,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #djd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february 
#ac1 #bjah,mr4 ,alexander 7for himself1 
,mr4 ,corker1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 and ,mr4    
,jones7 submitted the following         
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,health1 ,education1      
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,,resolution     
,recognizing the coordinated struggle of
 workers on the #ejth anniversary of the
 #aifh ,memphis sanitation workers      
strike to voice their grievances and    
reach a collective agreement for rights 
in the workplace4  ,whereas1 in #aifh1  
#a1cjj ,african-,american sanitation    
workers in ,memphis1 ,tennessee1 fought 
for collective bargaining rights and    
equality in the workplace2 ,whereas1 in 
the struggle for rights of workers1 the 
,american ,federation of ,state1 ,county
 and ,municipal ,employees 7referred to 
in this preamble as ,,afscme7 integrated
 the labor movement and the civil rights
 movement in a demand for basic human   

rights and respect for all men and      
women2 ,whereas ,black employees doing  
most of the low-wage work in ,memphis   
had almost no health care1 pensions1 or 
vacation1 worked in deplorable          
conditions1 and were shown disrespect by
 ,white supervisors2 ,whereas #dj       
percent of the workers qualified for    
welfare in order to supplement their low
 salaries and were denied the           
opportunity to improve their working    
conditions by ,memphis ,mayor ,henry    
,loeb and the ,city ,council2 ,whereas1 
on ,january #ca1 #aifh1 #bb ,black sewer
 workers who reported for work were sent
 home when it began raining1 losing pay 
for that day1 while ,white workers were 
not sent home and received full pay for 
that day2 ,whereas1 the following day1  
,february #a1 #aifh1 sanitation workers 
,echol ,cole and ,robert ,walker sought 
refuge from a downpour in the hamper of 
a garbage truck amid putrefying garbage 
and were crushed to death when the      
compactor malfunctioned2 ,whereas1 on   

,february #ab1 #aifh1 ,memphis          
sanitation and public employees went on 
strike after attempting last-minute     
negotiations with ,mayor ,loeb and the  
city on the terms of their employment1  
demanding that the city recognize the   
union and provide a pay increase to     
#b4ce an hour from an average of #a4gj1 
as well as overtime pay1 and promotions 
based on merit irrespective of race2    
,whereas1 in response to the demands of 
the workers1 ,mayor ,loeb1 on ,february 
#ac1 #aifh1 threatened to hire          
replacements unless workers returned to 
work2 ,whereas1 on ,february #ah1 #aifh1
 the ,president of ,,afscme1 ,jerry     
,wurf1 arrived in ,memphis and          
negotiations began in the basement of   
,st4 ,mary's ,episcopal ,church with    
,rabbi ,james ,a4 ,wax of ,temple       
,israel representing the ,memphis       
,ministerial ,association1 mediating    
between the city and striking workers1  
assisted by ,local #agcc ,president     
,t4,o4 ,jones and ,,afscme ,director of 

,legislative and ,community ,affairs    
,william ,lucy2 ,whereas1 after an      
all-night vigil outside ,city ,hall on  
,february #ai through #bj1 #aifh1 the   
,national ,association for the          
,advancement of ,colored ,people and    
union workers called for a boycott of   
downtown businesses2 ,whereas1 on       
,february #bc1 #aifh1 #a1ejj strikers   
and supporters organized a march to the 
,memphis ,city ,hall1 where1 #aa days   
after the initial strike1 the ,city     
,council refused to recognize the union2
 ,whereas1 in the following days1 #ejj  
,white labor union members joined       
members of the clergy and sanitation    
workers in a march downtown1 #aaf       
strikers and supporters were arrested   
during a peaceful demonstration1 and    
hundreds of high school students joined 
in another march led or supported by    
members of the clergy1 including ,rabbi 
,wax1 the ,reverend ,frank ,mc,rae of   
,st4 ,john's ,united ,methodist ,church1
 ,father ,nicholas ,vieron of           

,annunciation ,greek ,orthodox ,church1 
and ,dean ,william ,dimmick of ,st4     
,mary's ,episcopal ,church2 ,whereas1 on
 ,march #d1 #aifh1 a proposal by ,state 
,senator ,frank ,white to create a      
,state mediation board to resolve the   
stalemate was rejected by ,mayor ,loeb2 
,whereas1 on ,march #e1 #aifh1 the      
,memphis ,ministerial ,association      
announced that ,rev4 ,dr4 ,martin       
,luther ,king1 ,jr41 would be traveling 
to ,memphis on behalf of striking       
workers2 ,whereas1 on ,march #g1 #aifh1 
the ,city ,council voted to reject union
 dues checkoff for sanitation workers2  
,whereas1 throughout ,march #aifh1      
national civil rights leaders1 including
 ,roy ,wilkins1 ,bayard ,rustin1 ,ralph 
,abernathy1 ,james ,bevel1 ,andrew      
,young1 and ,jesse ,jackson1 among      
others1 came to ,memphis to rally the   
strikers2 ,whereas1 on ,march #bh1      
#aifh1 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,martin ,luther ,king1
 ,jr41 and the ,reverend ,james ,lawson 
of ,centenary ,methodist ,church led a  

