AFSCME: 75 Years of History
The history of AFSCME began in 1932, as the country suffered through a severe economic depression, when a small group of white-collar professional state employees met in Madison, Wisconsin, and formed what would later become Wisconsin State Employees Union/Council 24. The reason for the group’s creation was simple: to promote, defend and enhance the civil service system. They also were determined to help spread the civil service system across the country. Read More »
Photo Credit: Richard L. Copley
On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Memphis to support AFSCME sanitation workers. That evening, he delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to a packed room of supporters. The next day, he was assassinated.
Memphis Comes to Washington
The 1,300 sanitation workers who participated in the historic 1968 strike in Memphis, Tennessee -- members of AFSCME Local 1733 -- were enshrined into the U.S. Department of Labor's "Labor...
"We Are One" March in Memphis, TN
AFSCME Sec.-Treas. Lee A. Saunders reflects on the 43nd anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the "We Are One" March in Memphis, TN on April...
Memphis Sanitation Workers Remember
Memphis sanitation workers from the famous 1968 strike stand in solidarity with workers across the country, who are fighting the same battle for rights today.
From Memphis to Madison - The Struggle Continues
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis 43 years ago, where he had travelled to support AFSCME sanitation workers striking for the right to collective bargaining. That struggle...
