USA Memphis Trip A History Lesson;

Tribute to Dr. King
USA Memphis Trip A History Lesson


Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association President Harry Nespoli is on a mission to educate his members about the importance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and how it closely relates to their continued push for increased wages, better working conditions, and respect.

HARRY NESPOLI: Link to Memphis strike, MLK. To commemorate the death of Dr. King, Mr. Nespoli and four union officers traveled to Memphis, Tenn. on Nov. 28 to visit with three retired Sanitation Workers who were part of that city's 64-day strike in 1968.

The civil rights leader was in Memphis on April 4, 1968 to support the Sanitation Workers when he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel.

'City a Step Behind'

The USA recently became the city's first uniformed union to negotiate Dr. King's birthday as a paid holiday for its members. "It became a national holiday and the city didn't pick up on it," Mr. Nespoli said during an extensive interview the day after his trip. Civilian employee unions negotiated the paid holiday more than 20 years ago.

USA Photo MEMPHIS MEMORIES: Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association President Harry Nespoli, center (at back), Nov. 28 went to Memphis, Tenn. to commemorate the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King, who had been there on April 4, 1968 to support the city's striking Sanitation Workers when he was assassinated. Mr. Nespoli and four other union officers met with retired Memphis Sanitation Workers Taylor Rogers, seated right, and Joe Warren, who played important roles in the strike. Flanking Mr. Nespoli are USA Business Agents St. Joseph Middleton, left, and Ronald Prattis. The union president noted that the New York City Sanitation Workers had just ended their nine-day strike when their counterparts in Memphis walked off the job demanding better treatment.

"They read the newspapers on a Sunday morning of the outcome of the strike," he said. "Then they went out on strike. The rest is history."

In Memphis, the black Sanitation Workers were paid $1.70 per hour, and only received two hours' "show-up pay," when it rained, while their white colleagues earned a full day's wage. They were also not allowed to ride in the cab of the collection trucks next to their white colleagues.

Many of the workers lived below the poverty level and received practically no health-care benefits, pensions, or vacation time. They were also required to first collect all the garbage in large tubs, which they then carried back to their trucks.

Deaths Spurred Strike

"I couldn't believe how they worked back then," Mr. Nespoli said.

The Feb. 12, 1968 strike started shortly after an incident in which a malfunctioning garbage compactor had fatally crushed two black men, Echol Cole and Robert Walker. That truck is now on display at a local museum. "All of that gave them the courage to strike," Mr. Nespoli remarked.

The workers joined the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1733. AFSCME demanded salary raises, overtime pay, union recognition, union dues check-off, and better grievance procedures.

Dues Check-Off a Catalyst

Mr. Nespoli said that the veterans from the strike who they met last week explained that then-Memphis Mayor Henry Loeb initially offered to increase wages, but refused to allow automatic dues check-off.

"To actually collect dues is very difficult, as one of our unions is recognizing right now," Mr. Nespoli remarked, referring to Transport Workers Union Local 100, which has been without check-off rights for six months as punishment for the December 2005 transit strike. "It's time to reverse that."

The workers in Memphis, he continued, had a tough battle. After a March 28, 1968 protest led by Dr. King turned violent when police attacked the strikers with nightsticks, MACE and tear gas, the National Guard was called in to quell the riots. But that move actually increased tensions.

The strike's slogan, "I Am a Man," represented the demand of the black workers to be treated fairly with basic equal rights.

Dr. King's assassination on April 4 led to riots all over the United States, but also pressured former Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington to recognize Local 1733 and allow an automatic check-off of union dues from employees' paychecks.

The USA's day trip to Memphis was part of Local 831's larger plan to educate its members about the legacy of Dr. King and how he played an integral role in helping the cause of Sanitation Workers nationwide.

Personal Journey

For Business Agent Ronald Prattis, the trip was personal. He took special pride in telling his 10 year-old son Ronald where he had been upon his return. "He kind of looked at me with a blank stare, like 'wow!''' Mr. Prattis recalled. "I'm going to call my father. He's awaiting my full report."

Speaking with the veterans of the Memphis strike, he added, inspired him. "I've read about it, I've heard about, I've seen videos, but to actually sit across from the actual guys? I hung on every word," he said.

He added, "They gave me more strength to do my job down here."

Business Agent St. Joseph Middleton said his wife was surprised when he explained to her how they collected refuse before the strike. "They were at the bottom," he added last week, referring to the workers. "They weren't acknowledged as a union. They were fighting just to be recognized."

The USA also plans to commemorate the day with a special service on Jan. 17, 2008 at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. Several prominent African-American clergy members are scheduled to attend, as well as Mayor Bloomberg. The ceremony may also include retired members from the Memphis strike.

"If it snows, all bets are off," Mr. Nespoli said, noting that his members would be required to plow the streets.

The union is also working on a book detailing the entire history of Local 831, which will be given to every member upon completion. "The guys and ladies should know the history," he asserted. "Do they care? I don't know, because they are young, but they should at least know."

Other city uniformed personnel must work even though the late civil rights leader's birthday is a national holiday under legislation enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

Acrimonious Deal

Some local black activists have questioned why the city hasn't given all its workers that day off. They have contended the day should not be viewed as a negotiated benefit.

Mr. Nespoli noted the holiday and the opportunity to educate his 6,600 members didn't come easy. "We had to pay for it," he said, referring to the union's 4-1/2 year contract negotiated this summer.

The difference in paid holidays for civilian and uniformed workers stems back to collective-bargaining agreements that unions negotiated in 1985 with former Mayor Ed Koch and his Labor Relations Commissioner, Robert W. Linn.

In April 1985, District Council 37 Executive Director Victor Gotbaum agreed to a three-year deal with the city that included the significant symbolic gain of Mr. King's birthday as a paid holiday. Mr. Gotbaum reluctantly negotiated the benefit, arguing that it should be granted free of charge by the city.

But city negotiators then and now have insisted the added holiday could be granted only if the resulting costs were covered by some union giveback.

DC 37 officials back then agreed to reduced vacation schedules for new hires, a concession that the city's uniformed forces have never approved. Reducing leave days for new workers provided savings to the city worth nearly triple the cost of the paid holiday.