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45,000 workers march in support of Second Bill of Rights
http://www.peoplesworld.org/45-000-workers-march-in-support-of-second-bill-of-rights/PHILADELPHIA - A colorful sea of workers with their banners, t-shirts, and signs filled Eakins Oval to the point of overflowing on August 11, in the unfurling by organized labor and its allies of a Second Bill of Rights. They came to the home of the Liberty Bell and the U.S. Constitution to launch a fight for an economic bill of rights for workers and to show their determination to be decisive in the current election cycle.
The 45,000 workers and their allies came from the Philadelphia region and from as far away as Ohio and Kentucky to hear labor leaders, community activists, and elected officials voice their frustration with politicians' failure to address the needs of working people. Organizers, who had hoped for 20,000, estimated the size of the crowd at 45,000.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka expressed the mood of the gathering when he told the crowd, "Anyone who says America can't afford public services or education or health care or a postal service doesn't know what they're talking about. We built this country; we make it run; we put it to sleep every night. We are going to take this country forward - I mean all, each and every one of us; we are the job creators, not the one percent."
Trumka cited the history of the Philadelphia printers who, at the time of country's founding, "dared to demand fair pay for the hours they worked," and continued, "Today we are still fighting to affirm the fundamental rights of every person who works for a living."
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"Anyone who says America can't afford public services or education or health care or a postal service doesn't know what they're talking about. We built this country; we make it run; we put it to sleep every night. We are going to take this country forward - I mean all, each and every one of us; we are the job creators, not the one percent."
