Teamsters March In Atlanta To Demand Justice For Sanitation Workers

Republic Services and Dekalb County Workers Joined at March by Workers From 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike

ATLANTA, Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At the annual Martin Luther King Day march yesterday, more than 400 sanitation workers and Teamster allies joined workers from the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike to demand that Republic Services/Allied Waste [NYSE: RSG] treat its workers equally and with respect. They were joined by sanitation workers in Dekalb County who are fighting to form a union.

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The sanitation workers marched together to honor King's legacy of defending workers' livelihoods and to remind us that the dream of economic and social justice must be fought every day. Their banners and signs read "Justice for Sanitation Workers" and "Sanitation Workers United."

Republic Services/Allied Waste is attacking its workers all across America. In some cities, workers are cheated out of a day's pay or more when they work overtime. In others, Republic is trying to destroy workers' retirement security, and to force workers to give up their right to a trial under the Civil Rights Act if the company discriminates against them.

Republic sanitation workers from Atlanta and McDonough, Ga., represented by Teamsters Local Union 728, as well as Republic workers from Brewton, Ala. and Pensacola, Fla., represented by Teamsters Local Union 991, marched together yesterday. They were joined by Republic workers from Memphis – represented by Teamsters Local Union 984 - who traveled by bus yesterday for the march.

Two sanitation workers from the 1968 strike, Baxter Leach and Alvin Turner, also traveled from Memphis for the march.

"This is the first time I have been to Atlanta since 1968 when I attended Rev. King's funeral. I traveled here today to stand up for the rights of waste workers whose livelihoods are threatened," Turner said.

"The Rev. King came to our hometown 45 years ago to support us, and I am honoring his memory by fighting for today's workers who are facing some of the same issues we faced," Leach said.

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