Carrying the Burden: Labor Rights and Civic Responsibilities in the Memphis Sanitation Strike
Victory and Legacy
Victory:
Yellin, Kirsten West Savali Emily. 2020. “EPISODE 10: The Memphis Sanitation Strike Ends.” The Root, July 14. https://www.theroot.com/watch-the-memphis-sanitation-strike-ends-1825346757.
The Memphis Sanitation Strike ended on April 16, 1968, in a glorious victory for workers. The Memphis government yielded to the demands of workers following weeks of festering garbage spilling onto the streets. Not only did this improve the lives of the sanitation workers, but it became a landmark success for the Civil Rights Movement as well. The strike showed people how much power they could exert through shared responsibility and how to combat unfair systems.
“End of Strike Cheered”. Memphis World. April 20 1968: 1. Rhodes University. Web.
Seaman, Bernard. “Garbage Cartooon.” Cartoon. I AM A MAN. AFSCME Local 1733: Memphis, Tennessee Records, 1968. https://projects.lib.wayne.edu/iamaman/items/show/204.
Legacy:
The Memphis strike led to the inspiration of the 1978 Rocky Mountain sanitation strike in North Carolina, which put forward the same demands for the rights of the workers and their dignity. The strike produced long-term changes in federal policies, including Executive Order 11491 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which aimed at improving the work environment of the public workers as well as safety from workplace threats.
“Sanitation Workers’ Strike (E-125).” 2023. NC DNCR. December 14. https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2023/12/14/sanitation-workers-strike-e-125.
Rickner, Gary J. "The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: An Overview." Cumb.-Samford L. Rev. 4 (1973): 525.
"Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in our world.” Martin Luther King Jr.'s I've Been the Mountaintop speech, 1968
The Memphis Sanitation Strike had long-term consequences that extended beyond the immediate success for the workers. It helped to solidify the connection between economic justice and civil rights, influencing the creation of the Fight for $15 movement in 2012.
“Workers, Black Lives Activists Join Forces to Continue Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign.” 2017 Facing South. https://www.facingsouth.org/2017/03/workers-black-lives-activists-join-forces-continue-dr-kings-poor-peoples-campaign.
Sullivan, Justin. Activists Demonstrate For Raising The Minimum Wage to 15 Dollars. 2018. Photograph. 211 Memphis Sanitation Stock Photos and High-Res Pictures. https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/fast-food-workers-and-union-members-carry-signs-as-they-news-photo/917517252?adppopup=true.
Olson, Scott. Black Lives Matter Protesters Join Living Wage Activists For Rally and March In Chicago. April 4, 2018. Photograph. Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/demonstrators-protest-for-higher-wages-and-better-working-news-photo/664622266?adppopup=true.
District, Uncommon. 2021. “I AM a MAN.” The Uncommon District. February 19. https://theuncommondistrict.com/2021/02/i-am-a-man/.
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was also inspired by the Memphis strike, as both movements addressed structural racial injustice and the need for institutions and individuals to be accountable for ensuring the dignity, safety, and equality of Black lives.
“Black Lives Matter - I Am A Man Mural Motif Poster by Jeanpaul Ferro | Society6.” n.d. https://society6.com/a/products/black-lives-matter-i-am-a-man-mural-motif_poster?sku=s6-16788008p66a213v756.
Conclusion:
The 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike marks a peak of struggle for racial and labor justice in America. Organized in furtherance of improved working conditions, the strike articulated a fight to reclaim humanity on the part of Black laborers and demonstrated the value of solidarity and ethical responsibility in addressing inequality and injustice. Ultimately, addressing the universal rights of workers to fair treatment, dignity, and collective bargaining in the cause of justice.