<P> During the New Deal, blacks were able to organize as part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, a group which Crump called communist "nigger unionism ." However, organized black labor was set back by anti-communist fear after World War II . Civil rights and unionism in Memphis were thus heavily stifled all through the 1950s . </P> <P> The civil rights struggle was renewed in the 1960s, starting with desegregation sit - ins in the summer of 1960 . The NAACP and SCLC were particularly active in Memphis during this period . </P> <P> Memphis sanitation workers were mostly black . They enjoyed few of the protections that other workers had; their pay was low and they could be fired (usually by white supervisors) without warning . In 1968, these workers were earning between $1.60 and $1.90 an hour . In addition to their sanitation work, often including unpaid overtime, many worked other jobs or appealed to welfare and public housing . </P> <P> Black sanitation workers had been attempting to organize since 1960, when T.O. Jones and O.Z. Evers began signing workers up with the Teamsters . However, many blacks were afraid to unionize due to fear of persecution . This fear proved justified in 1963, when 33 workers (including Jones) were all fired immediately after an organizing meeting they attended . Nevertheless, AFSCME Local 1733 was successfully formed in November 1964 . </P>

Being an advocate for nonviolent protest in the memphis sanitation worker strike