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.
1968-2013: The Struggle Continues
In 1968 sanitation workers made history in Memphis, Tennessee. Over a thousand workers went on strike to protest unfair wages, discrimination, and unsafe working conditions that took the lives of...
Workers Dr. King Fought For Say Challenges Still Lie Ahead
Coverage from CBS affiliate WREG in Memphis about the commemoration of the 45th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and the 1968 sanitation workers' strike.
Lee Saunders seeks to re-energize public servants
Pres. Saunders speaks with Les Smith from WHBQ Fox 13 about the events in Memphis commemorating the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and the 1968 sanitation...
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...
