In mid-1978, unionized firefighters and police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, engaged in several strike actions against the city government. The first occurred from July 1 to 4 and involved about 1,400 firefighters. Later, about 1,100 police officers commenced a strike on August 10. During this strike, firefighters commenced a wildcat strike on August 14. All striking ended on August 19, following an agreement with the city government and the two groups.
The labor disputes stemmed from contract negotiations that the two labor unions—the Memphis Police Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1784—had been having with the city government, headed by Mayor J. Wyeth Chandler, who rebuffed demands for larger wage increases. Subsequently, Local 1784 went on strike on July 1, prompting the mayor to issue a civil emergency and a curfew and request assistance from the Tennessee Army National Guard. This strike ended via a court order on July 4. In the interim, there had been a large number of fires that caused extensive damage to the city, with several public officials accusing the strikers of engaging in arson. Afterwards, negotiations resumed with the firefighters and continued with the police officers.
On August 10, police officers went on strike, again prompting the mayor to issue a civil emergency and curfew and call in the National Guard. Police officers disobeyed a court order mandating a return to work, prompting the mayor to order that striking officers be terminated. On August 14, firefighters initiated a wildcat strike in conjunction with the police officers. On August 17, police officers and firefighters voted to accept a deal with the city government that was largely the same as what had initially been proposed to them, with some minor changes.
Following the strike, an amendment to the municipal charter was enacted to immediately terminate from employment any municipal employee who engaged in a job action against the city. Subsequently, these strikes were the last conducted by municipal employees in Memphis, as of 2004. The strikes also marked the last time that a civil emergency and curfew were declared in the city until 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests, respectively.
Background
Memphis and public sector labor unions
Prior to the late 1960s, the government of Memphis, Tennessee, did not grant recognition to any labor union representing public employees, claiming that such recognition was illegal under state laws. However, in the aftermath of the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike, the city government agreed to recognize Local 1733 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) as the official bargaining unit for the city's sanitation workers. Following this, the Memphis City Council passed a resolution that allowed for the city to recognize other public sector labor unions. By 1973, the city had recognized both a police union—the Memphis Police Association—and a firefighters' union—Local 1784 of the International Association of Fire Fighters. With both unions, the city government had agreements that prohibited them from engaging in strike actions. By 1978, the government had recognized thirteen public sector unions, representing 4,718 of the city's 9,000 employees.
Contract negotiations in 1978 By mid-1978, the city government had negotiated new employment contracts with many of their public sector unions, including the AFSCME local union. However, both the police and firefighters' unions were still in negotiations with the city. According to academics Armand J. Thieblot Jr. and Thomas R. Haggard, negotiations were tense in part because the last contracts signed with the unions had been established on the belief that the city government would experience a budget deficit when, in fact, it experienced a budget surplus. Additionally, the firefighters expressed discontent with the fact that they had been earning less than police officers and that the city's approach to wage increases, which included percent increases across the board, would increase the disparity. Leading up to July, the firefighters' union had been engaged in negotiations with the city government for several weeks.
The firefighters were seeking a pay raise, which would have included bonus pay of $0.50 () per hour for work performed during evenings and nights. However, J. Wyeth Chandler, the mayor of Memphis, stated that the government would not exceed the offer made to the other unions. These terms would have included an immediate pay increase of 6 percent, a bonus pay in April 1979 of $30 ($ in ), and a 7.5 percent wage increase in October 1979. Per the city's offer, the lowest monthly pay for a firefighter would have increased from $1,108.88 ($ in ) to $1,295.82 ($ in ). The last round of talks was held on Friday, June 30, with the unionized firefighters voting to reject the city's last offer. That same day, the government rejected a plan proposed by the union for shift differential bonus pay. Following this, the firefighters' union informed the city government that they were prepared to commence strike action.
During contract negotiations, David Baker, the president of the police union, raised the possibility of a coordinated labor dispute against the city that would involve the unions representing the city's firefighters, police, and sanitation workers. However, this coalition failed to materialize, as on July 1, the sanitation workers voted 558 to 553 to accept the city's contract offer. Additionally, the firefighters and police did not coordinate their actions in part because of the disparate goals of the two unions.
Initial strike
Early strike activities Early in the morning of Saturday, July 1, approximately 1,400 Memphis firefighters went on strike. About 200 non-union firefighters, consisting primarily of individuals who held a rank higher than that of lieutenant, remained on the job. At the time, the Memphis Fire Department served an area that included about 800,000 people. Mayor Chandler said the government would not resume negotiations with the firefighters' union until they returned to work.
