The Communication Workers of America
called for a National Day of Action in support of unions and working
people across the United States to take place on April 4, the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin
Luther King in Memphis, Tenn., where he was organizing in support of
striking sanitation workers.
From Madison, Wis., to Washington, D.C., to Illinois, more than
600 events were planned for this day of action with support from
AFSCME, SEIU and other unions as well as local community and social
justice organizations in a show of force in opposition to the attacks
on working people. Below are reports from some of the demonstrations.
Albuquerque, N.M.
 Albuquerque, N.M., April 4Photo: Bryan Woodard |
On April 4, anywhere from 500-700
people stood together with one voice in front of the Bank of the West
in Albuquerque in support of Wisconsin and to raise demands for our
own struggles.
Participants included unions such as
the Communications Workers of America and the Quest Workers
Union, as well as many unorganized working class people.
Myles Conway, organizer of the rally
and member of the CWA brought his voice to the streets: “The attack
on collective bargaining rights is the beginning of an attack on
representation of government.”
By Conway’s side, fellow union member
Estella Madrid expressed her fight for the right to an eight-hour day
saying, “Don’t let our unions get taken advantage of! The
government will not balance the budget on the backs of the unions or
the working class!”
Los Angeles
 First A.M.E. Church. Los Angeles, April 4 |
In Los Angeles, union workers and
others gathered for a rally at the First A.M.E. Church of Los
Angeles. Participants represented UNITE HERE!, AFSCME, SEIU, IBEW
Local 11 and many other unions as well as students, the retired and
the unemployed and united in the demonstration organized by the Los
Angeles County Federation of Labor.
“Today we find ourselves, still in a
class war. Warfare has been declared on working-class America of all
races,” declared Pastor John Hunter, Senior Minister of First
A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles. In Memphis, Tenn., A.M.E. was the
church that opened its doors to 1,300 striking sanitation workers,
who Martin Luther King was supporting at the time of his
assassination.
It was difficult for workers to contain
themselves, interrupting various speakers by chanting, “Stand up,
fight back!”, “No justice, no peace!” and “This is whattdemocracy looks like!”
Rev. James Lawson, a civil rights
leader who worked alongside King in the labor and civil rights
struggles of the 1960s said, “It is an example of the powerful and
the wealthy wanting to dominate 310 million people in this country
and to do it, they must somehow keep us from joining hands across
gender, color, complexity, class and religion and every other kind of
division. We want justice, equality and access for all of the people
of our land.”
The rally ended with William Lucy,
retired Secretary-Treasurer of AFSCME and President of the Coalition
of Black Trade Unionists declaring, “We’re going to fight back
not just to save a movement, but to build a movement!”
 New Haven, April 4 Photo: Deb Malatesta |
New Haven, Conn.
Nearly
150 people gathered on the Green in New Haven and rallied to demand
“Money for Jobs, Not for War.” The demonstrators first gathered
on the Green, facing a gigantic rat figure. It was labeled “Governor
Rat Walker” in reference to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is
seeking to make public employees pay more for their health care and
pension benefits.
The demonstrators marched to nearby
Bank of America to demand an end to corporate greed and money for
education, healthcare and jobs. Bill Hendersen, president of the
Communication Workers of America Local 1298, told the crowd,“The
real villain is the banks. They’ve put the economy on the brink of
collapse.” The protesters targeted Bank of America because it paid
nothing in corporate taxes to the state last year.
Speaking of the
legacy of Martin Luther King, who was killed while organizing in
support of workers seeking the right to bargain collectively for a
voice at work and a better life, Hendersen told the crowd, “The
issues haven’t changed: injustice in the workplace, corporate greed
has gotten even worse.”
The
demonstration was organized by CWA, Teamsters, American Federation of
Teachers and attended by students, workers and other progressive
allies in solidarity with Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and dozens of
other states where collective bargaining is under attack.
Demonstrators also came out to speak out about local issues.
Students from
Southern Connecticut State University came out in response to
proposed budget cuts to the Connecticut State University system that
would combine community colleges with state universities. Lytasha
Blackwell, a student in SCSU’s Women’s Studies program said,
“There will be tuition hikes for people who can’t afford to go to
a four year school.”
The rally closed with demonstrators
chanting “Corporate Greed” at Bank of America and “The people
united, will never be defeated.”
 San Francisco, April 4 Photo: Richard Becker |
San Francisco
Thousands
of workers marched April 4 in San Francisco as part of the “We Are
One” national day of action. Public and private sector unionists
were joined by supporters in a march and rally sponsored by the San
Francisco Central Labor Council.
Gathering at the former headquarters of
Bank of America, the march wound its way through the financial
district, stopping at banks that have been responsible for
foreclosures, an office building in support of janitors, a boycotted
hotel, an office tower dodging taxes, and concluded at the Federal
Reserve.
