Marchers Observe 1986 Sanitation Workers Strike

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=8119547

FAST FACTS:

* Hundreds gathered to honor 1968 labor strike of Memphis sanitation workers.
* The labor dispute drew the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
* Many marchers say there is still more work to be done.


Hundreds braved the rain to honor civil rights.

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(Memphis - 4/04/2008) Despite the rainy weather we had Friday morning, hundreds gathered to honor the sanitation workers' strike of 1968. This annual observance of the Memphis city labor strike has become a celebration. It's a reflection of the 1,300 mostly black sanitation workers who walked off the job to protest deplorable work conditions.

It's the call for equality that brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis the night he was gunned down on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Shelby County Commissioner, Henri Brooks, says, "This march is important because this march represents the reason why Dr. King lost his life."

40 years later, employees of the city's sanitation department don't have to hold up a sign reading "I Am A Man" to get the respect of one. But there are those who say the city could still do more for them... in the form of a pension plan.

Memphis City sanitation employee, James Stokes, says, "Some of these guys have been here almost thirty-something years and they're still working because they can't go home and take care of their families off of social security."

People came from all over the country to participate in the march from the King labor center at Danny Thomas and Beale Street to the National Civil Rights Museum. Inez Cotton from Dallas, TX, says, "When King died, we got it. We understood what his vision was. All of that hard work meant something that would speak to a nation."

There are those who say this march isn't just symbolic of the past, but also of battles we are still fighting. Marcher and union supporter Jerry Bettice, says, "The labor movement and poverty are linked in a way that can't be taken apart." Although this anniversary marks an American tragedy, many of these marchers say that it was in King's death that his message spread around the world.