On the first day of the strike, 45 fires were reported over a period of four hours, which prompted a front-page coverage from Memphis's daily newspaper, The Commercial Appeal. Later that day, the city government was granted a temporary injunction that barred the striking firefighters from engaging in violence, from mass picketing, and from blocking the entrances of fire stations. However, Chancellor Robert Hoffmann, a judge of the Memphis Chancery Court, said that he would wait until Monday, July 3, to rule on a requested injunction from the city government that would declare the strike illegal. In total, 225 fires were reported on the first day of striking. In comparison, on a usual Saturday night, the Memphis Fire Department only answered about eight fire alarms.
Civil emergency and National Guard activation
On Sunday, July 2, Mayor Chandler declared a civil emergency and requested that the Tennessee Army National Guard assist the city in firefighting and first responder activities. In response, the National Guard was activated by Governor Ray Blanton. Additionally, all public events were cancelled. The mayor also ordered a curfew for July 2 and July 3 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., with individuals found outside during those hours subject to questioning and possible arrest. The sale of alcohol was also prohibited, while gasoline was not allowed to be sold to anyone unless it was directly transferred into their automobile's fuel tank. Talks were held between the mayor's office and the union, though they were ultimately unproductive.
By the end of the day, about 1,100 personnel had been brought into the city to assist the non-union firefighters, including 850 National Guard members, 134 firefighters from the United States Navy and Marine Corps who were stationed at the nearby Naval Air Station, 102 firefighters from the Tennessee Forestry Service, and 20 firefighters from the Office of Civil Defense. With the assistance of these outside responders, the city was able to man 30 of their 50 fire stations. Additionally, the Tennessee Highway Patrol assisted the city in enforcing the curfew.
Fires continued to burn in Memphis over the course of the second day of striking, with an abandoned mill being destroyed in a fire that caused $1.7 million ($ million in ) in damages. Additionally, several parts of Midtown were heavily damaged, though The New York Times reported that there had been no fire-related deaths up to that point. The newspaper also reported that, over the course of the weekend, there had been over 300 fires in the city. According to reporting from The Commercial Appeal, at one fire south of Downtown, several strikers heckled the first responders.
End of the strike
By July 3, city sanitation workers had begun to refuse to cross the firefighters' picket lines, leading to trash pileups throughout the city. By that time, four businesses in the city's Overton area had been destroyed by fires, causing about $1 million ($ million in ) in damages. That same day, Chancellor Hoffman issued a court order requiring striking firefighters to return to work by 7 a.m. the following day. The order also provided for mediation via the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, with sessions to begin on July 5. The order also limited the picketing that could be performed by the union members, allowing for some informational picketing. Union leaders agreed to abide by the court order and were able to convince rank-and-file members in a closed meeting that day, though several vowed to recommence striking if the city did not meet the union's demands for a pay increase. On July 4, with the striking firefighters returning to work, the mayor lifted the city's curfew and National Guard members began to be called to the city's National Guard Armory for phased deactivation.
While sources vary on the exact number of fires that occurred during the strike, reporter Wayne King of The New York Times reported that there had been over 350 fires, with 50 regarded as major. This included a branch of the Memphis Public Library system on Vance Avenue. According to Major General Carl D. Wallace of the National Guard, there had been more fires in Memphis than there had been during the 1968 King assassination riots. In addition to the fires, several fire department ambulances had been damaged in acts of vandalism. Speaking of the long-term impact of the fires, Memphis Fire Director Robert Walker said, "The scars will be there many years." In total, he estimated the damages that occurred during the strike at about $6 million ($ million in ). Meanwhile, damages to fire department equipment and property were estimated at between $50,000 and $100,000 ($ and $ in ).
Allegations of arson According to reporting from The New York Times, several city officials accused the striking firefighters of committing arson, which they claimed was responsible for the high number of fires that occurred over the course of the strike. Memphis Police Director E. Winslow Chapman stated that he believed that "90 to 95 percent" of the fires that had occurred on July 1 were caused by arson, while Fire Director Walker estimated that 90 percent had been caused by arson. In a news conference, Mayor Chandler stated that he believed that the strikers had started most of the fires. However, Local 1784 leaders called the accusations "ridiculous" and instead blamed unknown arsonists for the fires. However, during the strike, several striking firefighters were arrested on charges of suspected arson.
Continued negotiations