Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King's Assassination

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 4, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wednesday, April 4 2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis.  Inspired by Dr. King's enduring legacy, the officers of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, President Rick Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder, issued the following joint statement:

"Today, the struggle for civil rights and economic justice and a fair society continues.  Though we have made much progress in the five decades following the death of Dr. King, we have much more work to do.  Working people regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, orientation or creed must come together in solidarity to achieve decent wages, fair and safe working conditions, better housing and education for our families and dignity in our retirement.

Dr. King's assassination came while he was in Memphis standing with striking AFSCME-represented sanitation workers, who were fighting for dignity, respect and one of the most basic of all economic rights, a safe workplace.  Their slogan 'I Am a Man' entered the hymnal of Labor in 1968, and has grown to represent the essential decency and dignity that labor unions defend and promote for working people.  In rememberance of Dr. King's selflessness, and in resolve to continue his work for equality and justice, union brothers and sisters have joined together through the I AM 2018 campaign to redouble the Labor movement's commitment to the values and principles embodied by Dr. King.

We choose to 'walk in the light of creative altruism', to come together in unity and strong labor unions to lift up all working people.  We reject 'the darkness of destructive selfishness' that the rigged economic system and corporate special interests have imposed through decades of catastrophic public and economic policies that have resulted in furthering discrimination and inequality.  We choose to work on behalf of all working people, for all those who seek a voice at work and in their community."  

SOURCE Pennsylvania AFL-CIO