AFSCME Honors Dr. King with Fight for Jobs, Justice

Photo by Luis Gomez

Thousands came to the National Mall this past fall to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy with a new memorial. They pledged to continue his life’s work toward justice for workers.

Before the official unveiling, thousands of AFSCME members and other unionists, civil rights activists, and members of faith organizations participated in a Jobs and Justice rally.

Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968 while supporting 1,300 striking sanitation workers represented by Local 1733. “He understood the connection between workers’ rights and civil rights,” AFSCME Sec.-Treas. Lee Saunders said at the nationally televised dedication ceremony. “Those striking sanitation workers weren’t simply fighting for better pay and safer working conditions. They were asserting a claim on our democracy.”