Twelve additional sanitation workers have been identified to receive grants through Mayor Jim Strickland’s initiative aiming to provide financial support for these workers who went on strike in 1968.
When the initiative was first announced and approved by the Memphis City Council in July, 14 sanitation workers — 10 retirees and four active employees — were identified and each awarded $70,000 grants.
Since then, 36 more people have come forward to claim funds, but only 12 of those individuals were verified to be eligible by the city’s Division of Human Resources, the city announced Friday.
“When the grants were first awarded, we anticipated there could be additional recipients and we let the City Council know that we would likely be coming back to them to approve the funding,” the city’s chief communications officers, Ursula Madden said.
Pending city council approval, the 12 new grants, which will come from the city’s reserves, will total about $1.1 million.
The additional grants are slated for the council’s Sept. 19 agenda.
