UPDATED: 8:00 a.m. ET, Sept. 2, 2024
Most people know about labor unions, but few know what they do. As we celebrate Labor Day in 2024, let’s take a second to reflect on Black workers’ rights and the important labor unions that have paved the way.
Labor unions help employees push for better working conditions within a workplace, which might include improving wages, hours, and safety policies. Labor unions then help workers bargain for a legally binding contract that will hold their employers accountable for implementing said changes.
MORE: Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?
Sounds simple right? Well, historically, that hasn’t always been the case, especially for Black Americans.
Civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his legendary speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” right at the height of the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike in 1968. On April 3 that year, 1,300 sanitation workers organized a massive strike against the city, demanding better safety conditions, livable wages, and union recognition.
“We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end,” King said to the fearless sanitation employees as they stood in the crowd. “Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through. And when we have our march, you need to be there. Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together.”
The workers were protesting the shocking deaths of Echol Cole and Robert Walker, who were crushed by a malfunctioning garbage sanitation truck. The movement was led in part by a former Black sanitation worker named Thomas Oliver Jones. As the president of the local 1733 chapter of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Jones helped the group fight for their rights.
After a series of strikes and contentious run-ins with state police officials, the City Council finally recognized the union…
Read the full article here