march from the gathering spot for       
sanitation workers at ,clayborn ,temple 
and on to ,beale ,street1 which was     
marred by window-breaking and           
disintegrated into a riot as police     
responded with tear gas and gunfire2    
,whereas1 also on ,march #bh1 #aifh1    
#af-year-old ,larry ,payne was shot to  
death by a ,memphis police officer1     
police arrested #bhj mostly ,black      
demonstrators1 and the ,state           
legislature authorized a #g3jj p4m4     
curfew that was enforced by #d1jjj      
members of the ,national ,guard moving  
into ,memphis2 ,whereas in response to  
the death of ,larry ,payne1 ,rev4 ,dr4  
,martin ,luther ,king1 ,jr41 called the 
mother of ,larry ,payne1 ,lizzie1       
offering consolation1 and vowed to visit
 ,lizzie on the return of ,dr4 ,king to 
,memphis2 ,whereas1 also on ,march #bh1 
#aifh1 and in response to the promise of
 ,rev4 ,dr4 ,martin ,luther ,king1 ,jr41
 to return to ,memphis to lead a march  
based on the principles of nonviolence1 

the city obtained a temporary           
restraining order in ,federal court     
forbidding such a march2 ,whereas in    
response to the temporary restraining   
order1 ,,afscme ,general ,counsel ,mel  
,wulf asked the firm of ,burch1 ,porter 
and ,johnson and attorneys ,lucius ,e4  
,burch1 ,jr41 ,david ,caywood1 ,charles 
,newman1 and ,w4,j4 ,michael ,cody to   
work on lifting the order to allow the  
march to proceed2 ,whereas ,louis ,lucas
 and ,walter ,bailey of the ,ratner and 
,sugarmon firm were deeply involved in  
representing ,rev4 ,dr4 ,martin ,luther 
,king1 ,jr41 and striking workers for   
the duration of the labor dispute2      
,whereas1 on ,april #c1 #aifh1 ,rev4    
,dr4 ,martin ,luther ,king1 ,jr41       
addressed a rally of #aj1jjj ,black     
workers and residents1 members of the   
clergy1 ,white liberals1 and union      
members at ,mason ,temple1 the ,memphis 
headquarters of the ,church of ,god in  
,christ1 for what would be the last     
speech of ,dr4 ,king1 forever known for 

the lines ,i've been to the mountaintop 
and ,i may not get there with you but ,i
 want you to know tonight that we as a  
people will get to the ,promised ,land1 
linking the civil rights and labor      
movements and foreshadowing his fate2   
,whereas1 on ,april #d1 #aifh1 a daylong
 hearing on the injunction by the city  
resulted in an order from ,united       
,states ,district ,court ,judge ,bailey 
,brown in the late afternoon allowing   
the march1 with some restrictions1 to go
 forward on ,april #e1 #aifh2 ,whereas1 
on ,april #d1 #aifh1 the day after his  
rallying cry for compromise1 ,rev4 ,dr4 
,martin ,luther ,king1 ,jr41 was        
assassinated by a sniper on the balcony 
outside of his ,lorraine ,motel room in 
,memphis2 ,whereas1 on ,april #d1 #aifh1
 ,memphis and cities across the ,united 
,states erupted in violent protests and 
rioting2 ,whereas1 on ,april #e1 #aifh1 
,rabbi ,james ,a4 ,wax led a march from 
,st4 ,mary's ,episcopal ,church to ,city
 ,hall and confronted ,mayor ,henry     

,loeb with the people of the ,united    
,states watching on all #c networks1    
telling ,mayor ,loeb ,there are laws far
 greater than the laws of ,memphis and  
,tennessee1 and these are the laws of   
,god2 ,whereas1 on ,april #h1 #aifh1 an 
estimated #db1jjj people1 led by the    
wife of ,rev4 ,dr4 ,martin ,luther      
,king1 ,jr41 ,coretta ,scott ,king1 and 
her children1 peacefully marched in     
memory of ,dr4 ,king and in support of  
the requests of the union2 ,whereas1 on 
,april #af1 #aifh1 ,,afscme announced   
that a #ad-month contract had been      
agreed to and accepted1 and included    
union dues checkoff1 a grievance        
procedure1 and wage increases of #aj    
cents per hour in ,may and another #e   
cents per hour in ,september1 ending the
 #c-month strike2 ,whereas1 on ,april   
#bi1 #bjaa1 the #a1cjj sanitation worker
 strikers were inducted into the ,labor 
,hall of ,honor in the ,department of   
,labor2 and ,whereas1 today1 the        
integration of the civil rights and     

labor movements remains a work in       
progress and requires our continued     
vigilance3 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that
 the ,senate-- 7#a7 recognizes the #ejth
 anniversary of the coordinated struggle
 of workers during the #aifh ,memphis   
sanitation workers strike to voice their
 grievances and reach a collective      
agreement for rights in the workplace2  
7#b7 honors the perseverance of the     
#a1cjj members of ,local #agcc in urging
 social and economic equality in the    
workplace2  7#c7 honors the memory and  
inspiring contribution of ,rev4 ,dr4    
,martin ,luther ,king1 ,jr41 in the     
ultimate resolution of the labor        
dispute2  7#d7 recognizes the           
contributions of all those named and    
unnamed who participated in the fight   
for justice during the strike2 and  7#e7
 recognizes there is work to be done to 
improve both racial and labor relations4