76 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
76 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
The **Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968** was a
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[strike](List_of_Strikes "wikilink") by predominantly-black sanitation
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workers in the city of Memphis, Tennessee,
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[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink") from [February to
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April](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_North_America "wikilink"),
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[1968](Revolutions_of_1967_-_1975 "wikilink").
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## Background
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The city of Memphis had a long history of segregation and unfair
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treatment for black residents. The influential politician E.H. Crump had
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created a city police force, much of it culled from the [Ku Klux
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Klan](Ku_Klux_Klan "wikilink"), that acted violently toward the black
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population and maintained Jim Crow. Blacks were excluded from unions and
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paid much less than whites - conditions which persisted and sometimes
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worsened in the first half of the 20th century.
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During the New Deal, blacks were able to organize as part of the
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Congress of Industrial Organizations, a group which Crump called
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communist "n\*gger unionism." However, organized black labor was set
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back by anti-communist fear after World War II. Civil rights and
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unionism in Memphis were thus heavily stifled all through the 1950s. The
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civil rights struggle was renewed in the 1960s, starting with
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desegregation sit-ins in the summer of 1960. The NAACP and SCLC were
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particularly active in Memphis during this period.
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Memphis sanitation workers were mostly black. They enjoyed few of the
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protections that other workers had; their pay was low and they could be
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fired (usually by white supervisors) without warning. In 1968, these
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workers were earning between $1.60 and $1.90 an hour ($12.06-$14.32 in
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2019 dollars). In addition to their sanitation work, often including
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unpaid overtime, many worked other jobs or appealed to welfare and
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public housing.<sup>\[9\]</sup>
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### Union activities
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Black sanitation workers had been attempting to organize since 1960,
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when T. O. Jones and O. Z. Evers began signing workers up with the
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Teamsters. However, many blacks were afraid to unionize due to fear of
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persecution. This fear proved justified in 1963, when 33 workers
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(including Jones) were all fired immediately after an organizing meeting
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they attended. Nevertheless, AFSCME Local 1733 was successfully formed
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in November 1964.<sup>\[9\]</sup>
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A strike in August 1966 was thwarted before it began when the city
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prepared strikebreakers and threatened to jail leaders.<sup>\[9\]</sup>
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### Precursors
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At the end of 1967, Henry Loeb was elected as mayor against the
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opposition of Memphis's black community. Loeb had served previously as
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the head of the sanitation division (as the elected Public Works
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Commissioner), and during his tenure oversaw grueling work conditions —
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including no city-issued uniforms, no restrooms, and no grievance
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procedure for the numerous occasions on which they were
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underpaid.<sup>\[10\]</sup>
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Upon taking office, Loeb increased regulations on the city's workers and
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appointed Charles Blackburn as the Public Works Commissioner. Loeb
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ordered Jones and the union to deal with Blackburn; Blackburn said he
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had no authority to change the city's policies.<sup>\[11\]</sup>
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On February 1, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, two sanitation
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workers,<sup>\[12\]</sup> were crushed to death in a garbage compactor
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where they were taking shelter from the rain. Two other men had died
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this way in 1964, but the city refused to replace the defective
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equipment. On February 12, hundreds of workers came to a meeting at the
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Memphis Labor Temple, furious with their working conditions. The workers
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left the meeting with no organized plan, but a feeling that something
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had to be done—immediately.
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## Results
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The strike ended on the 16th of April, with a settlement that included
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union recognition and wage increases, although additional strikes had to
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be threatened to force the City of Memphis to honour its agreements. |