Memphis Ceremonies Complete Sanitation Workers Hall of Fame Induction
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Tomorrow in Memphis, the 1,300 Memphis sanitation workers whose 1968 strike for the right to join a union and collectively bargain was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last campaign, will be honored in the second part of their induction into the U.S. Department of Labor Hall of Fame.
The ceremony at the University of Memphis follows an April event in Washington, D.C., where several of the surviving members of AFSCME Local 1733 met with President Obama
In a column today in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis who will induct the lead the induction activities, writes
We will honor the sanitation workers for standing up for their values and demanding fair treatment for those who perform this country’s toughest jobs. We will honor them for showing their fellow Americans the importance of nonviolent protest as a vehicle for social change. And we will honor them for inspiring a movement to help end the era of Jim Crow and de facto segregation.
Over the years, the Labor Hall of Fame has honored individual workers, but this is the first a time a group of workers has been honored.
Celebrating Black Labor History Month
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February is Black History Month, and with just a few resources, teachers, parents and union locals can turn it into Black Labor History Month.
The American Labor Studies Center (ALSC) and unions such as AFSCME and AFT have compiled numerous excellent resources to help highlight black history this month by focusing on the history of African Americans in the labor movement.
A key teaching point is the shared values of the civil rights and union movements. One of the best resources for exploring the common ideas and goals of the two movements is the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who died in 1968 while helping striking sanitation workers in Memphis form a union with AFSCME. (See video.)
