Forty-three years ago, in Memphis, a long struggle for human rights and human dignity ended in the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but it brought economic justice and the respect that all people deserve to 1,300 city sanitation workers, on strike to win recognition of their union.

On April 4 this year, the anniversary of Dr. King’s death, we will stand together across this country for those same human rights and human dignity for working men and women. We will remember the courage and determination of those 1,300 workers who endured assault and arrest as they walked a picket line for two months, as we stand with public workers whose bargaining rights are under attack, with private workers who can’t get bargaining rights, and against those politicians and their allies who want to silence our political voice.

We won’t be silenced.

What: Across the country, in workplaces, schools and communities, we will stand up for workers’ rights and human dignity.

When: Monday, April 4.

Who: Civil and human rights activists; union members and supporters; Latinos, Asians and immigrants; religious supporters; environmental, student and women’s groups, and many others

Why: We’re standing together for human rights and dignity, against those politicians who want to silence millions of working families. We won’t be silenced.

On April 4, on the job, in our schools and in our communities, we will remind our elected officials that workers rights are human rights, and that those rights will not be destroyed.

In Memphis in 1968, a coalition of civil and human rights organizations, the religious community and the union movement stood against an unfair government. During peaceful marches and sit-ins at City Hall, striking workers and their supporters were confronted with police, tanks and the National Guard, the armed forces of a city and state.

In Wisconsin in 2011, Governor Scott Walker also threatened peaceful demonstrators with the force of the state and the National Guard, and illegally barred the doors of the Statehouse to its citizens. And in 2011, it will again be a coalition of civil and human rights activists; union members and supporters; Latinos, Asians and immigrants; religious supporters; environmental, student and women’s groups, and many others standing together, against a political agenda that is attacking working families, their human rights and their human dignity.  

Today, working people still look to these basic human rights. In state after state, we have seen an assault on public workers and a demand by some politicians to strip workers of their rights. We see private sector workers harassed and fired when they pursue bargaining rights. We see some politicians eager to do the bidding of wealthy campaign contributors and to weaken the voice of millions of working and middle class families.    

The public workers now under assault in too many states are those who keep our communities clean and safe, who teach our children, who help those less fortunate. That work has dignity and worth. Yet they are being vilified by politicians, corporate interests and right-wing extremists, following an agenda that they hope will strip workers of their political voice for years to come.  Theirs is a false hope.

The fight for dignity and workers rights that began this year in Wisconsin and spread to Ohio, New Jersey, Missouri, New Hampshire and so many other states goes on. We are determined to stay in the struggle to the end. Across the nation, on April 4, 2011, at community vigils, teach-ins, public rallies, workplace demonstrations and other events, we will “go up together,”stand together, and unite and win.

We call on activists and supporters throughout our organizations to participate in the April 4 events as part of the continuing struggle for human rights and human dignity for all.

Join The March 29 Virtual Town Hall

On Tuesday, March 29, CWAers will again join together for a virtual town hall meeting. CWA President Larry Cohen, Executive Vice President Annie Hill, executive board members and thousands of CWA activists will be on the phone in our third meeting since the fight for fairness in the states got underway.

Topping the agenda: the April 4 Day of Action. That’s when union members and allies from the Sierra Club, NAACP, La Raza, the Urban League, religious communities, the National Association of People with Disabilities, Common Cause and many more will stand together for workers’ rights.

We’ll get reports from the front lines of our fight for worker’s rights and human rights in the states, and during the call, you’ll also have an opportunity to ask questions.

Click here to register.

Sign up for the virtual town hall today with your preferred phone number and we will call you on Tuesday, March. 29 to connect you to the meeting. If you plan to participate using your mobile phone, you can also register by texting CWACALL to 69866 (standard text messaging rates apply).