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College Park Workers Rally for a Voice on the Job

College Park, Ga., public workers held a rally demanding a voice on the job. Joining them were members of AFSCME Local 1644 and AFSCME International Pres. Lee Saunders.
College Park Workers Rally for a Voice on the Job
By Namita Waghray ·
College Park Workers Rally for a Voice on the Job
AFSCME International Pres. Lee Saunders (in the dark jacket) and AFSCME 1644 members join College Park public workers who held a rally to demand a voice at work. (Photo by Namita Waghray)

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. – Public workers in this suburban Atlanta community are fighting to have a voice on the job.

They rallied on Thursday with AFSCME Local 1644 (Atlanta) members, elected officials, other labor unions, community activists, faith leaders and AFSCME International Pres. Lee Saunders to kick off an organizing drive to form a union at their workplace and join Local 1644.

If they’re successful, Local 1644 will welcome 65 new workers to its family.

“It is not an easy job, but it is an important one,” said Kita Lane, a water and sewer coordinator with the City of College Park. “I do it because the water and sewer systems are critical to our communities. The businesses and families that live here count on us to do our best. We are asking the College Park City Council to recognize our role and give us the opportunity to advocate for the services we provide.”

Saunders reiterated the union’s commitment to helping communities like College Park flourish through union membership. He drew parallels between College Park’s public workers and the sanitation workers who were part of the Memphis strike in 1968.

“It’s a sad day in America. Many of the same battles that were being waged in Memphis, workers here in Atlanta and the South are still facing,” Saunders told the rally, which attracted nearly 120 people.

“President Saunders is correct in saying that so much is still the same for workers in Atlanta and the south. But I don’t know of any other union that can win the way AFSCME can – we fought in Memphis and the Big Green Machine is going to stand up with College Park workers, and they will win their union,” said Local 1644 President Tracey Thornhill.

College Park workers began the organizing drive around workplace safety, much like the Memphis sanitation workers. Their facilities were mold infested and dangerously unhealthy. Even after workers complained repeatedly, College Park officials failed to remedy the situation.

It wasn’t until workers began bringing in doctors’ notes documenting that their illnesses were mold related did the administration shut down and cleaned the buildings. The administration, however, continues to deny its workers the ability to form a union. Workers are now taking action to change that.

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