The 1968 action led to greater economic mobility for Black workers. Today, union activists are trying to capture some of that spirit.

“It’s a wicked hot day and it’s a wicked hot jobs market. And we need you,” Gov. Lamont said at a press conference before the job fair, part of AFSCME‘s Staff the Front Lines bus tour.

Local officials and hundreds of union members gathered in Sensenbrenner Park on the Columbus stop of the national bus tour, organized by the national American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) labor union.

The mayor emphasized the strong health-care benefits that come along with being a member of a unionized workforce as he stood in front of a giant green bus that said “Staff The Front Lines.”

The fair was part of an AFSCME initiative called Staff the Front Lines, which also drew local politicians who championed local government workers.

AFSCME decided it needed to pitch in on a function usually reserved for human resources departments: getting people in the door. The union has started a national campaign to generate buzz around frontline positions.

While public service workers must often do more with less, one person cannot do the job of three people—it's simply not sustainable. AFSCME's everyday heroes are ready to work with all stakeholders on a solution. It is time to staff the front lines.

“We are seeing a revitalization among young people and people of color who see that they’re being mistreated and they don’t have a true seat at the table,” said Lee Saunders, the president of AFSCME

Several powerful unions endorsed Biden's campaign this week, including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Today, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) released the first episode of I AM Story, a new podcast chronicling the history and legacy of the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike.