He Gave His Life in the Labor Struggle: MLK's Forgotten Radical Message for Economic Justice | Democracy Now

'[H]e was a labor man. And union people know this. When he died in '68, workers all over the country walked out. The West Coast got shut down by the longshore workers. The longshore workers in Louisiana and in the Deep South went on strike. There were observances everywhere. King is a labor man. And after he died, Coretta King was arguing for a national holiday. She said it would be the first national holiday for somebody who gave his life in the labor struggle. So she understood that totally.'