Memphis Sanitation Strike

Memphis sanitation strike
Part of the Civil Rights Movement
The strikers' slogan was "I AM a Man".
Date	12 February – 16 April 1968 (2 months and 4 days)
Location	Memphis, Tennessee, Charles Mason Temple, Clayborn Temple
Causes	Racial discrimination faced by black sanitation workers Death of Echol Cole and Robert Walker from garbage compactor Black sanitation workers exposed to dangerous working conditions
Result	Larry Payne killed by police during march and disorder Speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop" delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. by James Earl Ray on 4 April 1968 Union AFSCME local 1733 recognized by City of Memphis Increased wages for sanitation workers by City of Memphis
Parties to the civil conflict
Sanitation workers American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Community on the Move for Equality (COME) Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) City of Memphis
Lead figures
Sanitation workers T. O. Jones SCLC members Martin Luther King, Jr City of Memphis Henry Loeb, mayor

Sanitation workers

SCLC members

City of Memphis

The Memphis sanitation strike began in February 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Following years of poor pay and dangerous working conditions, and provoked by the crushing to death of workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker, over 700 of the 1300 black sanitation workers met on Sunday, 11 February and agreed to strike. They then did not turn out for work on the following day. They also sought to join the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1733.

Memphis's mayor, Henry Loeb, declared the strike illegal and refused to meet with local black leaders (he did meet with AFSCME's national officers). Heavily redacted files released in 2012 suggest that FBI monitored the strike and increased its operations in Memphis during 1968.

On Monday 12 February, most of the city's sanitation and sewage workers did not show up for work. Some of those who did show up walked off when they found out about the apparent strike. Mayor Loeb, infuriated, refused to meet with the strikers.

The workers marched from their union hall to a meeting at the City Council chamber; there, they were met with 40–50 police officers. Loeb led the workers to a nearby auditorium, where he asked them to return to work. They laughed and booed him, then applauded union leaders who spoke. At one point, Loeb grabbed the microphone from AFSCME International organizer Bill Lucy and shouted "Go back to work!", storming out of the meeting soon after. The workers declined.

By 15 February, piles of trash (10,000 tons worth) were noticeable, and Loeb began to hire strikebreakers. These individuals were white and traveled with police escorts. They were not well received by the strikers, and the strikers assaulted the strikebreakers in some cases.

As of 21 February 1968, the sanitation workers established a daily routine of meeting at noon with nearly a thousand strikers and then marching from Clayborn Temple to downtown. The marchers faced police brutality in the forms of mace, tear gas, and billy clubs. On 24 February, while addressing the strikers after a "police assault" on their protests, Rev. James Lawson said, "For at the heart of racism is the idea that a man is not a man, that a person is not a person. You are human beings. You are men. You deserve dignity." Rev. Lawson's comments embody the message behind the iconic placards from the sanitation workers’ strike, "I Am A Man".