Skip to main content

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of Hosea Williams accusing the Reed Drug Company of unfair labor practices and racism as well as picketing by the Poor Peoples's Union, Atlanta, Georgia, 1973 March 28

View
@ Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)

Description

In this WSB newsfilm clip dated March 28, 1973, members of the Poor People's Union demonstrate against the Reed Drug Company in front of one of its Atlanta drugstores.The clip begins with a shot of a group of African American protesters picketing Reed's Discount Drugs, taken from the opposite side of the street. The camera zooms in closer, and captures the signage on the entrance of the drugstore. Next, Hosea Williams, standing with a group of protesters in front of Reed's Discount Drugs, addresses the group's concerns to the camera; as he speaks, pedestrians continue to make their way down the sidewalk behind the group of protesters.Speaking directly to the camera, Williams explains that a Reed Drug Company employee came to the Poor People's Union office after having complained to Reed's "many times" about grievances that were not redressed by the company's management. The Poor People's Union investigated the situation at the Reed Drug Company, and found the company to be guilty of unfair labor practices and racism. The Poor People's Union attempted to collect union authorization cards from Reed's employees; when management from Reed's found out that representatives from the Poor People's Union had been facilitating unionization efforts, the company retaliated against their employees by administering polygraph tests and fines. In response, the employees voted to wage a work stoppage strike and boycott of Reed Drug Company's twenty-six locations in the Atlanta area. Williams describes the strike as a "result of Reed's retaliating on these people because they tried...
Type:
Video
Contributors:
Williams, Hosea, 1926-2000
View Original At:

Record Contributed By

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia