MLK GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR WORKING PEOPLE

MLK shakes hand of President
Johnson after the signing of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
photo: Getty Images

Rochester, N.Y.-- The struggle for union rights is often considered to be of no great significance in comparison to other landmark milestones in 20th century American history. However, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew better. He also knew that the right to unionize was one of the most important components to economic and social justice. Virtually his last act was in support of that right, for he was killed by an assassin's bullet on April 4, 1968, as he was preparing to lead strikers in yet another demonstration.

Those marchers were striking union members, AFSCME sanitation workers demanding that the city of Memphis formally recognize their union and thus grant them a voice in determining their wages, hours and working conditions.

The 5,000-plus demonstrators were described as working-class, church-going people who donned their Sunday best because they believed in the righteousness of the strike and they believed in King.

He had come to Memphis to support them despite threats that he might be killed if he did.

There are, of course, many other reasons for honoring him on January 16, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but we shouldn't forget that one of the most important reasons, one that's often overlooked, is Dr. King's championing of the cause of the Memphis strikers and others who sought union recognition.

The strikers' eventual victory in Memphis led quickly to union recognition victories by black and white public employees throughout the South and elsewhere. They had passed a major test of union endurance against very heavy odds, prompting a great upsurge of union organizing and militancy among government workers.

Anyone doubting that the labor and civil rights movements share those goals need only heed the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"Our needs are identical with labor's needs: Decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old-age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children, and respect in the community. The coalition that can have the greatest impact in the struggle for human dignity here in America is that of the blacks and forces of labor, because their fortunes are so closely intertwined."