Historical Context

The Memphis Sanitation Strike took place from February 12, 1968 - April 16, 1968. The strike was called by the workers themselves, and not the leadership of a union. The men called the strike knowing that Tennessee law made it illegal for city workers to strike, and 1,300 men (the vast majority of the sanitation department's Black employees) refused to go to work, willing to sacrifice paychecks without the guarantee of a union backing their strike. National and international union leadership did not initially support the strike, for reasons including the low success rates of winter garbage strikes. Strikes during the summer, when trash stunk and rotted, made sanitation strikes more effective. The workers, however, had had enough and refused to return to work. Despite the initial lack of collaboration with larger organizations, the men eventually received support from both AFSCME and the SCLC, organizations whose leadership became integral to the success of the strike.

During the 65-day strike, sanitation workers met daily in union halls and repeatedly made the three-mile march from the union hall to the mayor's office, making their demands to Mayor Loeb clear: they wanted formal union recognition, union dues to be automatically taken from paychecks, a pay raise, and better working conditions. Week after week, Mayor Loeb cited the illegality of the strike, and refused to negotiate with strikers who were "breaking the law." Despite the unwillingness of Mayor Loeb to cooperate, the hostile White media portrayals of the workers, and violence by the Memphis police, the sanitation workers and the Black community in Memphis held strong.

In this section of the inquiry, students will explore the events and actions of the strike.

Introductory Discussion

Before diving into primary sources, students will benefit from a discussion to clarify terms and invoke prior knowledge. Some questions teachers may want to raise for discussion are:

• What is the purpose of a strike?

• What kind of work goes into planning a strike?

• What are some of the challenges strikers/strike organizers may face?

• What do people sacrifice when they go on strike?

• What do you think the impact of a sanitation worker strike may be?

The Streets

Source One

The Demands

Source Two

The Protests

Sources Three and Four

The Response

Source Five

Family and Community Impact

Source Six