524:, African Americans in Charleston's Medical College Hospital were still treated more poorly than white employees. Several African American hospital workers had been attempting to meet with Dr. William McCord, the president of the hospital, to discuss low wages, discrimination, and verbal abuse on the job. One nurse, Mary Grimes-Vanderhorst, claimed that she was unjustly demoted from a nurse to a nursing assistant because of her race, consequentially reducing her pay. Other African American nurses and hospital workers stated that they were being paid less than white employees who did the same work, receiving $ 1.30 per hour, 30¢ below the minimum wage. Black employees often complained that racial slurs and racist comments had been used against them and that the hospital had taken no action to discipline employees who made such comments. Some African American workers were prohibited from eating their lunch in break rooms because of segregation, and were forced to eat outside or in boiler rooms.
535:(SCLC), requested formal recognition from the hospital's president, which was rejected. On March 18, 1969, President McCord agreed to meet with Moultrie and several other employees during their lunch break. But McCord brought an anti-union delegation outnumbering Moultrie’s group. Moultrie and her colleagues walked out of the meeting knowing that compromise would not be possible with the anti-union delegation's presence. Moultrie and eleven other workers briefly took over the president’s office in protest. The twelve workers were accused of leaving their patients unattended and were terminated that day. However, according to Louise Brown, one of the African American women who was fired, the twelve workers were on their lunch break; their patients, as usual, were already covered by other hospital staff.
643:
Medical
College Hospital promised to rehire strikers the following week, including the original twelve employees who had been fired, and to abide by a newly established six-step grievance process, and to provide modest pay increases. Though the union was never formally recognized by the Hospital or by any level of government, the strike was considered a success. Consequently, African Americans at the Medical College received higher pay and a more transparent system of hiring. Within a few months of the strike's end, Local 1199 withdrew its support from Charleston after failing to secure legal recognition. The 1970 political documentary
42:
544:
598:. Some protesters defied the curfew and led the strike into the night. By early summer, armored personnel carriers and soldiers with fixed-bayonets had arrived in the city. Violence increased against strikers: one union member's hotel room was firebombed and mysterious fires erupted around the city. Mary Moultrie moved out of her home for her family’s safety and slept on a cot at the union hall under the guard of armed youths. William Bill Saunders, a
621:, King stated, "I feel that the black woman in our nation, the black working woman is perhaps the most discriminated against of all of the working women, the black woman." After the speech, King, alongside Mary Moultrie, led a 2,000-person march. The following week on Mother's Day, over ten thousand people, including five
567:, committed to using any means at their disposal to avoid unionization. Within a few hours of the beginning of the strike, the Medical College prohibited all picketing, which was later amended to require picketers to stand no fewer than twenty yards apart. One nurse, Naomi White, created a group called
625:, marched in downtown Charleston. The tourist industry of Charleston was strained as a result of these marches as protesters clogged public streets and markets. Local 1199B created advertisements that sought to encourage locals to purchase only food and medicine to further disrupt the city's economy.
642:
A federal investigation charged the
Medical College Hospital with 37 instances of civil rights violation and threatened to cut off $ 12 million in federal funding. President McCord yielded, and on June 27, 1969, he announced that a settlement had been made between the hospital and the strikers. The
628:
Most politicians in South
Carolina agreed with Governor McNair's response to the strike, though his constituents grew increasingly frustrated by the ongoing fallout. Many businesses in Charleston were negatively affected by the strikes, both by strikers blocking establishments and the imposed 9 p.m.
531:, a national health care workers' union. Local 1199 agreed to establish a chapter in Charleston, named Local 1199B, with Mary Moultrie as its president. Moultrie was also an employee of the hospital. The Local 1199B union, with assistance from the
633:
and other hotels that were forced to cancel events and conferences. Additionally, the South
Carolina Task Force for Community Uplift noted that the use of national guard forces required $ 10,000 daily (approximately $ 71,000 in 2020 dollars).
558:
In response to the firing of the twelve
African American employees, on March 19, 1969, over sixty African American hospital employees walked off of their jobs and led a strike against the hospital. Both hospital employers, the State of
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401:
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hospital workers. Protests began after twelve black employees were fired for voicing their concerns to the president of
Medical College Hospital, which is now the
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veteran who participated in the strike, observed that police arrested dozens of people daily. Over 1,000 people were arrested throughout the civil conflict.
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prohibited the
Medical College and Charleston County from compromising with the strikers and to urged them to avoid anything that would appear to be
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to protest and demanded better wages and improved working conditions. After two months, the strike was resolved with a compromise.
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571:, which went to hospital workers' homes to encourage them to strike or protest, though Moultrie and the SCLC were unaware of the
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871:"WE SHALL NOT ALWAYS PLANT WHILE OTHERS REAP":BLACK WOMEN HOSPITAL WORKERS AND THE CHARLESTON HOSPITAL STRIKE, 1967-1970
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583:. McNair feared that the strike would lead to more strikes in other fields of work around the state.
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820:"Coretta Scott King at Charleston hospital strike march: Like Selma, Memphis, 'a national test'"
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curfew. Some businesses reported revenue reductions by as much as 50%, including the
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794:"Charleston Hospital Workers Strike, 50 years later: MUSC, local leaders reflect"
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On August 15, 1969, two hundred black
Charleston city sanitation workers led a
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144:
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696:"Civil Rights – Civil Wrongs: The 1969 Charleston Hospital Workers Strike"
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873:(Doctorate Dissertation). University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
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653:, highlighted the Charleston strikes on a national level.
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By the end of April, the movement gathered the support of
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National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People
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Increase of pay for
African-American hospital employees
982:
African-American history in Charleston, South Carolina
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On April 25, 1969, Governor McNair ordered over 1,000
554:, led part of the Charleston Hospital Workers Strike.
594:, imposed a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, and declared a
527:In September 1968, some hospital workers contacted
492:that protested the unfair and unequal treatment of
500:. The strike was one of the last campaigns of the
309:Brown v. South Carolina State Forestry Commission
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864:
862:
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16:Labor strike in the U.S. civil rights movement
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931:. Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. n.d
909:. Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. n.d
847:. Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. n.d
773:. Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. n.d
748:. Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. n.d
301:South Carolina State College student protest
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345:Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas
619:Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
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258:
785:
792:Savage, Alexandria (February 28, 2019).
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533:Southern Christian Leadership Conference
506:Southern Christian Leadership Conference
121:Southern Christian Leadership Conference
822:. Lowcountry Digital History Initiative
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510:assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
502:civil rights movement in South Carolina
378:Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc.
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869:Dixon-McKnight, Otha Jennifer (2017).
845:"Coretta Scott King visits Charleston"
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402:Henry v. Greenville Airport Commission
977:History of Charleston, South Carolina
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724:"Charleston hospital workers' strike"
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715:
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694:Murray, Carolyn (September 1, 2019).
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235:President of Medical College Hospital
101:More equitable policies for employees
520:Five years after the passage of the
498:Medical University of South Carolina
670:African Americans in South Carolina
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722:Hopkins, George (April 15, 2016).
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14:
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972:Labor disputes in South Carolina
746:"Built on Grassroots Organizing"
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962:1969 labor disputes and strikes
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409:Peterson v. City of Greenville
52:March 19, 1969 – June 27, 1969
1:
818:Hicks, Brian (June 9, 2019).
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150:South Carolina National Guard
726:. Charleston SC Encyclopedia
617:. In an April 30 address at
488:was a two-month movement in
332:Charleston sanitation strike
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422:Orangeburg merchant boycott
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987:Health and medical strikes
887:. Smartasset. June 9, 2020
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486:Charleston hospital strike
327:Charleston hospital strike
223:Governor of South Carolina
62:Charleston, South Carolina
22:Charleston hospital strike
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364:Bouie v. City of Columbia
357:Edwards v. South Carolina
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698:. Charleston County News
638:Settlement and aftermath
522:Civil Rights Act of 1964
371:Barr v. City of Columbia
155:Medical College Hospital
771:"Civil Rights Unionism"
504:, and the first of the
296:State of South Carolina
957:1969 in South Carolina
885:"Inflation Calculator"
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552:Martin Luther King Jr.
473:Original Freedom Rides
967:Civil rights movement
581:collective bargaining
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282:Civil Rights Movement
229:Robert Evander McNair
133:1199 Healthcare Union
78:Racial discrimination
29:Civil Rights Movement
391:New Year's Day March
550:, wife of the late
432:Orangeburg massacre
86:within the hospital
607:Coretta Scott King
596:state of emergency
592:National Guardsmen
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548:Coretta Scott King
468:Darlington sit-ins
427:Orangeburg sit-ins
416:City of Orangeburg
396:Greenville sit-ins
385:City of Greenville
322:Charleston sit-ins
316:City of Charleston
240:Dr. William McCord
198:Coretta Scott King
182:President of 1199B
84:Racial segregation
651:Madeline Anderson
609:and SCLC members
565:Charleston County
512:the year before.
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458:Rock Hill sit-ins
452:Briggs v. Elliott
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933:. Retrieved
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907:"Settlement"
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173:Lead figures
27:Part of the
929:"Aftermath"
631:Holiday Inn
93:Resulted in
951:Categories
676:References
600:Korean War
529:Local 1199
516:Background
508:since the
575:Governor
143:State of
69:Caused by
798:ABC News
664:See also
57:Location
935:June 9,
913:June 9,
891:June 9,
851:June 9,
826:June 9,
803:June 9,
777:June 9,
752:June 9,
730:June 9,
702:June 9,
573:Angels.
129:(NAACP)
108:Parties
539:Strike
123:(SCLC)
937:2020
915:2020
893:2020
853:2020
828:2020
805:2020
779:2020
754:2020
732:2020
704:2020
613:and
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484:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