The rally featured teachers and Stephanie
Bloomingdale from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.
Actions were held earlier around the
Bay Area. In Oakland, the International Longshoremen and Warehouse
Union shut down the Port of Oakland in solidarity with workers in
Wisconsin and other states fighting attacks on unions.
Seattle
 Seattle, April 4Photo: Jane Cutter |
Hundreds of people gathered in Martin
Luther King Jr. Park in Seattle under a steady cold rain for a rally
to “Stand up for working families.” The action was sponsored by
Communication Workers of America, A. Philip Randolph Institute,
Martin Luther King Jr. County Labor Council, Washington State Labor
Council, Service Employees International Union, WFSE/AFSCME Local
304, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and the AFL-CIO.
The Rev. Samuel B. McKinney, pastor of
Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle was the featured speaker.
McKinney is a longtime civil rights activist who attended college
with Martin Luther King Jr. and also marched with him in Washington,
D.C. in 1963 and in Selma and Montgomery in 1965. He inspired the
crowd with his insightful and sometimes humorous recollections of the
struggle for civil rights and workers’ rights.
Many union leaders spoke. Paul Bachtel,
president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 drew cheers as he
said, “They are going to regret starting this fight with labor
because we are going to kick some a–!”
Larry Gossett, a grassroots activist
who since 1993 has been an elected official on the King County
Council, recalled Martin Luther King’s speech the day before his
death, when King stated his certainty that “We as a people will get
to the Promised Land!” Gossett urged people present to forge unity
across lines of race and all lines of division so that we can reach
the “Promised Land.”
A highlight of the rally was a joint
performance by the Seattle Labor Chorus and the Shiloh Baptist Youth
Choir singing “Stand by the Union,” (to the tune of “Wade in
the Water.”)
Syracuse, N.Y.
 Syracuse, N.Y., April 4Photo: Ashley Sauers |
Over 200 workers, students and
community members gathered at Dr. Martin Luther King elementary
school in Syracuse, NY to mark the 43rd anniversary of
King’s assassination. A broad coalition or individuals and
organizations coordinated the event, including the ANSWER Coalition
(Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), the Workers’ Center of
Central New York and Mothers Against Gun Violence.
After a performance by the school’s
gospel choir, Rev. Kevin Agee of Hopps Memorial Church spoke about
King’s legacy and the current crisis facing state workers. He
pointed out that, while state Democrats and Republicans are
celebrating the first on-time budget in five years, there is little
to celebrate for the working people in the state. “The 500 teachers
being laid off in Syracuse have little reason to celebrate,” he
said.
The rally drew a multinational and
diverse crowd. Ralph Lyke, a member of the United Auto Workers, went
to the rally because he is “concerned, as King was in his day, of
the growing economic inequality in America.”
Syracuse University student Emily
Kaufman said that she was struck by King’s message, as it was
relayed at the rally, that the nation is “commodifying human beings
and its whole structure must be changed.”
ANSWER Coalition organizer Bruce Peak
closed the rally by asking those in attendance to join the struggle
against poverty and war. “This is class war,” he said, “but it
is our class, the working class, that will ultimately win!”
Washington,
D.C.
 Washington, D.C,. April 4Photo: Sarah Sloan |
In Washington,
D.C. progressives and union members marched shouting, “We Are One!”
Representatives from the Teamsters, UNITE HERE, LiUNA, NEA, AFT, WTU,
AFL-CIO and various other locals and internationals were in
attendance. The Communication Workers of America, which sponsored the
rally and march, estimated over 1,000 people were in attendance.
“We’re putting all employers and all elected officials on notice
that we’re mobilizing as we haven’t in decades,” said CWA
President Larry Cohen. This demonstration was one of many events held
in the Washington, D.C. area in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.’s commitment to the struggle of working people.
The rally began
at 11a.m. in front of the Department of Treasury to symbolize
opposition to local and national budget cuts, which are being born
primarily on the backs of workers and unionists in the public sector.
After an initial rally, participants marched to Koch Industries. Its
owners Charles and David Koch have funded various anti-union,
anti-worker Republican election campaigns throughout the country,
including Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
“Hey Koch, you
don’t know; you don’t get to run the show!” was one of the
primary chants in front of Koch Industries. This demonstration showed
the growing solidarity and unity that exists within the labor
movement, especially as the proposed budget in Washington, D.C.
slashes much needed funding from education, emergency housing and
other vitally needed social programs provided by employees in the
public sector.
Contributing to this report: Bryan
Woodard, John Hernandez, Deb Malatesta, Keith Pavlik, Jane Cutter,
Derek Ford and Caneisha Mills.
