Tennessee National Guard troopers in jeeps and trucks escort a protest march by striking Memphis sanitation workers through downtown Memphis Saturday afternoon March 30, 1968. (AP photo file)
By Ned Resnikoff
February 1, 1968. Echol Cole and Robert Walker, two black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn. were collecting garbage in the midst of a pounding Southern monsoon. As their crew chief ferried them from house to house, they took shelter from the downpour in the trash compactor of their truck, a decrepit city vehicle. At some point that afternoon, the compactor malfunctioned, and Cole and Walker were chewed up by its rusted machinery. The Memphis government paid Cole and Walker’s families a small bereavement fee—not even enough to cover the cost of the funerals.
The Memphis sanitation workers went on strike, demanding union recognition against impossible odds. And a month and a half later, Dr. King came to town. Read the full story here.
About 3 in 10 non-federal employers will give all or most workers the holiday off.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed with a day off for government employees, but many other employers don’t necessarily follow suit.
According to a recent survey from the Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs, about 3 in 10 non-federal employers will give all or most workers Monday off with pay.
That’s a slight gain from 30 percent in 2011 but significantly higher than in the first years after the holiday was created. Only 14 percent of surveyed businesses made MLK Day a paid day off in 1987. That figure reached 30 percent in 2004 and has hovered there since.
By contrast, about 96 percent of employers surveyed gave Thanksgiving Day as a paid holiday for workers in 2011.
President Ronald Reagan signed legislation to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986.
“It’s the one holiday we have that reflects America’s best ideals of justice, equality, democracy and human rights,” Carson said. “It’s part of our national heritage now.”
Source: Read the full story here, Chicago Tribune
About Verizon:
For union workers at Verizon MLK Day is a floating holiday. That means the day off may be taken on MLK day or another holiday of the employee’s choice (article 24 below). The floating holiday was negotiated for Verizon union workers by the Communication Workers of America (CWA) during contract negotiations. CWA 1101 Members did not have the day off until it was in their contract.
Verizon Contract Article 24: Lincoln’s Birthday – Employees shall have the option of observing either Martin Luther King Day or the day after Thanksgiving as a holiday instead of Lincoln’s Birthday. Employees shall indicate their choice when they select their vacation for that year.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
In honor of Dr. King’s achievements in bringing people together to address important community issues, thousands will gather on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to participate in community service projects. The slogan is: “A day ON, not a day OFF.” Find a community service project in New York City.