MFLU was a game changer for state’s Black labor force

By Alice Thomas-Tisdale

JA Publisher Emerita

Prior to the establishment of The Mississippi Freedom Labor Union (MFLU) in 1965, labor unions were virtually non-existent. Operating from the Mississippi Delta where cotton production was essential to the economic stability of the region, MFLU demanded an increase in the hourly wage of Black laborers from .30 cents to $1.25. George Shelton, who later became the chairman for MFLU, was quoted as saying, “We felt that we should be getting a fair price for what we were working for.” The MFLU pledge read as follows: 

I am a member of the Mississippi Freedom Labor Union. 

I believe that everyone should get at least $1.25 an hour for their work.

I believe that children under the age of 16 should not have to work.

I believe that poor people should not have to have to work for more than 8 hours a day unless they get time and a half for overtime.

I believe that people over 60 should not have to work.

I believe that people who are sick should not have to work, and should receive free medical care.

I believe that all people who cannot get full-time jobs should get full compensation from the Government.

I believe that all work should carry social security and accident insurance.

I believe that all people should be treated equally in hiring, wages, and working conditions whatever their race or color. 

I pledge to work together with other members of the Mississippi Freedom Labor Union to win these rights.

I believe that we should use strikes, picketing, boycotts, collective bargaining and non-violent direct action to make the people we work for meet our demands.

Since 1965, scores of Mississippi labor leaders have emerged, Black and white. Among them: Charlie Horhn, Jaribu Hill, Jim Evans, Kathy Sykes, Claude Ramsey, Brenda Scott, Sachioni Butler, Jessie Morris, John Graves, Connie Speight, Pam Johnson, Stephanie Parker Weaver, Deloris Lee, and Charles Tisdale.