Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King, for fighting for workers’ rights.
This holiday weekend, your friends at Johnson & Groninger pause to remember Dr. King’s outstanding advocacy on behalf of workers.
Everyone knows about Dr. King’s tremendous advocacy for racial equality and his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. But Dr. King’s legacy also includes protecting workers’ rights to dignity, fair pay and benefits, and just treatment. The very day before he was killed, he led a march in Memphis, Tennessee demanding fair treatment and work conditions for that city’s sanitation workers. Even the famous “March on Washington” targeted more than racial equality, but also a national minimum wage to “give all Americans a decent standard of living.” Although he was proud of his work for racial equality, he realized that his movement should continue until workers’ rights, too, were equal:
“What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn’t earn enough money to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee?”
To protect workers, Dr. King fought against “right-to-work” laws that had developed in some states (and are still present here in North Carolina). Dr. King argued these laws hurt workers and society by weakening the power of unions and collective bargaining. He also protested certain unfair laws which stripped workers of their right to strike. During the last speech before his assassination, Dr. King delivered this important message:
“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.”
The attorneys at Johnson & Groninger PLLC are committed to carrying on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and making America a better nation. May we all work together today to end inequality, injustice, and the mistreatment of American workers:
“The time is always right to do what’s right.”
Please have a safe, happy, and productive Dr. Martin Luther King Day, from your friends at Johnson & Groninger PLLC!