On this day in labor history, the year was 1969.
That was the day Dr. Ralph Abernathy, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference arrived in Charleston, South Carolina to address striking hospital workers and their supporters.
More than 400 black hospital workers at Medical College Hospital and Charleston County Hospital had walked off the job earlier in the month.
They demanded an end to racial harassment and discrimination, wage increases, union recognition and reinstatement of fired coworkers.
It was yet another instance where workers’ struggles embodied the broader social debates of the day.
Struggles for racial and gender equality as well as the rights of public sector workers to organize, especially in the South all converged in Charleston.
Workers at both hospitals sought out Local 1199, which had already organized hospital workers in New York City.
Local 1199B was soon chartered and Mary Moultrie, a licensed nurse from Medical College Hospital was elected president.
Twelve workers were fired when the new union demanded recognition.
That’s when they voted to go on strike. Picketers were met with injunctions and arrests.
The president of MCH, William McCord stated he would not “turn a 25 million dollar complex over to a bunch of people who don’t have a grammar school education.”
He and Governor, Robert McNair cited the state’s right to work law as justification for refusal to recognize the union.
The SCLC arrived in Charleston to lend its support. Speaking to 1500 workers and their supporters Abernathy linked the struggles of Local 1199B to those of meat packers and sanitation workers.
He also charged that Congress would rather spend millions on war than to “stand people on their feet in Charleston.”
May 11 - Organizing in the Fields
May 10 - Bankruptcy Bonanza for Big Bankers
May 9 - The Historic ‘34 West Coast Maritime Strike Begins
May 8 - Mary Marcy is Born
May 7 - Popeye The Union Man
May 6 - FDR Rolls Out the WPA
May 5 - The Bay View Massacre
May 4 - UE Beats Back HUAC in Dayton
May 3 - First Workers Compensation Law is Passed
May 2 - Our Thing is DRUM!
May 1 - Mayday Marchers Attacked in Cleveland
April 30 - Refinery Workers Walk Off the Job
April 29 - Allis-Chalmers and the Road to Taft-Hartley
April 28 - OSHA Goes Into Effect
April 27 - Disaster in West Virginia
April 26 - National Guard Ousts Montgomery Ward CEO
April 25 - UAW Mobilizes Against Taft-Hartley
April 24 - The California Spinach Riot
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
Heal, Survive & Thrive!
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast