MLK WAS A WORKING-CLASS HERO

MLK WAS A WORKING-CLASS HERO
By Dick Meister

I AM A MAN," the signs proclaimed in large, bold letters. They were held
high, proudly and defiantly, by African-American men marching through the
streets of Memphis, Tennessee, 40 years ago. It was in the spring of 1968.

The marchers were striking union members, sanitation workers demanding that
the city of Memphis formally recognize their union and thus grant them a
voice in determining their wages, hours and working conditions.

Hundreds of supporters joined their daily marches, most notably Martin
Luther King Jr. He had been with the 1,300 strikers from the very beginning
of their bitter struggle. He had come to Memphis to support them despite
threats that he might be killed if he did.

The struggles of workers for union rights often are considered to be of no
great importance. Dr. King knew better. He knew that the right to
unionization is one of the most important of civil rights. Virtually his
last act was in support of that right, for he was killed by an assassin's
bullet on April 4, 1968 as he was preparing to lead strikers in yet another
demonstration.

There are, of course, many reasons for honoring him on Martin Luther King
Jr. Day. But we shouldn't forget that one of the most important
reasons, one that's often overlooked, is Dr. King's championing of the cause
of the Memphis strikers and others who sought union recognition.

His assassination brought tremendous public pressure to bear in behalf of
the strikers in Memphis. President Lyndon Johnson sent in federal troops to
protect them and assigned the Under Secretary of Labor to mediate the
dispute. Within two weeks, an agreement was reached that granted strikers
the union rights they had demanded.

For the first time, the workers' own representatives could sit across the
table from their bosses and negotiate and air their grievances and demands
for remedies. They got their first paid holidays and vacations, pensions and
health care benefits. They got the right to overtime pay and raises of 38
percent in wages that had been so low – about $1.70 an hour – that 40
percent of the workers had qualified for welfare payments.

They got agreement that promotions would be made strictly on the basis of
seniority, without regard to race, assuring the promotion of African
Americans to supervisory positions for the first time. The strikers, in
fact, got just about everything they had sought during the 65-day walkout.

William Lucy, secretary-treasurer of the strikers' union, the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, saw Dr. King "bring
tears to the eyes of strikers and their families just by walking into a
meeting... the surge of confidence he inspired in the movement in Memphis."

The strikers' victory in Memphis led quickly to union recognition victories
by black and white public employees throughout the South and elsewhere. They
had passed a major test of union endurance against very heavy odds,
prompting a great upsurge of union organizing and militancy among government
workers.

As Lucy said, it was "a movement for dignity, for equity, and for access to
power and responsibility for all Americans."

Anyone doubting that the labor and civil rights movements share those goals
need only heed the words of Martin Luther King Jr.:

"Our needs are identical with labor's needs: Decent wages, fair working
conditions, liveable housing, old-age security, health and welfare measures,
conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children,
and respect in the community....

"The coalition that can have the greatest impact in the struggle for human
dignity here in America is that of the blacks and forces of labor, because
their fortunes are so closely intertwined."

Copyright © 2008 Dick Meister

Story ID:	3431
Written by:	Dick Meister (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Biography
Location:	Memphis Tennessee USA
Year:	1968
Person:	Martin Luther King Jr.