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Memphis Garbage Workers Strike: February-April 1968

Sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee went on strike on February 12, 1968. Their reasons for striking were many. The salaries for sanitation workers were low enough that they qualified employees for welfare, and healthcare was not an option. The workers also wanted their union—The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees—recognized as legitimate. Dilapidated trucks were being used against better judgment, and the city would not pay workers overtime when it was due them. Finally, two significant events helped push the strike into effect. One event in particular highlighted the racial inequalities of the sanitation department. After a heavy rain delayed work for a day, 22 black sewer and drain workers only received two hours worth of pay. However, their white supervisors were fully compensated. The second event that caused outrage among the sanitation workers occurred on February 1, when two black employees, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were killed by a faulty garbage packer. These events, compounded with the already poor conditions, set the strike in motion.

By February 12, nearly 85% of sanitation employees had joined in the protest. The strikers were led by T. O. Jones and Jerry Wurf. Jones, a garbage man for several years, already had experience with leading others in protest—he was fired from his job in 1963 for organizing a worker walkout. Wurf was president of the AFSCME union; later in his life he would be appointed vice president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization. The strike operated under the guidance of these leaders. Initial attempts to negotiate with the mayor of Memphis, Henry Loeb, failed. Loeb claimed the strike was illegal, but that "this office stands ready... to talk to anyone about his legitimate questions at any time” . By February 14, Loeb had issued a back-to-work ultimatum to the striking workers, and police escorts were arranged for the few employees who did report for duty. The strike had gained significant media coverage by this time, with newspapers reporting that over 10,000 tons of garbage had already accumulated in Memphis’ streets . The NAACP had also formally endorsed the strike.

Later in February, workers held a nonviolent march to bring attention to their cause. Police broke the march apart and used mace on the workers. In protest of this action, 150 local ministers met and formed Community on the Move for Equality. COME was led by James Lawson, a Memphis minister who had worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr. This organization served to highlight the struggles of the sanitation workers and support their strike. By early March, COME members included many high school and college students as well, with about 25% of them white. Many of the students and ministers were arrested throughout the span of the strike.

On March 18, Dr. King arrived in Memphis and led a rally attended by 17,000 supporters. He called for a peaceful march on the 22nd, but an unusually extreme snowstorm prevented it. The march instead took place on the 28th, but the nonviolence was broken by some rowdy younger protestors who went by the name ‘The Invaders’. In the chaos, a 16-year old boy named Larry Payne was shot to death, many marchers were clubbed by police, and tear gas was used on the crowds. Around 4,000 National Guardsmen were then moved into the city, and the state implemented a 7:00 PM curfew. The curfew was lifted a few days later on April 1, and the National Guardsmen were removed a day later. On April 3rd, Dr. King gave his famous “Mountaintop Speech,” telling the strikers, “We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through”. The next day, April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Hotel, Dr. King was assassinated by James Earl Ray.

The strike wound down relatively quickly after this tragedy. A peaceful march led by Dr. King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, was held to honor Dr. King and show continued support for the strike. Undersecretary of Labor James Reynolds had been appointed (by President Lyndon B. Johnson) as the strike’s mediator by this time. He met with Memphis officials on several occasions, and by April 16 the AFSCME announced that an agreement had been reached. Workers voted their concurrence with the terms. Thus, the Memphis sanitation workers strike ended—approximately sixty days after it began.