The **Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968** was a
[strike](List_of_Strikes "wikilink") by predominantly-black sanitation
workers in the city of Memphis, Tennessee,
[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink") from [February to
April](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_North_America "wikilink"),
[1968](Revolutions_of_1967_-_1975 "wikilink").

## Background

The city of Memphis had a long history of segregation and unfair
treatment for black residents. The influential politician E.H. Crump had
created a city police force, much of it culled from the [Ku Klux
Klan](Ku_Klux_Klan "wikilink"), that acted violently toward the black
population and maintained Jim Crow. Blacks were excluded from unions and
paid much less than whites - conditions which persisted and sometimes
worsened in the first half of the 20th century.

During the New Deal, blacks were able to organize as part of the
Congress of Industrial Organizations, a group which Crump called
communist "n\*gger unionism." However, organized black labor was set
back by anti-communist fear after World War II. Civil rights and
unionism in Memphis were thus heavily stifled all through the 1950s. The
civil rights struggle was renewed in the 1960s, starting with
desegregation sit-ins in the summer of 1960. The NAACP and SCLC were
particularly active in Memphis during this period.

Memphis sanitation workers were mostly black. They enjoyed few of the
protections that other workers had; their pay was low and they could be
fired (usually by white supervisors) without warning. In 1968, these
workers were earning between $1.60 and $1.90 an hour ($12.06-$14.32 in
2019 dollars). In addition to their sanitation work, often including
unpaid overtime, many worked other jobs or appealed to welfare and
public housing.<sup>\[9\]</sup>

### Union activities

Black sanitation workers had been attempting to organize since 1960,
when T. O. Jones and O. Z. Evers began signing workers up with the
Teamsters. However, many blacks were afraid to unionize due to fear of
persecution. This fear proved justified in 1963, when 33 workers
(including Jones) were all fired immediately after an organizing meeting
they attended. Nevertheless, AFSCME Local 1733 was successfully formed
in November 1964.<sup>\[9\]</sup>

A strike in August 1966 was thwarted before it began when the city
prepared strikebreakers and threatened to jail leaders.<sup>\[9\]</sup>

### Precursors

At the end of 1967, Henry Loeb was elected as mayor against the
opposition of Memphis's black community. Loeb had served previously as
the head of the sanitation division (as the elected Public Works
Commissioner), and during his tenure oversaw grueling work conditions —
including no city-issued uniforms, no restrooms, and no grievance
procedure for the numerous occasions on which they were
underpaid.<sup>\[10\]</sup>

Upon taking office, Loeb increased regulations on the city's workers and
appointed Charles Blackburn as the Public Works Commissioner. Loeb
ordered Jones and the union to deal with Blackburn; Blackburn said he
had no authority to change the city's policies.<sup>\[11\]</sup>

On February 1, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, two sanitation
workers,<sup>\[12\]</sup> 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 12, hundreds of workers came to a meeting at the
Memphis Labor Temple, furious with their working conditions. The workers
left the meeting with no organized plan, but a feeling that something
had to be done—immediately.

## Results

The strike ended on the 16th of April, with a settlement that included
union recognition and wage increases, although additional strikes had to
be threatened to force the City of Memphis to honour its agreements.