The Charleston Sanitation Strike, 1969

Part of a Sanitation Strike flier. See the whole page in the slideshow below. Taken from J. Palmer Gaillard Records, Series II, Roll 028, Frame 0222-0263. City of Charleston Records Management Division

In August 1969, the City of Charleston Sanitation Department went on strike for eleven weeks. This strike was one of many during the Civil Rights Movement and built on the experience and momentum of earlier demonstrations, both locally and nationally.

While this post will focus on labor demonstrations, a general timeline of the movement in South Carolina can be found here.

Bill Coughlin, August 3, 2013, Photograph, August 3, 2013, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=67363.

One foundational strike was the Cigar Factory Strike, which took place from 1945 to 1946. This strike was made up of predominantly Black women who demanded backpay for work done during World War II, a raise, and an easing of racial barriers in hiring skilled workers. It was here that "We Shall Overcome," the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, is said to have been first performed. Many people consider the success of the Cigar Factory Strike to be the foundation of future activism. Several of its participants showed solidarity with later strikers by offering support, advice, and strength in numbers. This solidarity proved to be necessary as the Civil Rights Movement progressed into the 1950s and 1960s.

Smith, Hammond, Middleton Legacy Plaza, South Carolina State University [1]

In 1968, a nearby event fanned the flames of protest when excessive police force resulted in injury and deaths, including that of a young teenager. The Orangeburg Massacre occurred on February 8, when students of South Carolina State and Claflin Colleges were protesting segregation when Governor Robert McNair responded by sending the National Guard, State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and State Highway Patrol. Their use of force resulted in 27 people being injured and the deaths of students Samuel Hammond, Henry Smith, and Delano Middleton.

The same year, a wave of sanitation strikes erupted in cities including New York, Charlotte, St. Petersburg, and Memphis. It was the sanitation strike in Memphis that brought Martin Luther King, Jr. to town multiple times to show solidarity, and was where he was assassinated on April 4, the day after giving his final speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop." The murder led to riots across the country and intensified the sanitation strike in Memphis, pushing its government into finding a solution. The strike ended April 11 with sanitation employees earning higher wages and union recognition. It wouldn't be long, however, until Charleston saw its own string of labor demonstrations.

In 1969, Charleston witnessed the Hospital Workers' Strike. This 113-day strike was made up of the predominantly Black female staff of the Medical College Hospital (now the Medical University of South Carolina) and their supporters, including Coretta Scott King. A state of emergency was called a few weeks into the strike, and, like in Orangeburg, law enforcement was summoned. During this time, SLED Chief Pete Strom wrote to Governor McNair saying that protesters were "attempting to organize the garbage collectors" [2]. Although the Hospital Workers' Strike ended on June 27, unrest continued to mount. [Sources from this Strike can be viewed here through the Waring Historical Library.]

In a May 1969 letter, Mayor J. Palmer Gaillard informed the City Controller of changes made to the sanitation department to prevent "labor trouble." More people were hired to meet the demands of the recently annexed West Ashley area, more tools were acquired, and pay was changed to Friday afternoon [3]. The next month, Mayor Gaillard received a letter from the Distributive, Processing, and Office Workers of America on behalf of Charleston sanitation, water works, and engineering employees requesting to negotiate better working conditions and pay [4]. Around the same time, the sanitation workers were organized and ready to walk out [5]. Gaillard met with the sanitation crew and their union allies several times in the following weeks, but failed negotiations led about 210 City of Charleston sanitation workers to walk out on August 15, 1969 [6]. Their complaints continued to include higher wages, Saturdays off (in line with other City departments), uniforms, access to showers, and union recognition [7, 8].

[6] Brinson, Ron. “City Garbage Men Walk Out on Jobs.” Evening Post (Charleston (S.C.)), August 15, 1969.

In response to the abrupt shortage of workers, the city and county employed prison inmates as strikebreakers [9]. Supporters of the sanitation crew spread fliers to keep people informed about the strike, its negotiations, and that volunteers would collect garbage to avoid crossing the picket line. See the slideshow below for images found in the J. Palmer Gaillard Mayoral Records.

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After eleven weeks, the strike was settled on October 29, 1969 [10]. The outcome was a $2/week raise, the rehiring of strikers with their seniority rights preserved, and establishing a procedure for workers to air grievances without involving the mayor. The sanitation department did not reach their desired wages or union recognition. To this day, South Carolina continues to have one of the lowest rates of union recognition in the country [11]

Several sanitation employees later shared their perspectives on the demonstration, including in this 1975 workers' statement and an interview with Janie Campbell conducted by the Charleston Oral History Program. These recollections show how impactful this strike was on the Charleston community and how labor intersects with the Civil Rights Movement.

Sources

[1] Johnson, Julia. Spectrum News (Orangeburg (S.C.)), February 9, 2026.

[2] Correspondence, February-April, Box: 32. Robert E. McNair Papers, South Carolina Political Collections, University of South Carolina.

[3] Gaillard, J., Palmer, Jr. To Jack Budds. May 8, 1968. City of Charleston Records Management Division, Mayoral Records, J. Palmer Gaillard Records, Series II, Roll 008, Frame 2177-2178.

[4] Hepburn, Erskine. To J. Palmer Gaillard. June 6, 1969. J. Palmer Gaillard Records, Series II, Roll 028, Frame 0222-0263. City of Charleston Records Management Division

[5] Reaves, Dora Ann, and Jack Leland. “Strikers Beginning to Regroup.” Charleston Evening Post (Charleston (S.C.)), June 13, 1969.

[6] Ron Brinson, “City Garbage Men Walk Out on Jobs,” Evening Post, August 15, 1969.

[7] Rosen, Morris D. To J. Palmer Gaillard. June 20, 1969. City of Charleston Records Management Division, Mayoral Records, J. Palmer Gaillard Records, Series II, Roll 028, Frame 0222-0263.

[8] Wilcox, Margaret M. “Residents Heeding Garbage Request.” Charleston News & Courier (Charleston (S.C.)), August 17, 1969.

[9] Charleston Evening Post (Charleston (S.C.)). “City Is Replacing Striking Workers.” August 16, 1969.

[10] Fred Rigsbee, “Garbage Strike Is Settled Here,” Evening Post, October 29, 1969.

[11] Union Members in South Carolina - 2025. News Release Nos. 26-343-ATL. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/regions/southeast/news-release/unionmembers_southcarolina.htm.