Charleston hospital strike of 1969

Twelve workers at the Medical College Hospital on Doughty Street were fired in March 1969. In response, their co-workers walked out, beginning a strike that lasted 113 days. More than 400 hospital workers eventually left their jobs here and at the Charleston County Hospital on Calhoun Street. Most of these workers were Black women.

The strike was organized by Mary Moultrie, a licensed practical nurse. She had returned to Charleston after working for seven years at Goldwater Memorial Hospital in New York. The workers cited unequal treatment and unequal pay, and they sought recognition for their union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 1199B.

Talks stalled because the state of South Carolina refused to recognize a union of state employees. As picketers were arrested, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference joined the movement. This was the first major campaign for the organization since the death of Martin Luther King the previous year. Governor Robert McNair called out the National Guard and imposed a curfew on the city to contain the demonstrations.

Coretta Scott King arrived in Charleston to support the workers. On April 29, she spoke at a mass rally at Emanuel AME Church, describing the Black working woman as perhaps the most discriminated against of all working women in the nation. In May, she led 5,000 people on a march down Ashley Avenue.

The Medical College Hospital reached a settlement on June 27, and the Charleston County Hospital followed in July. The movement ended with the workers receiving raises and the twelve original employees winning their jobs back.