Whereas, on March 28, 1968, a 16-year-old boy was shot to
death by a Memphis police officer, police arrested 280 mostly Black
demonstrators, and the State legislature authorized a 7:00 p.m. curfew which
involved 4,000 members of National Guard moving in to Memphis;
Whereas, on April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
addressed a rally of 10,000 Black workers and residents, members of the clergy,
White liberals, and union members for what would be his last speech, forever
known for the phrase, I have been to the mountain top,
linking
the civil rights and labor movements and urging compromise;
Whereas, on April 4, 1968, the day after his rallying cry
for compromise, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated by a sniper on
the balcony outside of his hotel room in Memphis;
Whereas, on April 8, 1968, an estimated 42,000 people, led
by the wife of Dr. King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, peacefully marched in memory
of Dr. King and in support of the union’s request; and
Whereas, on April 16, 1968, AFSCME announced that a
14-month contract had been agreed to and accepted, and included union dues
check-off, a grievance procedure, and wage increases of 10 cents an hour in May
and another 5 cents in September, ending the 3-month strike: Now, therefore, be
it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)recognizes the
coordinated struggle of workers during the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers
strike to voice their grievances and reach a collective agreement for rights in
the workplace;
(2)honors the
perseverance of the 1,300 members of Local 1733 in urging social and economic
equality in the workplace; and
(3)recognizes the
contributions of all those unnamed who participated in the fight for justice
during the strike.