Title
To recognize and encourage participation in the AFSCME ‘Minute of Reflection’ on February 1, 2018
Body
WHEREAS, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the nation’s largest public services employees union with more than 1.6 million working and retired members; and
WHEREAS, on Thursday, February 1, 2018, AFSCME will hold a national ‘Minute of Reflection’ to recognize the vital services provided every day by AFSCME members and other public services workers, and to recognize and remember the dedication and sacrifice of the labor movement’s founding members; and
WHEREAS, Robert Walker and Echol Cole were killed on February 1, 1968, by malfunctioning equipment while working for Memphis Public Works, triggering 1,300 AFSCME Local 1733 sanitation workers to go on strike in response to dangerous equipment, poverty wages, and discrimination; and
WHEREAS, February 1, 2018, is the 50th anniversary of the accident that killed Robert Walker and Echol Cole and the ‘Minute of Reflection’ honors their memory, and all public services workers who suffered through dangerous working conditions as well as racial and economic inequality; and
WHEREAS, the founding principles and work of AFSCME and all organized labor in the United States continues today, and the ‘Minute of Reflection’ is a time to recommit to the important and ongoing goals of ensuring dignity, safety, and shared prosperity in the workplace for all workers; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby recognize and commit to observe the national ‘Minute of Reflection’ on February 1, 2018, and thank AFSCME workers and all public services workers for their important contributions to the health, safety, and prosperity of our community.