The College of Charleston is hosting “Celebrating Labor Activism in Charleston, Past and Present” on September 10, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in Arnold Hall at the Jewish Studies Center (96 Wentworth Street).
This interactive event will include discussions on the 40th anniversary of the Charleston Hospital
Workers’ Strike, the current movement by City of Charleston sanitation workers for better health and safety conditions, and the Employee Free Choice Act.
Two people involved in the Charleston hospital workers’ strike of 1969, Mary Moultrie and Bill Saunders, will speak about the 100-day event and a short documentary will be shown. The strike began when 400 nurses’ aides, all African-American and mostly female, attempted to form a union at the then-Medical College Hospital because they were getting paid less than white women in the same job classifications and felt disrespected in the workplace.
African-American employees at Charleston County Hospital also went on a 113-day strike over the same grievances. Ultimately, all strikers were rehired, given wage increases and a more streamlined grievance system, but no union was officially recognized.
Several City of Charleston sanitation workers will also be on hand to talk about their current organizational efforts to address issues of health, safety and lack of respect on the job. The workers feel the City’s response has been inadequate and ineffective. Mary Moultrie is serving as an organizer for
the sanitation workers, linking past and present struggles.
There will also be a discussion about the Employee Free Choice Act, including an explanation of what it is and why it is needed.
For more information, contact George Hopkins at 843.953.8032 or hopkinsg@cofc.edu
