Drummond, Traci

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Georgia State UniversityScholarWorks @ Georgia State UniversitySelections from the University Library Blog University Library Publications1-22-2013MLK’s Labor Legacy began in AtlantaTraci DrummondGeorgia State University, tdrummond@gsu.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blogPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Library Publications at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Selections from the University Library Blog by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University.For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu.Recommended CitationDrummond, Traci, "MLK’s Labor Legacy began in Atlanta" (2013). Selections from the University Library Blog. 6.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blog/6MLK’s Labor Legacy began in Atlanta Posted on January 22, 2013 by Traci JoLeigh Drummond  Workers at Scripto (1953), Lane Brothers Photographic Collection, GSU Library Yesterday, Creative Loafing online posted a photo essay titled “Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta” to commemorate Dr. King’s legacy and his ties to the city. The essay discusses the places he lived, worked, planned, and agitated, including the former site of Atlanta Scripto, one of the United States’ leading pen and pencil manufacturers and one of Atlanta’s largest employers. Creative Loafing used the Scripto Strike records, part of Georgia State University Library’s Southern Labor Archives, while researching their story. In 1963, the International Chemical Workers Union began the process of organizing Scripto’s workers, and on June 9, 1964 the National Labor Relations Board granted the Chemical Workers Union a Certification of Representation. On the day before Thanksgiving, 1964, Scripto employees walked off the job, demanding more equitable pay for skilled and non-skilled workers. (As it stood, non-skilled workers were receiving $400 a year below the federal poverty level).  Workers at Scripto (1953), Lane Brothers Photographic Collection, GSU Library Dr. King sympathized with and supported the strikers, many of whom were black and members of King’s church. The Reverend C.T. Vivian believed an alliance between civil rights groups and the union would help the strikers reach their demands. With the help of King and Vivian, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Chemical Workers Union combined efforts to increase pressure on Scripto. They planned a national boycott, in which over half a million leaflets were distributed to unions asking them to boycott all Scripto products. As the strike progressed, it increasingly took the form of a civil rights initiative. By Christmas 1964, Scripto and the Union reached their first agreement: The union would drop the boycott, if Scripto gave the striking workers their annual Christmas bonuses. On January 9, 1965, the Scripto strike came to an end. The workers received a 4 cent across-the-board increase each year for the following three years, and Scripto was forced to re-hire 155 strikers and retain the replacement workers they had hired to maintain production during the strike. After the strike, racial tensions eased at the Scripto plant.*  Workers at Scripto (1953), Lane Brothers Photographic Collection, GSU Library This was Dr. King’s first showing of support for laborers, and he worked to  form an alliance between the civil rights movement and labor unions until his assassination on April 4, 1968. At the time, he was in Memphis supporting striking sanitation workers, members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 1733. For more information about the Scripto strike and Dr. King’s ties with the labor movement, check out these resources: Scripto Strike records, Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University Library. Scripto Pen Company records, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center (don’t forget the photographs!). Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, Atlanta University Center (AUC) Woodruff Library. All labor has dignity, King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968 (speeches; other author: Honey, Michael K.), 2011. Going down Jericho Road : the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King’s last campaign, Honey, Michael K., 2007. I am a Man, web exhibit created by the Walter P. Reuther Library in conjunction with the Wayne State University Library System, which documents Dr. King’s trip to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 to support striking sanitation workers, members of AFSCME Local 1733 (2012). *“The Scripto Strike. Martin Luther King’s “Valley of Problems”: Atlanta, 1964-1965.” Atlanta History, Fall 1999. 

MLK’s Labor Legacy began in Atlanta

Georgia State University

Georgia State University
ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University
Selections from the University Library Blog University Library Publications
1-22-2013
MLK’s Labor Legacy began in Atlanta
Traci Drummond
Georgia State University, tdrummond@gsu.edu
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blog
Part of the Library and Information Science Commons
This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Library Publications at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has
been accepted for inclusion in Selections from the University Library Blog by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University.
For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Drummond, Traci, "MLK’s Labor Legacy began in Atlanta" (2013). Selections from the University Library Blog. 6.
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blog/6
MLK’s Labor Legacy began in Atlanta 
Posted on January 22, 2013 by Traci JoLeigh Drummond 
 
Workers at Scripto (1953), Lane Brothers Photographic Collection, GSU Library 
Yesterday, Creative Loafing online posted a photo essay titled “Martin Luther King Jr. 
in Atlanta” to commemorate Dr. King’s legacy and his ties to the city. The essay 
discusses the places he lived, worked, planned, and agitated, including the former site of 
Atlanta Scripto, one of the United States’ leading pen and pencil manufacturers and one 
of Atlanta’s largest employers. Creative Loafing used the Scripto Strike records, part of 
Georgia State University Library’s Southern Labor Archives, while researching their 
story. 
In 1963, the International Chemical Workers Union began the process of organizing 
Scripto’s workers, and on June 9, 1964 the National Labor Relations Board granted the 
Chemical Workers Union a Certification of Representation. On the day before 
Thanksgiving, 1964, Scripto employees walked off the job, demanding more equitable 
pay for skilled and non-skilled workers. (As it stood, non-skilled workers were receiving 
$400 a year below the federal poverty level). 
 Workers at Scripto (1953), Lane Brothers Photographic Collection, GSU Library 
Dr. King sympathized with and supported the strikers, many of whom were black and 
members of King’s church. The Reverend C.T. Vivian believed an alliance between civil 
rights groups and the union would help the strikers reach their demands. With the help 
of King and Vivian, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Chemical 
Workers Union combined efforts to increase pressure on Scripto. They planned a 
national boycott, in which over half a million leaflets were distributed to unions asking 
them to boycott all Scripto products. As the strike progressed, it increasingly took the 
form of a civil rights initiative. By Christmas 1964, Scripto and the Union reached their 
first agreement: The union would drop the boycott, if Scripto gave the striking workers 
their annual Christmas bonuses. On January 9, 1965, the Scripto strike came to an end. 
The workers received a 4 cent across-the-board increase each year for the following 
three years, and Scripto was forced to re-hire 155 strikers and retain the replacement 
workers they had hired to maintain production during the strike. After the strike, racial 
tensions eased at the Scripto plant.* 
 Workers at Scripto (1953), Lane Brothers Photographic Collection, GSU Library 
This was Dr. King’s first showing of support for laborers, and he worked to  form an 
alliance between the civil rights movement and labor unions until his assassination on 
April 4, 1968. At the time, he was in Memphis supporting striking sanitation workers, 
members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 
1733. 
For more information about the Scripto strike and Dr. King’s ties with the labor 
movement, check out these resources: 
Scripto Strike records, Southern Labor Archives, Georgia State University Library. 
Scripto Pen Company records, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center (don’t 
forget the photographs!). 
Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, Atlanta University Center (AUC) 
Woodruff Library. 
All labor has dignity, King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968 (speeches; other author: 
Honey, Michael K.), 2011. 
Going down Jericho Road : the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King’s last campaign, 
Honey, Michael K., 2007. 
I am a Man, web exhibit created by the Walter P. Reuther Library in conjunction with 
the Wayne State University Library System, which documents Dr. King’s trip to 
Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 to support striking sanitation workers, members of 
AFSCME Local 1733 (2012). 
*“The Scripto Strike. Martin Luther King’s “Valley of Problems”: Atlanta, 1964-1965.” 
Atlanta History, Fall 1999. 


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