AFSCME Local 1733 Sanitation Workers Strike, Memphis, 1968

(3712) Wurf and King, Memphis

jruss — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:48:03 -0400

AFSCME President Jerry Wurf consults with Martin Luther King, Jr. who traveled to Memphis to lend support to the striking sanitation workers of Memphis Local 1733 in 1968. King was assassinated while in Memphis campaigning for the AFSCME Local.

(7483) Memphis Local 1733 picket

jruss — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:35:37 -0400

Members of AFSCME Local 1733 in Memphis picket for union recognition, years before the campaign won national attention. T.O. Jones stands second from left.

(7484) Memphis sanitation workers strike

jruss — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:38:33 -0400

AFSCME Local 1733 sanitation workers strike in Memphis with National Guard members looking on. The 1968 strike attracted national attention.

(7486) Police mace Memphis strikers

jruss — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:51:57 -0400

Police spray mace on AFSCME Memphis Local 1733 sanitation strikers.

(7487) St. Louis AFSCME workers support Memphis

jruss — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:54:14 -0400

AFSCME members from St. Louis express solidarity with Memphis Local 1733 sanitation workers during the 8 April 1968 memorial march for Martin Luther King, Jr.

(7529) AFSCME staffers watch King in Memphis

jruss — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:50:44 -0400

AFSCME International Field Director P.J. Ciampa (left), and AFSCME staffer Bill Lucy (center, in checked suit) watch as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. greets a crowd while in Memphis for the sanitation workers’ strike in late March or early April 1968.

(7530) Lunch for sanitation workers

jruss — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:02:03 -0400

On February 22, 1968, after getting nowhere in negotiations with Memphis Mayor Henry Loeb, AFSCME International staffers approached the Memphis City Council and Fred Davis, the African American councilman who led the public works committee. At first, Davis refused to speak with them, stating they did not represent anyone in the constituency. AFSCME quickly called in the workers who staged a sit-in in the Council Chambers. As the stare-off wore on, it became lunchtime, so AFSCME brought in bread and sandwich fixings for the men. By 5:00 PM, the Committee had passed a resolution acceptable to the strikers and promised to present it to the Council the next day.

(8883) Seated strikers

jruss — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:43:50 -0500

Members of Memphis Local 1733 are seated on benches during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike.

(8884) Contract ratified, Memphis

jruss — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:55:24 -0500

Members of Memphis Local 1733 jam a city auditorium to ratify their first bona fide contract with the city after a 65 day sanitation worker strike the year before.

(8885) I AM a Man

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:19:41 -0500

Striking members of Memphis Local 1733 hold signs whose slogan symbolized the sanitation workers' 1968 campaign. At center is James Riley. To his right is Hubbell Clark. To Riley's left is a man known as "Jumping Jack."

(8886) I AM a Man

jruss — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:05:55 -0500

Striking members of Memphis Local 1733 hold signs whose slogan symbolized the sanitation workers' campaign in 1968.

(8887) King speaks in Memphis

jruss — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:20:20 -0500

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to a crowd in Memphis during the AFSCME Local 1733 sanitation workers’ strike.

(8888) King in Memphis

jruss — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:31:56 -0500

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. meets with a crowd in Memphis during the AFSCME Local 1733 sanitation workers’ strike.

(8889) Ciampa maced

jruss — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:38:00 -0500

AFSCME International Representative P.J. Ciampa is maced by police in Memphis during Local 1733’s sanitation workers’ strike.

(8890) Dignity sought in Memphis

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:21:17 -0500

Memphis Local 1733 strikers, Rev. Theodore Hibbler, left, and Ted Brown, demand dignity during their 1968 campaign.

(8891) King in Memphis

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:22:35 -0500

AFSCME International President Jerry Wurf (right) and International Representative P.J. Ciampa (standing) with Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis during Local 1733’s sanitation workers’ strike.

(8892) Victory in Memphis

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:11:45 -0500

AFSCME President Jerry Wurf (left) and other union and community leaders celebrate the agreement reached with the city of Memphis after a 65 day sanitation workers’ strike, a campaign that saw violence and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

(8894) National Guard, Memphis

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:44:53 -0500

Memphis Mayor Henry Loeb called in the National Guard during AFSCME Local 1733’s sanitation workers’ strike.

(8895) King speaks in Memphis

jruss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:50:11 -0500

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to a crowd in Memphis during the AFSCME Local 1733 sanitation workers’ strike.

(24736) New York Maritime Trades Support Local 1733

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:30:15 -0400

Members of the New York Maritime Trades support striking sanitation workers of AFSCME Memphis Local 1733 by participating in the memorial march for Martin Luther King.

(24737) Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:35:18 -0400

Protesters march during the 1968 AFSCME Local 1733 sanitation workers strike in Memphis.

(24738) Memphis Strike Leaders

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:03:09 -0400

Leaders of the Memphis Local 1733 sanitation workers strike prepare to speak at a podium. At center is Reverend H. Ralph Jackson, flanked by, possibly, Taylor Blair (left) and possibly Nelson Jones or Joe Parsely.

(24739) Memphis Local 1733 Sanitation Workers Strike

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:08:51 -0400

Supporters protest during the 1968 AFSCME Memphis Local 1733 sanitation workers strike.

(24740) Reverend Ralph Jackson

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:30:13 -0400

Reverend H. Ralph Jackson, a leader of the 1968 AFSCME Memphis Local 1733 sanitation workers strike, speaks to supporters of the cause.

(24741) Memphis City Police

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:39:40 -0400

A well armed Memphis City policeman monitors striking sanitation workers during the 1968 AFSCME Local 1733 strike in support of which Martin Luther King, Jr. lost his life.

(24743) King in Memphis

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:21:00 -0400

AFSCME President Jerry Wurf (right) speaks with an admirer of Martin Luther King, Jr. (left) who had traveled to Memphis to lend support to striking sanitation workers of Local 1733. AFSCME organizer P.J. Ciampa stands behind them.

(24744) P.J. Ciampa

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:33:03 -0400

P.J. Ciampa, an AFSCME organizer, speaks during the 1968 Memphis Local 1733 sanitation workers strike.

(24745) King in Memphis

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:39:10 -0400

AFSCME President Jerry Wurf (right) speaks to Martin Luther King, Jr. at a rally for the striking sanitation workers of Memphis Local 1733. AFSCME organizer P.J. Ciampa stands behind them.

(24746) King in Memphis

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:44:48 -0400

Martin Luther King, Jr. attends a rally for the striking sanitation men of Local 1733 in Memphis. AFSCME President Jerry Wurf sits next to him.

(24747) King in Memphis

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:00:11 -0400

Martin Luther King, Jr. sits with AFSCME President Jerry Wurf at a rally for striking sanitation workers of Memphis Local 1733. AFSCME organizers P.J. Ciampa (left) and Jesse Epps (center) stand behind them.

(24748) Civil Rights Leaders in Memphis

jruss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:15:21 -0400

Civil rights leaders traveled to Memphis to support striking Local 1733 sanitation workers. At left is Reverend H. Ralph Jackson. At center left is Andrew Young speaking with Ralph Abernathy. Standing behind them is AFSCME organizer Jesse Epps.

(30612) Memphis scales of justice

jruss — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:09:34 -0400

This cartoon almost certainly comments on the 1968 sanitation workers strike in Memphis during which Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated.

(30616) Maritime Trades Department supports Memphis

jruss — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:21:47 -0400

The AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department (MTD) helped support striking members of AFSCME Local 1733 in Memphis during their 1968 strike for recognition, during which Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Here, AFSCME leaders speak at an MTD meeting. From left: Jesse Epps, AFSCME International Representative instrumental in the Memphis campaign; William Lucy, Associate Director of AFSCME's Legislation and Community Affairs Department and an important leader during the strike; speaking, T. O. Jones, President of Local 1733; Peter M. McGavin, MTD Executive Secretary-Treasurer; and Robert Bollard, Director of AFSCME's Legislation and Community Affairs Department.

(32013) Labor and Civil Rights Illustration, The Public Employee, 1968.

mcourtney — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 15:30:11 -0400

This cartoon celebrating the partnership between organized labor and civil rights groups in Local 1733’s sanitation worker strike was originally published in Public Employee in April, 1968.

(37622) I AM A MAN poster

scaloia — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 13:40:32 -0500

A sign used during the Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike in Tennessee reads "I AM A MAN."

(38250) Dignity poster, Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike, 1968

scaloia — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 10:17:51 -0400

Poster reading "Dignity" used during the Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike.