Memphis workers honour Martin Luther King

This video from the USA in 2011 is called Memphis memorial march for Martin Luther King 1968.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Memphis workers march 45 years on to honour King

Thursday 04 April 2013

by Our Foreign Desk

Memphis sanitation workers joined a march today to honour Martin Luther King on the anniversary of his death there at the hands of gunman James Earl Ray.

King was shot dead while on a visit to the Tennessee city to defend the rights of striking sanitation workers to trade union organisation, safe working conditions and decent wages.

Forty-five years after he was killed supporting their historic strike, some of the same men who marched with him still pick up Memphis rubbish.

King‘s assassination led to riots, but the strike turned to victory when the city agreed a 10-cent hourly rise and other demands, including unionisation.

But now the workers are fighting again to hold onto jobs that council bosses want to hand over to a private company.

“It looks like they’re trying to take us down again,” said 81-year-old Elmore Nickleberry, one of the original strikers who still drives a dustcart at night.

City council members say the city can’t ignore savings of $8 million (£5.3m) to $15m (£9.9m) and pressure for privatisation began two years ago.

Officials have been slashing costs in the department.

It currently has 124 unfilled positions out of 619 jobs, resulting in $5m (£3.3m) in savings.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees local organiser Chad Johnson aims to preserve jobs while also shedding light on department problems.

These include an aging lorry fleet, poor training, insufficient retirement benefits and, once again, problems with safety.

“Unfortunately, 45 years later, I have to say we haven’t made much progress,” said Johnson.

“We’re still talking about sanitation employees being treated poorly by management, by the citizenry, by the city council and by the administration.”

For now, the future of the city’s sanitation workers is in limbo. Such uncertainty concerns Mr Nickleberry.

“They’re trying to take everything King did for us, they’re trying to take it all back,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right.”

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